Multi cultural quinoa

So it is obvious that I am really bad at maintaining more than one blog at a time, as is made evident by my 5 or 6 blogs that get updated basically never. I am, however, going to keep trying this one. I just have been pretty busy over the last month or so, and haven't cooked as much as I'd have liked. I HAVE cooked things I wanted to blog about, but being basically unemployed and lazy (I think the 2 become synonymous, after a time) I just haven't been motivated to sit down and write them out. So, here we go again.

I recently (as of yesterday) discovered quinoa, which is a pretty kickass little grain. It is, apparently, a great source of protein, and provides all of the essential amino acids, which is apparently of concern to people who don't eat meat. I bought an organic, 4lb bag of it at Costco for about 9 dollars.

I don't know what I'd call this little recipe--maybe Mexican/Indian/Peruvian quinoa. Whatever it is, it was tasty, so here you go. I realize that the picture is one sorry assed depiction of this dish, but I sort of took it as an afterthought. Here is what you need:

1 c of Quinoa
2 c of water
3 tsp of cumin, divided
2 tsp of coriander, divided
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp tumeric, divided
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
Diced cilantro
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
salt
black pepper
1tbsp olive oil
Arcade Fire, Album: The Suburbs

Quinoa takes about 15 minutes or so to cook. You basically cook it the same way as rice. I neglected to cover the pot, so the water was pretty much gone before it finished cooking, so mine was a little more coarse than what is normal, which I actually didn't mind. Once that gets cooking, add 1.5 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp coriander, and 1 tsp tumeric, and salt to taste. Once your quinoa has cooked for a while, you can taste it and see if you feel like you want more flavor, and add more spices accordingly.

So while your quinoa is cooking, saute your garlic, olive oil, and red bell pepper. If you like onions, I feel like adding half or a whole minced onion to this would be a good idea. I was going to do it, but thought of it too late. In that case, I'd probably up the quantity of your spices. Once your bell pepper gets to the consistency you like, add the beans and the corn. Then add the rest of your spices, 1.5 tsp cumin, 1 tsp tumeric, 1 tsp coriander, and salt and pepper to taste. I just let that cook until the quinoa was ready.

At that point, I just dumped the corn-bean-pepper concoction into the pot with the quinoa and mixed it. I think if you were trying to create a more ascetically pleasing look, dishing the quinoa first, and then topping it with the corn and beans would look nicer. It was just me and my friend Adam, so I really didn't give a damn. Top with chopped cilantro, as much as you like for taste.

I think the ideal way to eat this meal, is actually to eat it the next day. I reheated it for lunch today, and it tasted about twice as good, which is what I find to be the case with most Indian food I make.