I cook with quinoa almost every day and love it. For the recipe in question my guess, judging by the amount of liquid called for, is that you're to use raw, uncooked quinoa.

The trick in cooking quinoa is to not overcook it. In different areas of the country, that means a slight difference in cooking time. Here at 6,000 ft. in elevation, it takes a bit longer than package directions. Just last night I made quinoa breakfast patties and froze them to use later this week, etc. Quinoa, finely chopped baby kale, steamed mashed cauliflower (in place of mashed potatoes) a little plain Greek yogurt, green onions and instead of eggs, I used whole ground flaxseed meal. Kind of like very healthful latkes (LOL).

Lynn

I agree. With the amount of liquid called for in the recipe you wouldn't cook it first. Do remember to rinse it first however to get rid of any bitterness.

Good advice. I'll do a trial run.

Don't forget to soak and rinse your quinoa. I understand that if you don't it will have a bitter taste.

blfenton and terriks - I'm hoping the problem with my previous experience was not rinsing before using the quinoa. It filled my house with the most awful smell! No one had ever told me to rinse including the package directions. Soaking? I've read to drain and let sit 15 minutes after cooking. How long should it soak before rinsing?

I have been tempted to try quinoa but am at a loss for what to make. The recipe that you linked looks yummy!

Actually, I sometimes boil quinoa and use as a low cal rice substitute. It doesn't taste quite like rice, but it's pleasant enough (to me).

Quinoa us not less caloric than rice. It actually is slightly higher calorie than brown rice. 222 calories in a cup of quinoa vs 216 in a cup of brown rice. But it does have more fiber and protein.

My bad, I made an assumption apparently...i think I compared to white rice.

It's also gluten free. I like quinoa and will use it instead of rice for vegie stir-fry especially if I want to go meatless because it is so high in protein.

I tend to cook it more in the summer because it is a great base for salads. I'm not a big fan of pasta salads and quinoa is nice for that.

I will rinse it in a small-hole sieve using my sprayer for a few minutes and then let it sit in a bowl of water (still in the sieve) for just a couple of minutes and then rinse it again.

Thanks, everyone. After checking in the 2 local grocery stores, cannot fine the chia seeds. Might do the trial run tomorrow without them.

I found chia seeds at GNC. They didn't have them at our grocery store either.

I usually just make quinoa to sometimes use with dishes instead of pasta or rice... but I have got to say it is awesome with a good hot Italian sausage, peppers and onions recipe over it! for some reason I just think those flavors all work together really well! (spicy sausage and peppers are one of my kids' favs-- used to make it for hoagie rolls, but the quinoa at least makes it sound sortof good for you! lol)

Thanks, jlc. There's a GNC close to me.

I believe there are saponins in the outer coating of quinoa, which are removed from most of the US bound quinoa. A good rinse will remove any remnants.

The most important attribute of quinoa, is that the proteins are so-called "complete". They are not necessarily high (compared to meat or soy), just higher than grains and more complete (all essential amino acids, a rarity in a plant source).

I had some really tasty quinoa dishes when I was in Peru; they use it as the grain side dish and as a staple, though I recall that the escalating prices from all the exports is causing a food crisis.

I've made this tasty recipe -- it is spicy, with sweet potatoes. You can swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth with no impact, I've also supplemented the sweet potato with green pepper and corn. Link

Unfortunately our growing appetite for quinoa, is driving the price up and out of reach of many of the poor Bolivians and Peruvians who depend on it.

"But there is an unpalatable truth to face for those of us with a bag of quinoa in the larder. The appetite of countries such as ours for this grain has pushed up prices to such an extent that poorer people in Peru and Bolivia, for whom it was once a nourishing staple food, can no longer afford to eat it. Imported junk food is cheaper. In Lima, quinoa now costs more than chicken. Outside the cities, and fuelled by overseas demand, the pressure is on to turn land that once produced a portfolio of diverse crops into quinoa monoculture. "Impact of quinoa popularity

Terriks, wow. I had no idea of that impact. How sad!

Not necessarily so.... Here's a Slate piece on the flipside of that argument. Rising grain prices means more prosperity for farmers in the poorest regions of those countries, where much of the land in unsuitable for other crops. More than likely, there are elements of truth to both arguments, life is rarely that clear cut (and other research indicates progress needs to be made). For our part we should make sure our quinoa is fair trade, and when in season, domestic.

Lynn, I mentioned your quinoa patties to my husband, and he asked me to ask for the recipe. If you wouldn't mind, could you post it? The patties sound very good, and he is on a GI diet right now and is looking for healthy alternatives for meals. He is also allergic to eggs, so your use of the flaxseed particularly interested him.

Balego, OMG, I don't have a recipe (yet) to give you. I just winged it, adding things that inspired me right then and there. I started out by making mashed cauliflower, which we now eat instead of mashed potatoes. DH is a family practice doc and feels that potatoes are an empty carb that we should try and avoid whenever we can. I steam my cauliflower and then use a food processor to whip it. For a mashed potato substitute, instead of butter, I add plain Greek yogurt and a tiny bit of prepared horseradish.

I was trying to come up with something to do with the mashed cauliflower that I didn't need for that dinner and decided to try and make healthful faux latkes for the next morning's breakfast. I added the cooked quinoa for more texture and body, chopped green onions ( the green part only) for added flavor, fresh chopped baby kale (because I add it to just about everything these days, as it's so good for you). A little salt and pepper. And then I decided to added the whole ground flaxseed meal, which is a great substitute in recipes like this for eggs. I think I used about 2 tablespoons of it. I sautéed the patties, which I made about 2" in diameter, in a non-stick skillet using an organic olive oil spray. We had them for breakfast again this morning, topped with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and along side some sliced Heirloom tomatoes I got a great deal on the other day.

We love these patties . . . I just now need to make them again, measure this time and write the recipe down! I'll give you the recipe here when I do, though.

BTW, another tasty quinoa dish I make all the time is this salad:

Top about 3 cups of baby kale in a salad bowl with 1 cup of cooked quinoa. Sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries. Make up a sald dressing with Apple cider vinegar, a bit of balsamic vinegar and sugar, Dijon mustard and fresh ( or dried ) chopped basil. To make this a main dish salad, add garbanzo or black beans and/or canned tuna or cooked chicken. More veggies, too, if you choose. Yummy , healthful and very filling

Serves 2

Lynn

Thank you so much, Lynn! Your instructions give me a place to start, for sure! We really enjoy mashed cauliflower, so usually have it in the house, as well as kale and Greek yogurt.

I will keep an eye out for your follow up, but in the meantime I will try making some. The salad recipe sounds great, too! Thanks again!