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June 3, 2015 · 1:00 pm

Quinoa Fridays

eggs sprouted quinoa

So, perhaps you know about my odd oatmeal-with-egg-and-hotsauce breakfast.

I’m still doing it most days of the week (though the technique is a little different). Iris also eats it, but with less hot sauce. In typical three year-old fashion, she swings between loving and hating cooked oats.

A while back, my sister-in-law was talking about her fondness for farro as a breakfast dish. I decided to try it in place of oats, and was pleasantly surprised. It got me thinking… could any grain work? I’d been trying to up my quinoa consumption, and thought this might be an easy way to do so.

Turns out I’m a genius. Or, maybe eggs and grain are just pretty tasty in general. Either way, I’ve now got the quinoa-egg breakfast in rotation, and have declared the last morning of the work week “Quinoa Fridays.”

My husband is amused at how excited this makes me every week. Whatever. Food is my favorite.

So:

Ingredients

1/4 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup water
dash dried, minced onion
dash dried cilantro
one egg of quality
hot sauce

Directions

Pour the quinoa, onion, cilantro and water into a small sauce pan.
Bring to a boil, then turn to a low simmer, cover, and let cook according to directions on quinoa package (maybe for a minute or two less).
When the quinoa is nearly finished, crack in the egg, recover, and cook on very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes (until egg is to desired consistency).
After turning off the heat, let the pan sit covered for a few more minutes. The steam will loosen any quinoa stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Uncover, dash in a little hot sauce, and devour.

Happy Wednesday (Quinoa Friday Eve Eve)

Amaranth & Farro

Farro on the left, amaranth on the right.

Heh – sounds like a hipster band name.

Recently, my sister-in-law was talking about how much she loved farro, and I was reminded of my own history when it comes to varied, whole grains. I was also reminded of how much I’ve been slacking on practicing what I preach.

So, I finally bought farro, and tried out the amaranth already in my pantry. Both take a little longer to cook than oats or quinoa – it’s more like making brown rice or millet. But, they’re easy, and making it simple for me to broaden my grainy horizons.

First, the amaranth. These grains are super tiny and take at least a half an hour to soften to my liking. I think I’ve been using too much water, resulting in a kind of mush rather than a fluffy pile. Oddly, I’ve discovered that mixing the warm grains with salsa and lime juice makes a lovely dip for organic blue corn chips – at least, I find it super satisfying.

Second, the farro. Since my sister in law mentioned she likes it as a warm breakfast cereal, I decided to sub it for my usual rolled oats. It actually works really well as the base for my usual egg and grain breakfast (note: I now drop a raw egg into the cooked oats, turn the heat as low as it can go, and cover for maybe five minutes – one less step). I’ve also mixed it with diced zucchini, summer squash and tomato sauce for the little one.

What’s the point? Culinary and nutritional diversity. I’m not one to cut grains out of my diet, but I do think we might rely a little too heavily on wheat and corn in the typical stateside diet. Further, it’s interesting to eat grains not in a bread or pasta form, but as they are harvested, like little berries to be cooked gently over a flame.

I’m always glad when I try a new whole food. Even better when the food is affordable, non-perishable and filling. This week, it’s amaranth and farro FTW.