Quinoa questions..

[crazycanuck]

Ok, i tried quinoa & am unsure of how it's supposed to taste/look.

I think i just experienced my first cooking disaster...

[badger]

I used to make salad out of it - much like you would with macaroni. I basically threw everything into it, like celery, carrots, and a healthy dose of trail mix with raw cashews, almonds, sunflower/pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.

I'd make a dressing out of extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar and some honey to sweeten and voila, healthy salad.

I haven't made it in a while as I got sick the last two times I ate it and am afraid of eating it again. I'm thinking the grains were probably contaminated with mold or something but am still hesitant in trying it again.

[malkin]

I saw it at the store for $10 a pound.

For that price it better be really tasty!

[hipmama]

$10 a pound?! That's crazy! It's usually about $3 a pound for me. I think the price is that it's not an easily local grown grain, and it's not a super common grain, and as with many things- once people discover that it's really good for you they jack up the price. I think the price has gone up at least a dollar a pound in the 2 years.

[OakLeaf]

I get it pre-packaged for $5 a pound, and cheaper in bulk. That's not pre-washed though - pre-washed probably jacks up the price.

It's a small seed and not commonly grown, so the harvesting machines probably cost way more than grain or soybean combines. I don't actually know, but I'm going to guess that with such small seeds and a broadleaf plant, you might not be able to combine it at all, but you might have to harvest and thresh separately.

Then there's the whole economies of scale thing. AFAIK it's not used as a livestock feed at all, so the quantities are very, very small in comparison to things like grains and beans.

A fairer comparison might be with wild rice or amaranth.

[msincredible]

Ok, i tried quinoa & am unsure of how it's supposed to taste/look.

I think i just experienced my first cooking disaster...

The key is thoroughly rinsing the quinoa with water before cooking. Find a fine-mesh strainer, and wash it until you don't see any foam coming off the grains.

If it is not rinsed thoroughly, the naturally-occurring saponins on the quinoa will make it taste bitter and also may upset your stomach.

Once you have rinsed it, then just cook it like you would white rice (add twice the volume of water, bring to a boil uncovered, then cover and simmer until the water is all absorbed). It's actually very easy to make.

[alacarte]

Last summer I found "quinoa flakes" at a health food store. When cooked it was the consistency of grits and very tasty. I need to find some more of that.

[cylegoddess]

I made scones with quinoa flour mixed with potato flour ( more quinoa than potato, which is starchy).Also cookies, using honey.
I cant eat grain, at all or rice or corn, so its a nice flour to bake with.