grain of the month: quinoa

For starters, let’s talk about how to pronounce our grain of the month. Ready? It’s KEEN-wah.

Quinoa was cultivated by the Incas in the pre-Columbian era. While distinctly grain-like, quinoa is actually a seed, and it’s related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds (!!). It’s a versatile shining star in our queue of grains, it’s just as delicious sweet as it is savory, it comes in flake, whole grain and flour forms, and, most of all, it’s just plain ol’ delicious. It’s also high in protein, magneseum and iron, a great source of fiber, and, most importantly, it’s gluten-free.

For a retrospective introduction to cooking with quinoa, check out the recipes we’ve posted in the past that incorporate quinoa seeds, flour or flakes:

Quinoa corn cakes
Quinoa pasta with kalamata olives, artichoke hearts & lemon zest
Persimmon bread with walnuts (sub out any seasonal fruit or veggie for the persimmons. Bananas, butternut squash and zucchini all work well)
Blueberry streusel cake
Sugar cookies

Aaaannnnnd…we can’t resist leaving you with this interesting aside: NASA is considering quinoa as a possible crop in their Controlled Ecologoical Life Support System for long-duration manned space flights! Just what do we think of that?
Get your space on. EAT QUINOA!

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