How to Use Quinoa

How to Use Quinoa.

Quinoa is a whole grain cooked over the stove like rice. As quinoa is a great source of fiber and protein, adding quinoa to your diet can be a great way to add extra nutrients. There are a number of ways to eat quinoa. You can eat quinoa on its own, add it to meals, mix it in with foods, and use it for baking.

Method 1 Making Meals with Quinoa.
1. Eat quinoa on its own. Quinoa is cooked over the stove and is usually ready in about 20 minutes. Quinoa has a mild, nutty flavor and can be eaten on its own with minimal flavoring as a snack or lunch. A bowl of quinoa is a little bland, but it can be a good option for a quick and filling meal.
As quinoa does not have a lot of flavor, a bowl of quinoa can be a great meal if you're feeling a little queasy.
2. Make a breakfast or lunch bowl with quinoa. Add quinoa to a bowl and then mix in other ingredients and spices. Quinoa served in a bowl with a fried egg, veggies, a little cheese, and some hot sauce can be a great breakfast bowl. You can add any combination of foods and spices you want to a bowl of quinoa, due to its mild flavor, and have a great and quick meal for breakfast or lunch.
If you're eating lunch on the go, a quinoa bowl is a great option. It is easy to pack a quinoa bowl in a Tupperware container the way you would pack a salad.
3. Stuff vegetables with quinoa. There are many stuffed vegetable recipes, such as stuffed peppers, that require stuffing vegetables with things like beans, rice, or meats. You can substitute cooked quinoa in these recipes if you have quinoa you need to use. Quinoa can add extra fiber and nutrients to a meal, especially when used over heavier stuffings like ground beef.
4. Eat quinoa for breakfast. If you usually eat something like oatmeal for breakfast, try substituting quinoa instead. Add a bit of maple syrup to your quinoa and some nuts for a quick breakfast on the go.
Leftover quinoa can also be used as a cereal. Add some quinoa to a bowl and mix in some fresh berries. Fill the bowl with milk for a quick, easy, and nutritious breakfast.
5. Make a pasta dish with quinoa. Noodles do not have as many nutrients as quinoa and tend to have more calories. Try substituting quinoa for noodles in a pasta recipe. Instead of making spaghetti with noodles, for example, mix your sauce, meat, and cheese into a bowl of quinoa. You will still get the same basic flavor, but without the empty carbs.

Method 2 Adding Quinoa to Other Foods
1. Add quinoa to a salad. If you're having a salad for lunch or dinner, mix a handful of leftover quinoa into your vegetables. This will add extra fiber and protein,making the meal more filling and nutritious.
Nuts are frequently used to add protein to a salad. While nuts are nutritious, they are high calorie. If you're trying to cut back on calories, substitute quinoa for nuts in your salad.
As quinoa has a mild flavor, it blends well with a variety of different dressings and flavor profiles.
2. Stir quinoa into chili. A hearty chili is a great meal if you want something quick and easy to reheat. To add extra fiber and nutrients to a chili dish, mix in some quinoa during the last 15 minutes of cooking time. About two cups is enough for a full batch of chili.
Remember, quinoa only has a mild flavor. You do not need to go overboard adding extra spices after throwing in your quinoa.
3. Use quinoa instead of breadcrumbs. For things like breaded chicken or pastas topped with breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs often add unnecessary extra calories without extra nutrients. Instead of breading chicken with breadcrumbs, bread it with cooked quinoa. You can still follow the recipe more or less the same, but swap out breadcrumbs for cooked quinoa.
4. Use quinoa in a smoothie. A smoothie can be a quick and healthy snack to have before or after a workout. However, smoothies are sometimes not filling. Adding extra protein to your smoothie can help you get full faster, so add some quinoa to your smoothie before blending it. Due to quinoa's mild flavor, it will not interfere with the existing ingredient's flavors.

Method 3 Baking with Quinoa.
1. Add quinoa to a quiche. Quinoa can add extra protein and antioxidants to a quiche. For every eight eggs you add to a quiche, you can add one cup of cooked quinoa. The next time you're baking a quiche, try adding quinoa to add nutrients to the dish.
2. Bake energy bars with quinoa. Combine two cups of quinoa with a cup of whole wheat flour. Then, add any mix-ins you want such as dried fruits, chocolate chips, or seeds. Add two cups of oats, one egg, and a teaspoon of baking soda. Form the batter into bars and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. This will make great energy bars to eat as a nutritious snack throughout the day.
3. Fold quinoa into a cake batter. If you want to add a little nutrition to cake, sprinkle some cooked quinoa into the batter and then mix it in. This will not interfere with your cake's flavor, but it will help slow down blood sugar spikes after eating a slice of cake.
Keep in mind, a cake is not a healthy option even with the addition of quinoa. It is still high in sugar and should only be eaten as a treat.

April 02, 2020

How to Make Quinoa Croquettes

How to Make Quinoa Croquettes.

