Porridge, quinoa and cacao have to be three of my favourite things. So when the lovely people at Quinola sent us some of their new quinoa flakes to try, there was no doubt in my mind what I was going to make with them. Not only do I love the taste of quinoa, but it’s high in protein and will keep you full for hours, so it’s a fabulous alternative to oats if you’re looking to spice up your brekkie a little. Plus, almond milk is packed with good fats and cacao is choc-full (pun intended) of antioxidants, so all in all whilst it may look indulgent it’s a wonderfully healthy start to the day! Continue reading
Tag Archives: quinoa
Asian quinoa stir fry
This recipe was inspired by a night of reminiscing (read: being made fun of) about my post-university culinary repertoire. My statement dish was a chicken stir fry. Actually, it was my only dish. I used to eat out A LOT, and when I didn’t, this was my go-to dinner.
It’s a good thing Mr H likes chicken, because it’s about all I could rustle up when we started going out six years ago (and if you ask him about my cooking back in the day he will MOST DEFINITELY tell you about the time I dropped a whole pot of white pepper into one such stir fry, attempted to scrape it off and then stubbornly refused to admit that it had rendered all the food inedible so proceeded to eat it to prove a point, red-faced and nose streaming). My mother will also tell you how uninterested I was in cooking despite her best efforts to show me a thing or two in the kitchen. Continue reading
Chai spiced coconut quinoa pudding
When I was little, my Grandma used to make the most delicious rice pudding in the world, ever. It was so creamy, sweet and comforting, and to this day just the smell of warm rice pudding evokes the most treasured childhood memories. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one – just about everyone I speak to has a story to tell about the time travelling powers of rice pudding. Continue reading
Quasi goreng (that’s quinoa nasi goreng, obvs)
There’s a lovely little Singaporean restaurant in North West London that my family have been going to for years. My grandpa used to love it (he spent his war years in that part of the world) and always amused the waitresses with his vast vocabulary of Indonesian and Malay swear words. Or at least they used to laugh politely. He would order the nasi goreng without fail each time – it was such a big portion he could never finish it, so (being the Jewish mother he always claimed to be) he always told us we hadn’t eaten enough and made us help him out. I don’t think I’ve ever left that restaurant feeling anything left than stuffed. Continue reading
I quinoa believe it! Four ingredient chocolate peanut butter truffles
Most people we know LOVE chocolate. And peanut butter. But quinoa? We’re not even sure half our friends know how to pronounce it, let alone how to use it in their cooking. So we whipped up these incredible little truffles and served them as petit fours at a dinner party this week, but we kept shtum about our secret ingredient until after the fact. The verdict? They received rave reviews – they aren’t at all heavy or sickly like other truffles can be, and the quinoa gives them a lovely little crunch. They are packed with protein (so a much healthier kind of truffle) plus they are so easy (and inexpensive) to make. Our friends are totally converted. We hope you will be too!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp cacao powder (plus a little extra for dusting)
- 4 tbsp peanut butter
Cook the quinoa by boiling it in water for around 12 minutes. Drain off the excess water and pop it in the fridge to cool for an hour. Once the quinoa has cooled, in a bowl combine it with the maple syrup, cacao and peanut butter. Shape the mixture into balls and dust with cacao. Store in the fridge.
Love, Mrs H xx