quinoa: a perfect food? (dunno, but pretty perfect tasting)

today for lunch i tried a new quinoa recipe (recipe below), which turned out to taste pretty great. kevin even brought some in for his trainer (who's constantly trying to get kevin to give up his beloved french fries - somewhat successful - and eat more skinless chicken breasts - don't ask) who enjoyed it enough to call and thank me, which i thought was really nice of him. (unlike some people, who shall remain nameless, but know exactly who they are. ahem)

so what IS quinoa, you ask? and just as importantly, how the heck are you supposed to pronounce it?

first, how to pronounce it: there are, apparently, two ways. you can pronounce it as "keen-wah," but according to wikipedia, you can also pronounce it as "kee-no-uh".

second, what the heck is it? quinoa is basically a seed that when cooked has a texture that's sort of like couscous (only lighter and fluffier, imo). the bottom line is that i love it because it tastes great (very mild, so fluffy. yummy!). the side benefit is, as wikipedia explains, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron, and is high in protein. all great things, but like i said, i eat it because it tastes good. (i'm not one to eat something just for the sake of it being good for you. as an example, i don't care how great brussels sprouts are for you. to me, they taste pretty horrible, although my friend jen claims it's b/c most people overcook them. whatever it is, they're like the cabbage's little evil brother. yuck.)

if you haven't already had quinoa before, give it a try! trust me, i'd never tell you to eat something just because its only redeeming quality was that it was good for you. ;)


Curried Yogurt Quinoa Salad with Chicken
1/2 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt (I like saint benoît)
1/4 cup low-fat coconut milk
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 1/2 tsps curry powder
1 tsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt (plus more, to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp good-quality extra virgin olive oil (I've been using Stonehouse lately)

1 1/3 cups quinoa
8-10 oz cooked chicken, cut into 1/2" dice
1 large ripe mango, cut into 1/2" chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4" dice
1 fresh jalapeño chili, (seeded, if you can't take the heat [then get out of the kitchen!]) and minced
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 oz salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Whisk together first 8 ingredients in a large bowl or quart-sized pyrex measuring cup. Whisk in oil in a slow stream until combined.

Rinse quinoa several times, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off water. In a large saucepan, cook quinoa in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain in a sieve (use one that fits into saucepan you cooked the quinoa in) and rinse with cold running water. Boil 1-2" of water in saucepan you just used; when boiling, set sieve over saucepan (make sure sieve doesn't touch water), cover with a clean kitchen towel and lid, and steam until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes.

Combine quinoa with curried yogurt sauce and rest of ingredients in a large bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 4.