Search Results for “quinoa black bean”

October 24, 2012 by Betty

My kids love going to Costco and New Seasons, our local whole foods store. Do you know why? It’s not for the prices and it’s certainly not for the selection. Yup, you might have guessed it, it’s for the food tasting stations. My three year old, Mei, reminds me every time that they have stuff for you to try. Well, on one occasion, we tried a quinoa black bean salad. After trying a few other versions and tweaking them, here’s my version of Quinoa Black Bean Salad.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups water
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked or 1 15-oz can black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted or 1 cup of fresh corn lightly cooked
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks (save seed content for juicing or smoothies)
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (Optional)
¼ cup Italian parsley
3 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup diced red onion: (Optional)

Instructions:

Put rinsed quinoa, water and salt into pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer until quinoa absorbs all the water, about 12-15 minutes. Then remove from heat, covered and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a big bowl and let it cool.
While the quinoa is cooling, put chopped onion into lime juice and set aside if you’re planning to add onion. If skipping onion, leave the lime juice alone.
Mix together black beans, corn, tomatoes, jalapeno, parsley and oil into a big bowl.
When quinoa is cool, scoop into salad bowl with beans. Add cumin. At this point, add onion with lime juice or simply add lime juice if skipping onion. Mix well.
Add more sea salt and lime juice to taste.
Serve straight from the fridge or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Notes:

If your kids don’t eat spicy, split quinoa salad into two batches before adding jalapeno and the same rule applies to onions as well. If you prefer, 2 Tbsp chopped green onion could be used instead of onion.

Recipe adapted from New Season’s deli quinoa black bean salad.

Do you have your favorite version of quinoa black bean salad or other quinoa recipes? Do share them in the comments section because I love to try more recipes.

For quinoa soup, read Easy Peruvian Quinoa Chowder. New to quinoa? Check out my post How to Cook Quinoa.

How to Cook Quinoa

January 15, 2013 by Betty

Quinoa has become a stable in our family for the last couple of years. You might have read some of my quinoa posts in the past. But if you’re new here, you might want to check out some of my yummy quinoa recipes: Quinoa Black Bean Salad and Easy Peruvian Quinoa Chowder. Since our love for quinoa is a growing one, I felt that it deserves a proper introduction!

Quinoa (pronounced Kin-wah) looks and tastes like a grain, but it’s not a grain? Quinoa is closely related to the spinach and beet family that contain antioxidants, heart-healthy fats, and calcium. It’s also high in protein. It can be eaten like rice or barley, but of course, in a hearty soup or salad, quinoa could be served as a standalone meal.

How to cook quinoa:

The ratio of quinoa to water is 1 to 2.

For example:

To cook 1 cup of quinoa, add 2 cups of water to sauce pan.
To cook ½ cup of quinoa, add 1 cup of water to sauce pan.

Rinse quinoa before cooking. Put quinoa and water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer at low heat until quinoa absorbs all the water, about 12-15 minutes. Then remove from heat. Keep the lid covered and let it sit for about 5 minutes.