You don’t have to sell me on quinoa; my son first informed me of the advantages of the grain. By the way, many advocate that it is a seed and not a grain, but grains are seeds too.
Thanks to his information I discovered that our local university’s agricultural research department is focusing on this grain. The use of this super-food is the fastest growing in the world. The university’s agricultural officials believe that the local Palouse Hills with its nutrient rich, deep, loess soil is ideal for the product. Their research of over a thousand quinoa varieties additionally discovered that the Columbia Plateau of eastern Washington has an ideal micro-climate for the grain.
But I was personally interested in the product due to my numerous health problems including type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and massively high triglycerides, just to name a few. Since I’ve been using quinoa over the past three months, coupled with increased exercise, I’ve lost a total of twenty pounds. During that time my blood pressure has lowered, and my fasting glucose measurement has decreased from an average of 140 down to 90. In addition, I’ve been able to drop my insulin from forty-five down to twenty-eight units. Hopefully, at this rate I may be diabetes free within the year!
Consequently, I was happy to get this cookbook. There are several beneficial recipes with easy to understand instructions. One of my favorite recipes in the Entrees and Sides section is the Quinoa Coconut Cauliflower Curry.
The ingredients for that dish include 1 cup quinoa. 2 cups coconut milk, 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, one-half cup raisins, one-half cup chopped cashews, and 2 cups chopped cauliflower. For preparation it is recommended to mix the quinoa with the coconut milk, grated ginger, curry powder, and cauliflower. Place on medium heat in a covered pot. Add water if it appears dry. When quinoa absorbs liquid and becomes soft, turn off the heat, stir in the raisins and cashews, and add salt to taste.
The authors have divided this cookbook into the following sections: Introduction, Basic Tips when Cooking Quinoa, Breakfast, Salads, Entrees and Sides, and Desserts. One of my favorites from the Breakfast section is the Cranberry Orange Quinoa Muffins. A favorite from the Salads section is the Quinoa Tuna Salad with Grapes.
My only advice is to give the book to a copy editor and resubmit it for publication. There are a few grammatical errors, omitted words, and a couple of recipes have omitted steps, i.e. Stuffed Potatoes. But generally it is a very complete book of beneficial, tasty, and healthy quinoa recipes.