What's for dinner?

As sore as I was when I woke up this morning, I managed to get an hour of bike riding in this afternoon. Of course, I forgot to take my camera with me but tomorrow I plan to run again and share the beautiful wilderness that is the Blackwater Valley.

I haven't really been up to cooking recently so I thought I would give it a shot this evening. I was able to find some quinoa at a small health food shop here in Farnborough. I was on a search for it for a while and had looked for it at all of the local grocery stores. Then I thought I'd ask Helen. She had never heard of quinoa, but once I described it, she pointed me in the right direction.

Quinoa is generally considered a "super food." It's packed with protein and all sorts of good stuff. Although it looks and acts like a grain, it is actually a seed. I use it in place of rice or couscous usually. It can be eaten as a side dish to just about anything or you can tip it with chili or pasta sauce. It's so versatile, which is one reason I love it.

This evening, I planned to make some quinoa, and curried tilapia out of some left over curry sauce and tilapia I had bought a while back.

While I simmered the tilapia in the sauce, I prepared the quinoa:

2 parts water or vegetable broth
1 part quinoa, rinsed
salt
1/4 cup fresh herb of your choice (I used basil)
1/4 cup nut of your choice (I used shelled pistachios)
1/4 cup diced cucumber

I used what I had on hand. Since I have a metric measuring cup and nothing else, I used 1 pint water and 1/2 pint quinoa (yeah yeah...dry measurements vs wet ones...but I used what I had and it worked).

Bring the water and salt to a boil. If using vegetable broth, no need to add salt. Add quinoa and cook covered for 10-15 minutes until the seeds split and it looks like it has a "tail."

Remove from heat and let sit covered for another 5 minuted until all water is absorbed.

Fluff with a fork and add the herbs, nuts and cucumber. I have never made the same recipe of quinoa twice. I have used various combinations of mint, basil or cilantro with pine nuts, slivered almonds or pistachios (like I said, use whatever you've got).

My tilapia didn't turn out too well, not bad but not excellent. The quinoa was the best part of the meal. I paired them with some cherry tomatoes but I ate most of them before they made it on the plate.

Looks like I'll be having leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Cheers!