Quinoa

Quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. I thought it was a grain, but learned from the Whole Foods website that it is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas." I ate a lot of quinoa in the first trimester of my pregnancy, when I was very sick and nauseous and, basically, vegan. I have 2 quinoa recipes to share today. They have some shared ingredients, which makes it easy.

1. Quinoa Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a Mediterranean dish typically made with parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers and bulgur (and sometimes onion and additional herbs), olive oil and lemon juice. I love to make it with quinoa instead of bulgur (and have made it with cilantro instead of parsley, giving it a tex-mex twist).

Ingredients

• Parsley (1 cup, chopped)
• Quinoa (1 cup - I actually only used around 1/4 cup in this recipe and saved the rest for my other recipe)
  
• Red Onion (I used a bit 1/4 of a large red onion chopped)
  
• 1/2 Cucumber, Chopped
  
• 1 Small Shallot, Chopped
• Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed)
• Olive Oil
• Crumbled Goat Cheese (as garnish)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation

1. Chop Parsley, Onion, Shallot (shallot is optional, but since I had some, I used it)
2. Cook Quinoa (per package instructions) - I cook mine in my rice cooker
3. Juice 2 lemons (some of this juice is used in other recipe)
4. Mix all ingredients together, adding lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste - garnished with crumbled goat cheese

2. Quinoa Salad with Roasted Veggies and Chickpeas (this is a variation on Martha Stewart's Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas, which I found in Everyday Food)

Ingredients

• 1 carrot (sliced for roasting)
• 1 small head cauliflower (chopped for roasting)
  
• 1/2-3/4 tsp. cumin (depending your preference)
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup quinoa (the half leftover from the quinoa tabbouleh)
• fresh lemon juice (from two lemons - leftover from previous recipe)
• herb salad mix (from Trader Joe's)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450. Place carrots and cauliflower on a baking sheet, toss with cumin, salt, pepper and olive oil and roast for 20-30 minutes (rotating halfway through). I drizzled with olive oil, so I don't have an exact measurement. (I also added a dash of garlic-onion spice mix that I had to the vegetables before roasting)
2. Cook quinoa (in accordance with box instructions or in a rice cooker, which I prefer because I am terrible at cook rice or quinoa on the stove)
3. Make dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper (to taste - you can also add lemon zest and/or vinegar if you want) and toss with salad mix (Martha suggested arugula - I used the mix I had)
4. In a bowl, combine veggies and quinoa and serve over salad mix (you can also add some of the dressing directly to the quinoa/veggie mix if you want).

The instructions are as the salad was intended. I ended up having this meal with friends and we put plum tomatoes and goat cheese on the salad and used the lemon-olive oil dressing. We chose to have the quinoa with roasted veggies on the side. It was great lunch.