Quinoa and Black Beans

Alrighty, if you haven't yet experimented cooking with quinoa, I highly recommend it!  Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is a cereal grain that is a complete protein.  It's also gluten-free!  Because of its high riboflavin and magnesium content, it's supposedly good for migraine sufferers.  I choose to eat it because it's a complex carbohydrate that offers up a good amount of fiber and iron.  Think of it as a slightly crunchier, nuttier version of brown rice.  And it takes on the flavors of what you cook it with. 

At first, I wasn't sure about serving up a "crazy hippy food" item like quinoa, but Bo loves it and requests it all the time.  We both love this recipe because it's packed with flavor.   My next goal is to cook it for breakfast as an alternative to oatmeal.

It's definitely a 5 Spooner in our house. 

Enjoy!

Quinoa and Black Beans
1 tsp. vegetable oil                     
1 shallot, minced                        
3 cloves garlic, minced              
½ c. uncooked quinoa               
¾ c. chicken broth
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 (14oz) can roasted, diced tomatoes, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until golden. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with broth. Season with cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir mushrooms, black beans, and tomatoes into saucepan and simmer additional 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Makes 3-4 servings.

The ingredient lineup.

Quinoa looks exactly like birdseed.

Even after you've added the chicken broth and seasonings...it still looks like birdseed.

And now!  Pastey birdseed.  :)

But when it's finished, I love all the colors and textures!