Everything I read says I should be eating more whole grains and Quinoa is always as one to try. I like the flavor but the seed hulls never get soft - or at least some of them don’t. Am I cooking it wrong?

Being as I had a nice new bag of quinoa I made a vegetarian chili that uses quinoa instead of meat. This was more successful and I’ll make it again - surprisingly filling and I don’t miss the beef. I didn’t care for the spice combination so much and will change it up next time.

Does anyone have a vegetarian chili recipe they like? Other uses for quinoa?

Steve, I've been making this vegetarian chili for years and everyone always raves about it. It even won against meat versions at an unofficial contest some years back. I use Impossible Burger for "vegetarian burger crumbles" and I sauté the 'burger' with the onions at the start of the recipe. https://www.allrecipes.com/rec...-chili-in-the-world/

Jon has a good recipe for quinoa salad that he posted years ago. It's fabulous.

We really like this vegetarian chili with quinoa. Thanks for the reminder. I haven't made it in a while. It's an Instant Pot recipe, so it would give you an excuse to drag that out if you haven't used it recnetly.

Quinoa, Sweet Potato, & Black Bean Vegetarian Chili.

Nina had a recipe for a Crunchy Thai Peanut and Quinoa Salad. It's really good.

https://well-temperedforum.gro...671094166#3671094166

I really like Thug Kitchen’s quinoa taco mix. There is a photo of the page from the recipe book on this site: https://aminoapps.com/c/vegan/...N73GKgEvEKoLmn74YqZb

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Everything I read says I should be eating more whole grains and Quinoa is always as one to try. I like the flavor but the seed hulls never get soft - or at least some of them don’t. Am I cooking it wrong? ?

Well before quinoa became popular, we were always warned that you couldn’t just use it right out of the box. It was a bit exotic and mysterious, and you were instructed to thoroughly rinse it prior to cooking, due to the presence of “saponins,” a naturally occurring part of the grain that needed to be washed off lest a soapy flavor and possibly indigestion result.

Lately these warnings have disappeared.

It’s only we vegetarian ex-hippies who can apprise you of the backstory these days.

I don't know. I get an organic mix containing it and nuke it for 1 1/2 minutes.

Nobody ever accused me of knowing how to cook.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:

It’s only we vegetarian ex-hippies who can apprise you of the backstory these days.

This is what I call, "generational knowledge." It's why my roommate's mother's baked goods are better than the products of the best local bakeries. Their products are excellent although a little formulaic by necessity. None of her three children can come remotely close to her. She's over 80 and her baking skills will sadly end with her.

I’m back! If you want a quinoa recipe that isn’t a substitute for meat but rather shines on its own this salad recipe is amazing. We have it as a dinner main and with the two of us there are LOTS of leftovers which are amazing for lunches. It definitely feels more like a dish one would expect quinoa in. When mangos aren’t in season we have substituted other fruits - peaches if they are in season but we have even done canned sliced peaches and it works just fine (better than an unripe sad mango anyway). We have also had it without the chicken, with shrimp, and with salmon.


https://www.jamieoliver.com/re...s/blackened-chicken/

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:

This is what I call, "generational knowledge." It's why my roommate's mother's baked goods are better than the products of the best local bakeries. Their products are excellent although a little formulaic by necessity. None of her three children can come remotely close to her. She's over 80 and her baking skills will sadly end with her.

She probably uses ingredients (or creates byproducts) no longer allowed by state or federal food regulations. A family elder (who was a professional chef before retirement) shared in multiple occasions that one (used to be common) way to make baked goods crispy and smell/taste great is to use good old fashioned lard. But modern health (marketing)-conscious commercial bakers don't do that anymore.

As for quinoa, I just order some sort of "warm bowl" from Panera Bread. Most salad places bill it as some sort of "power grain" and more and more commonly I see quinoa on menus.

The recipe Jon posted several years ago:

Salad

¾ cup uncooked quinoa or millet
1 ½ cups water
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup thinly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
¼ cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, for garnish

Peanut sauce

¼ cup smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I love ginger so I used 2 teaspoons)
½ lime, juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

Cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ½ cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool. (Here’s how to cook millet.)
Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce: Whisk together the peanut butter and tamari until smooth (if this is difficult, microwave the mixture for up to 30 seconds to loosen it up). Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick to toss into the salad, whisk in a bit of water to loosen it up (I didn’t need to do this).
In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, shredded cabbage, carrot, snow peas, cilantro and green onion. Toss to combine, then pour in the peanut sauce. Toss again until everything it lightly coated in sauce. Taste, and if it doesn’t taste quite amazing yet, add a pinch of salt and toss again. Divide into individual bowls and garnish with peanuts.
This salad keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for about 4 days. If you don’t want your chopped peanuts to get soggy, store them separately from the rest and garnish just before serving.

My great aunt in North Carolina cooked with lard. I watched her!

Yuck!

quote:

Originally posted by Bernard:
The recipe Jon posted several years ago:

.

That's the one I linked to up a few posts. It's in the WTF Cookbook thread. I didn't know it was jon's; I gave credit to Nina...

https://well-temperedforum.gro...671094166#3671094166

Ever tried feeding the quinoa-whatever-leftovers to a dog?
They sniff, then turn away.
I'm with the dogs on this