quinoa

i had heard my friends talk about quinoa for a couple years, but had never tried it until rutabegor'z a couple weeks ago. and i loved it! so when we saw it grocery shopping this week, we bought a bag, and i immediately cooked some up according to the instructions on the bag. it came out a little bitter, but while it was cooking, i'd been researching possible recipes with quinoa online. it was "too late" for most of them, since the ingredients were supposed to be added before the boiling part... so i made it up. i didn't want to try to add just salt to the already-cooked quinoa, but i wanted it a little salty, so i added some soy sauce. better. how about a little sweet? i've always loved the salty/sweet combination. so i drizzled on some honey. chopped up some dried fruit & nut mix we had in the cupboard and stirred it all together. served it warm on top of thinly sliced apple and a bed of spinach (balsamic vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper for dressing). it was SO GOOD. i wanted to eat it every day. and my husband is left wondering where his wife went (salad? you want salad?? ok!!). i think i just enjoyed it so much because i got to be creative. and it worked - it was yummy (sometimes "creative" doesn't turn out so well with food ;)

 that wasn't really a "recipe", per se. if you want actual measurements, let me know, and i'll approximate for you ;)

joey's version: i kept everything separate, and cooked the spinach. surprisingly, he ate some of everything - and even said "I LIKE quinoa!" winner in my book!