Just Another Meatless Monday #60 Curried Quinoa

I whipped up this quick and easy quinoa dish for dinner tonight. After working in the yard all day with no children, they were at grandmas for the day, I ran inside to make something fantastic for dinner. I only had a vague plan for quinoa 'something', I let the contents of my fridge dictate what went in it. Luckily it turned out really good because right as we were about to eat our boys came home, hungry and tired. They had just enough energy to eat a big bowl of spicy grains and greens, take a bath and go to bed. I forgot how much they love quinoa, but they reminded me tonight.

The only thing you NEED to remember about quinoa is that you have to wash it well before cooking it. This is easily done in the pan you will be cooking it in. Just pour in the quinoa add some water, grab a handful and rub it briskly between your hands then rinse with fresh water. Repeat this and all the saponins which can make quinoa bitter will be washed away and you'll be ready to get cooking.

Curried Quinoa
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups water
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts
8 ounces fresh spinach
2 ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

pour quinoa in to pan and wash as described above, when finished drain as much water off as possible
add 3 cups of water, curry powder and salt
bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the quinoa is soft and the water is gone
if any water remains simmer with the lid removed to cook it away or simply drain it off
while the quinoa is cooking toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat until toasted, then set aside
wash the spinach well and remove any long stems
wash the tomatoes and chop (small dice)
when the quinoa is done cooking and no water remains remove from the heat
tear the spinach roughly in half and stir into the quinoa, keep stirring until the spinach has wilted
add the tomatoes, walnuts, vinegar and olive oil
stir and then taste for salt and pepper
you may wish to add a bit more curry powder at this point too, depends on how you like your heat

Peace and Love--