Kitchenprovisation (Or, the Joys of Quinoa)

Quinoa (pronounced KIN-wah, not kwe-NO-a) is probably my favourite grain at the moment, and has been for awhile.  Why, you ask? Well, for starters, quinoa is a complete protein, which means that it contains all the essential amino acids in the right proportions for our bodies to use them.  This doesn't mean that quinoa alone is a sufficient source of protein; but it certainly doesn't hurt, given my occasionally protein-challenged diet, if my carbohydrate component is also building up my protein intake.  (Most whole grains, however, do contain a lot of protein - they just may not all contain all of the essential amino acids in a single type of grain).  More practically, quinoa is just faster to make than rice, given I only cook with whole grain rice.  Whole grain rice takes 40-50 minutes to cook, while quinoa takes 15.  And finally, and probably most importantly, quinoa just works in everything!  It's extremely delicious plain, as a side (especially when made with veggie broth instead of water), it's great in salads (a Mexican black-bean salad with quinoa is on my to-do list to try), and it can replace couscous or bulgar wheat in salads like tabbouleh.

And, my favourite application, it's absolutely brilliant when mixed with a tomato sauce.  During the year or so that I'd tired of soba noodles, but hadn't yet discovered amazing brown rice pasta, quinoa was how I got my fix of delicious veggie tomato sauces.  I've made tomato quinoa with shrimp, with black beans, and with chickpeas.  And like most pasta dishes, it's the easiest recipe to make up on the spot.  At its simplest, mix some cooked quinoa with jarred marinara sauce, and enjoy.  But sometimes I like to make my own tomato sauce, which is what I did this week.

My inspiration came from an eggplant.  I was grocery shopping with my roommates when I spotted a GIANT globe eggplant.  I don't eat eggplant very often, but I really like it.  My friend (who's vegan) and I have had conversations about how eggplant can take on the flavour of so many different "forbidden foods" to us, although most people who can still eat those foods will probably thing it's nothing like.  (An example: one of the Thai restaurants in Vancouver I frequent adds eggplant to their green curry.  I swear that eggplant tastes like the elephant ear doughnuts they have at the PNE, although I couldn't tell you why.)  So I decided it was time to experiment with eggplant again.  The next morning, I got up, opened my fridge and cupboards, and started concocting a sauce.

I started with the eggplant.  I used half of it, which I peeled, chopped into 1/2-1" cubes, and tossed with olive oil, basil and oregano.  This I roasted for 15-20 minutes in my GIANT toaster oven at 400°F.  Meanwhile, I sauteed a large onion and two carrots, both of which I'd finely sliced, in a skillet.  Near the end of the sauteing time, I added three cloves of garlic.  When the eggplant was done, I left the toaster oven on and roasted a red pepper, whole.  (To roast a red pepper, just put it on a thin tray, and rotate it every so often so that the skin is blackened and starting to bubble all around the pepper.  Then place the pepper in a bowl and cover for 5-20 minutes.  The skin should separate from the flesh and be easy to remove).

In the meantime, I cooked the quinoa.  Quinoa should be rinsed before cooking: it removes some bitterness, and while not essential, it does make for a slightly better dish.  I use a fine-meshed sieve that I have on hand for baking.  The process for cooking quinoa is the same as rice, aside from the time involved - 1 part grain to 2 parts water, bring to a boil uncovered, then clap a lid on the pot and turn heat to low.  Cook for 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork and let sit for a few minutes.  (If making quinoa just as a side dish, try replacing the water with broth).

Back to my sauce. My onions and carrots were still cooking and the pan was crowded, so I sauteed half a green pepper in the bottom of a large sauce pan.  Near the end of the cooking time, I added the roasted eggplant and let it sauté a bit longer as well.  Then I added one chopped tomato (all we had in the fridge), a 14-oz can of stewed tomatoes (coarsely chopped), a can of chick peas, and a bunch of frozen corn (I really like corn).  I also added the sauteed carrots and onions, and the peeled-and-chopped roasted red pepper.  I simmered the sauce for a bit and added some dried oregano, basil, and rosemary.  (I adore rosemary in a tomato sauce.)  Once the sauce was hot, I mixed in the cooked quinoa, and voila!  Delicious.  I recommend topping with some Parmesan cheese, or some nutritional yeast, depending which you can eat.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Dinner at my house, so I'm hoping over the next week or so to share some of my favourite old and new holiday recipes!!!  Happy Holidays everyone!