food fondness: quinoa.

Have you guys ever had quinoa? If not, you should probably stop what you're doing, sprint to your nearest market and pick some up. I'd tried it a few times before this summer, but truly fell in love with it while Dave and I were in Peru. Those Peruvians sure do know how to make it. Actually, Peruvians just know how to cook. We had it in a variety of forms, but my favorites were all on our trek to Machu Picchu. The chef (dubbed "Super Chef" by our guides) on our 5 day hike were absolutely mind-blowing...he cooked gourmet meals with iron pots over camp fires. Quinoa, among other things (most notably potatoes), is a staple for Peruvians and we had it almost every day. It looks a little funny--I think it looks like mini eyeballs, but don't let that fool you. Some of its tastiest preparations were as porridge (nothing like a big ol' bowl of quinoa porridge to give you the energy to climb mountains all day), side dishes and, my favorite, soup.

Needless to say, I have craved quinoa a lot since we returned from Peru. My variations of the yummy seed don't have the same rustic allure as Super Chef's, but they always turn out pretty tastey. Not only is it incredible good (and good for you), but also fun to say. I can't help but smile every time I think of how dramatically the Quechaus (native Peruvians) pronounce it as KEEN-WAAA.

Anyway, tonight I made a quinoa and black bean salad, based off of the one found on a bit of sunshine. I made a few changes, my key ingredients being:

quinoa
black beans
corn
yellow squash
red onion
jalapenos
garlic
figs

then just olive oil, cayenne pepper, cumin and lemon juice for the dressing.

With fall swooping in soon (yay, my favorite season!), figs are easy to find. So I of course had to add some in for a bit of sweetness and they were wonderful. This quinoa salad is awesome by itself, but Dave and I had it one top of fajitas (instead of rice). Hopefully this post will inspire you to make some quinoa :).

Quinoa in a market in Arequipa, Peru.

Cheers,
SK