Quinoa is a protein packed grain that is extremely good for you, especially if you need to derive your proteins from plant based sources. These croquettes are delicious and make a great accompaniment to a meal of steamed vegetables. They are best served with a tasty sauce.

Ingredients.
250 ml / 1 cup quinoa.
500 - 565 ml / 2 to 2 1/4 cups water or vegetable stock.
1 small carrot, finely chopped.
1 small onion, finely chopped.
1 stalk celery leaves or a bunch of parsley, finely chopped.
1 large garlic clove.
1 egg.
65 ml / 1/4 cup wholewheat flour.
65 ml / 1/4 cup yeast flakes.

Steps.
1. Cook the quinoa in a little water or stock in the way that you would normally prepare it (or follow the instructions on the box).
2. Tip the quinoa into a big bowl once cooked and let it cool.
3. Add the carrot, onion, celery/parsley and garlic to the pan. Place over medium heat.
4. Remove after 3 to 4 minutes of cooking.
5. Mix the quinoa with the egg, flour and yeast flakes. Add the vegetables.
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Make small round balls with the mixture, using your hands.
8. Place the little balls into the frying pan over medium heat. Gently flatten them with a fork to form short, thick croquette (patty) shapes.
9. Continue cooking the croquettes until they are done. This should take about 10 minutes.
10. Serve. Add sauce for additional flavor. Good choices include hot sauce, yogurt, garlic or parsley sauce.

Tips.
Note that yeast flakes are rich in different vitamins in the B range. Yeast flakes are a great nutritional supplement for vegetarians, children, people with low immune systems, pregnant and lactating women etc. They can be found in health food stores or the health food aisle of your local supermarket. Do not confuse this with yeast used for baking.
This recipe makes about 12 to 15 croquettes.
Warnings.
To avoid crumbling of the croquettes during cooking, wait until they have browned for at least 5 minutes before attempting to flip them over.
Things You'll Need.
Frying pan.
Fork.
Saucepan.
Bowl.

Maret 23, 2020

how to puff quinoa

How to Puff Quinoa.

Quinoa has long been a staple crop of the Andes region, but only recently made waves in the rest of the world. You may have cooked this protein-rich seed as though it were rice, but it's worth "puffing" it like popcorn as well. This is a quick, low-effort recipe — especially if the quinoa is pre-rinsed — that makes a good snack or topping.



Part 1 Rinsing the Quinoa (Optional).

1. Decide whether to rinse. All quinoa naturally produces bitter substances called saponins. Most companies treat the quinoa to remove most of the saponins before they reach the store, but there may still be a faint biter taste. Rinsing will remove this, but you'll have to wait at least half an hour for the seeds to dry.

If you decide not to rinse, skip down to the puffing instructions.

2. Rinse the quinoa in a bowl. Place the quinoa in a bowl. Fill it with cold water. If the quinoa still contains saponins, foam will form on the surface.

3. Pour the quinoa through a strainer. Empty the bowl into a fine mesh strainer. Hold it under cold running water to remove the foam.

4. Repeat until foam stops forming. Return the quinoa to a bowl so you can watch for foam, then rinse again. The quinoa is ready once no more foam forms on the surface, and the seeds all remain in the bottom of the bowl.

5. Set your oven to the lowest temperature. Set your oven to "warm" or to the lowest temperature setting. There's no need to wait for preheating — just continue to the next step.

6. Dry your quinoa in the oven. Spread out the wet quinoa on a dry baking tray. Check every ten minutes and stir to break up large clumps. Remove when completely dry. This usually takes thirty to sixty minutes.

To further reduce the risk of burning, leave the oven door ajar.

You can move on to the stovetop before the quinoa is completely dry. You'll just have to wait for the moisture to evaporate before the quinoa pops, which can take 10–30 minutes.



Part 2 Puffing the Quinoa.

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. To prevent a quinoa avalanche, this pan should either have a lid or be at least six inches (15 cm) deep. Heat the pan over medium heat.

2. Add oil (optional). Many people choose to pop their quinoa dry for health reasons. If you prefer a crisper puffed quinoa, cover the base of the pan with about 1 tbsp (15 mL) of oil. A neutral-flavored oil such as canola or safflower is a good choice.

3. Add a little quinoa to test the heat. Add a sprinkle of dry quinoa to the pan. If the pan is hot enough, the quinoa should pop within a few seconds. Quinoa does not expand nearly as much as popcorn kernels, but it will turn brown, jump in the air, and release a nutty aroma.

4. Cover the base of the pan with quinoa. Once the pan is hot enough, pour in quinoa in a single layer on the base of the pan.

5. Shake the pan until the popping slows. Shake constantly to even out the temperature and prevent stuck, burnt seeds. Remove from heat once popping starts to slow, usually after one to five minutes.

