Quinoa

Funny- my ex used to make Quinoa all the time also haha! I had never heard of it before him (And come to find out now we had been pronouncing it wrong for a very long time LOL). He always cooked it with water or low sodium broth and let it simmer slowly. He bought it at Whole Foods also, and it came with directions (luckily lol) It is intimidating though- especially because there is several different types.

This is an interesting read I found a while ago when I tried to find out a little bit more about how to cook it. I believe the basic principle is a 2 to 1 ratio of quinoa to water or liquid.

http://www.cookingquinoa.net/how-to-cook-quinoa-perfectly/

Have not tried to cook it on my own yet so maybe someone else can come along who is more knowledgeable

I basically treat it like fast cooking rice, however I've found that it's much better if I thoroughly wash it in cold water (by rubbing it together in my palms under running water) to remove the tannins which can make it bitter.

2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa, simmer 15 minutes, let stand 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.

I've used low sodium chicken broth or plain water, but my favorite is water with a low sodium vegetable broth cube per cup of water.

do they sell it at safeway ????

Most supermarkets sell it now, its one of those foods that has been around forever but is just now starting to get more popular (at least in the western world)\

There are a ton of great recipes for it, and you can use it in place of pasta or rice in pretty much any dish
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939 is one of my favs- screw side dish i'll eat this as a main lol

I second the rice cooker!! If you don't have one, I think they're fairly inexpensive. I know some people find them gimmicky, but I adore mine. I cook all sorts of things in it - rice, quinoa, barley, kasha, and not to mention it doubles as a steamer (mine has a small plastic tray to steam veggies). Then I don't have to even think about the grain that's going with my meal while I cook up the rest of it, plus it frees up a burner on my stove.

So yeah - basic idea, two parts liquid to one part quinoa. I like using half water, half stock. Mmm.

do they sell it at safeway ????

Sainsbury's do Merchant Gourmet ready cooked quinoa in microwave pouches, zap for 2 mins. I haven't seen that anywhere else, but most supermarkets will do it raw. You just boil it up and stop when the little tails come out (if you've never done it, don't worry, as soon as you do then you'll know what I mean!)