Quinoa is a super nutritious grain, chock-full of protein and fiber. The nutty flavor and slightly crunchy texture make it unique, either as an ingredient in a salad or casserole, or as a hot breakfast cereal. It cooks more quickly than most other whole grains–just 12 to 15 minutes–an important fact to remember to maintain the crunch. Enjoy the following recipe for one of my favorite ways of cooking and savoring quinoa.

Ingredients:
2 parts water to 1 part Quinoa
Grilled eggplant
Grilled peppers
Basil
Garlic
Feta cheese
Kalmata olives
Roasted pine nuts

To prepare:

• Bring water to a boil, add quinoa, turn down heat to simmer for 12 – 15 minutes. When the grains are cooked, add a bit of garlic infused olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.
• Rub the veggies w/ garlic infused olive oil, place under the broiler for 3 – 5 minutes, on both sides. Of course you can grill other favorites such as tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus…
• Chop the basil and garlic.
• Crumble the feta.
• Chop the olives in half.
• Mix it all up gently (cooked quinoa is fragile!), let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Then…

• Place the pine nuts in a non-stick pan, cook on low, constantly stirring to prevent burning; add these right before eating (so they do not become soggy!).

Note: Pine nuts are fabulously rich, adding not only a divine flavor to this or any dish, but are also a good source of mono- and poly- unsaturated fats and protein.

Enjoy!