Sean, That’s Glutarded’s official model, is confused…
Greetings Glutards! This week, I am tackling something completely new and exciting in my kitchen. It’s that mysterious grain that has all the hipsters and health food nuts talking. The South American super-grain. The one and only, Quinoa.
So I am sure most of you are like, “What the hell is Quinoa?” Trust me, I was the exact same way. Is it a vegetable? Is it a grain? Why is everyone buzzing over this stuff?
And then came Christmas and I received a great cookbook called Cooking with Quinoa by Rena Patten. The book has tons of recipes and a great introduction that brought be up to speed on this so called “Super-grain”. Turns out, Quinoa is not “technically” a grain. It is a seed from the plant Chenopodium Quinoa. This plant is actually a cousin to spinach. They must have had a falling out or something, because I’ve never seen quinoa come to the dinner table when spinach was there.
Rena states in the book that quinoa is not only a versatile “grain”, but it is also extremely healthy too. It’s chock full of protein, contains all 9 amino acids, has more calcium than milk, tons of vitamins, antioxidants, and is even cholesterol free. All from this tiny little seed pellet? Quinoa is really workin’ it in the health food category. But best of all for us Celiacs, quinoa is gluten free!
So what can you do with quinoa? According to this cookbook, just about anything you want. Quinoa can be used whole as a grain and used in dishes like you would use rice or any other grain. You can make salads, risotto, stuffing, soups, and much more. It is even available in flour form to make breads, pastas, and even sweet desserts.
Where can you buy quinoa? Well I was able to find quinoa grain for my recipes later this week at my local Whole Foods market. Quinoa is also available at Wegmans and in the health food section of most larger super markets. Whole Foods sells white, red, and sprouted quinoa in their bulk section by the pound. I actually ended up tearing my bag as a took it off the scale and spilled the super-grain all over the store. It was hilarious, and I would have taken a picture of the aftermath if there weren’t so may people staring at me like I was an idiot.
So that’s our little Quinoa 101 lesson for the day. I will be making 3 dishes with quinoa this week, including a dessert! It’s going to be…interesting.
What are some of your favorite quinoa recipes? Any tips I should know? Leave me feedback 
Glutardedly Yours,
~Tim
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