Grains, Grains!

We Discover Quinoa
This week I used quinoa (pronounced KEE-nwa or KEE-no-ah) for the first time and am totally delighted with its nutritional benefits as well as its ease of use. It is a complete protein source for humans, in that it contains a balanced set of essential amino acids. In addition, it cooks up similarly to and has the same basic consistency as couscous. I don't have any particular quinoa recipes for you this week (we used it in place of rice for a few dishes, like burritos), but I'll be sure to share any particularly tasty ones I find in the future.

We found it in the dry goods section of Whole Foods Market, which was cool because we were able to get just the quantity we wanted (rather than a whole huge bag of it). It comes in several different forms, but we used the whole grain quinoa.


Bread Machine
I have been thinking lately that I might like to make my own bread, but I was not interested in going through all the trouble of actually doing it. All that kneading and rising--bleh. Enter the bread machine. My mom found some at Tuesday Morning for $40 and surprised me with one this week. What a gal!

To make your mouth water all the more, I should add that it was still warm. Oh my...

The thing is so easy! You literally just measure the ingredients, dump them in, push a few buttons on the machine, and walk away. Two or three hours later, you're enjoying delicious, warm bread that you've "made yourself" (Hey, until that little machine can acquire and add all the ingredients itself, I'm still taking the credit here!). We also discovered some jam and jelly recipes that you can make in the machine, and I'm thinking that a homemade bread and jam combo would make a delightful gift. Any takers? :)

We spent the better part of our snow day this week making two loaves: the whole wheat that you see above, as well as an Italian loaf that filled the house with the scent of warm parmesan, onion, and basil.

So far I have been a little disappointed in how dense the bread is, but I did a little research and found some bread-making tips, as well as a few highly rated recipes that I'm trying out this week. If any of them prove to be worthwhile, I will absolutely share them next week.


Recipes this Week
...were a total disappointment for the most part, but I do have one to share that Michael and I both thought was quite delicious. It's Chickpea Puttanesca, which I found on the Summer Tomato blog. I was not impressed by the other recipes I tried from Summer Tomato, but this was turned out really nice. I used 2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed) and followed the recipe as written. Yes, I even used the anchovies! Caution: If you're cooking for kiddos, the pepper flakes in the recipe do give it a bit of (delicious) heat that they may not fully appreciate. Also, I wouldn't recommend adding salt before tasting; the anchovies gave ours plenty.

Even if you don't try the recipe itself, you have to admit chickpeas as a pasta substitution is pretty stinkin' clever. Try it sometime!


A Note on Posting
I know in my last post I said I would talk about caring for the fatherless, and I will--just not today. I'm still collecting my thoughts and figuring out how to organize my blog in a way that make sense to me, and hopefully to you, too. I think what I'll do for now is post about food on Mondays and then about whatever else I is on my mind on Wednesdays. Two posts a week is about all I can keep up with at this point--and probably still more than you care to read!

:) Enjoy the day!