Halloween Hootenanny

     I love a culinary challenge.  Difficult recipe?  Bring it on!  Hard to find ingredient?  Let me go searching!  Special dietary needs?  You betcha!  It is for this reason that I especially love cooking for those of my friends who do have special diets.  Whether they be vegan or lactose-intolerant, I will cook and love it!  It is doubly rewarding because I know it is a little more difficult for them to find food that match their needs.  When I can be the provider of that food, I feel like a good chef and friend!
     So what was my culinary challenge this time?  Cooking for a friend who has difficulty with gluten and dairy, amongst other things.  Fortunately, the solution was simple and came from one of my favorite cookbooks of all time; Mark Bittman's How to cook everything.  And what was that solution, you may be asking?  Why, quinoa pilaf, of course!
     Quinoa (pronounced "keen wah") is amongst the most delicious and nutritious of grains out there.  It does not have any gluten in it and has more protein than a lot of other grains.  It is so nutritious that NASA scientists are experimenting with growing it in their "Controlled ecological life support system."  Check it out at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-632.html . 
     I also happen to love quinoa.  I was first introduced to it by my fiance, then boyfriend, Scott.  We would use it a lot in our stir fries as an alternative to rice or cous cous.  I quite enjoyed it from the get go.  I always thought it kind of tasted like a rice/cous cous combo and yet had a unique taste all of its own.  The only difficult part of working with it is the need to wash it ahead of time.  The seed (for that is what you eat) is covered with saponins (soapy chemicals) and so would taste quite bitter without washing.  It is a bit difficult to thoroughly wash something that is not much larger than a grain of sand, but we have found a way.  I know friends who don't wash it at all and say that they do not notice a difference.
     Anyways, onto the recipe:

QUINOA "PILAF"
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. peanut or olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion or leek
1 cup quinoa, rinsed in several changes of water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 3/4 cup chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water, warmed


1) Place the oil in a medium-to-large, deep skillet and turn heat to medium. A minute later, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.


2) Add the quinoa and cook, stirring, for a good 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the liquid all at once.


3) Cover and cook until the quinoa is quite tender, about 15 minutes. If all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is not tender, add 1/4 cup water and continue to cook until tender. If any liquid remains, remove the lid and raise the heat a bit; cook, stirring, until the liquid evaporates.



Quinoa "Pilaf"

     The verdict?  Delicious, of course!  I have been wanting to try this recipe for ages.  It is very easy and cooks up wonderfully!  I made twice the amount since I was bringing it for a potluck.  I used an onion and a half, roughly chopped.  I cooked it in olive oil and used chicken stock as my liquid.  The new skillet that I bought over the summer was perfect!  It cooked up hot and delicious and was a hit at the party.  Well, people enjoyed it at least!  :-D