If you are using a pan with a lid, crack it a couple times to let steam escape. Do this on the side facing away from you to avoid steam and quinoa rocketing to your face.

You can continue cooking to make the quinoa browner, nuttier, and crunchier, but the quinoa will burn easily after this point.

6. Shake off heat until popping stops. As long as you don't smell burning, you can continue shaking the pan off heat for another minute or two. Pour the puffed quinoa onto a baking sheet to cool down once popping stops.



Part 3 Using the Puffed Quinoa.

1. Flavor to eat as a snack. Replace your popcorn with a bowlful of puffed quinoa, mixed with a little salt and pepper. Alternatively, add a dash of chile oil, or a sprinkle of your favorite dried herbs.

2. Add the quinoa to breakfast cereal. You've just made a healthier version of puffed rice cereals. Eat it with milk or add it to homemade granola (before or after baking).

3. Sprinkle over salad or vegetable dishes. Puffed quinoa adds a great crunchy texture to salads in place of nuts or croutons. It also works well with roasted or sautéed vegetables.

4. Use them in energy bars. Make protein-rich hiking snacks by combining puffed quinoa with nuts and other high-energy foods.

5. Mix puffed quinoa into cookie dough. Replace some of the oats in an oatmeal cookie, or add it to any cookie recipe for crunch and protein.

Februari 20, 2020

how to bake pumpkins

How to Bake Pumpkins.

Baked pumpkin is the main ingredient in many popular dishes like pumpkin pie or pumpkin puree. Sugar, pie, and miniature pumpkins are the most flavorful types of pumpkins to eat. If you want to bake a pumpkin, you'll have to cut it and remove the seeds before you cook it. Baking pumpkin makes for a fresher alternative to the canned pumpkin you can buy at the grocery store and is a relatively easy process to master!

Method 1 Selecting the Right Pumpkin.

1. Look for smaller pumpkins. You can bake a larger sized pumpkin but it won’t be as flavorful as smaller pumpkins. Pie pumpkins, sugar pumpkins, and miniature pumpkins are smaller varieties of pumpkins that are better for cooking. Larger pumpkins aren't as sweet and don't taste as good as smaller pumpkins.

Purchase a 3–4 lb (1.4–1.8 kg) pumpkin.

You can ask the pumpkin purveyor to weigh the pumpkin for you when you purchase it, or you can use a produce scale to weigh it.

2. Get a pumpkin that is deep orange. A ripe pumpkin will be a deep orange. This is when the flavor of the pumpkin is at its peak. If a pumpkin is green or yellow, it’s not ripe yet and you should avoid it for baking purposes.

3. Avoid pumpkins that have soft skin or smell sour. If a pumpkin is turning brown, has soft skin, or smells sour, it's most likely overripe. Don't buy pumpkins that are overly ripe because they may taste sour.

Method 2 Cutting and Deseeding Sugar Pumpkins.

1. Rinse the dirt off the pumpkin with warm water. Put your pumpkin in the sink and run warm water from the faucet. Wipe the pumpkin with a dry rag and lift up any dirt that may still be on it.

2. Cut the stem off the pumpkin. Turn the pumpkin over on its side and use a sharp knife to slice the top of the pumpkin off to remove the stem. Cut off .5–1 inch (1.3–2.5 cm) of the top of the pumpkin to make the top of the pumpkin flat.

It’s easier if you cut the top of the pumpkin off instead of trying to cut the stem itself.

3. Cut the pumpkin in half, lengthwise. Place the pumpkin on top of a flat surface with the newly cut flat end facing down. Cut down the center of the pumpkin with a sharp knife to separate it into 2 pieces.

4. Scrape the seeds and the pulp out of the center of the pumpkin. Use a metal spoon or fork to scrape away the pulp and seeds from the center of the pumpkin. Continue scraping until there are no seeds remaining.

You can set these seeds aside and roast them later.

A plastic spoon or fork may bend or break when you scrape the pumpkin.

5. Cut the pumpkin into smaller slices if you want it to cook faster. You can now bake your pumpkin in 2 halves or you can slice it into smaller slices if you want it to bake faster. To cut it into slices, simply cut the half portion in half, lengthwise, and repeat the process on the other half. This will give you 4 slices of pumpkin.

6. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes if you want smaller pieces. If you are incorporating the pumpkin into a dish like a soup, stew, or chili, and need it to be in small cubes, it's best if you cut the cubes while the pumpkin is raw and firm. Take your slices of pumpkin and remove the skin from then. Then, use your knife to cut the pumpkin into 2 in (5.1 cm) cubes.

Cut the pumpkin cubes the same size so that they cook evenly.

Method 3 Cooking Sugar Pumpkin Slices and Halves.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Turn on your oven to start preheating it. Preheating the oven will give the pumpkin a more even cook.

2. Place the halves or slices of pumpkin onto a baking dish. Use a standard baking dish made of aluminum or glass to bake your pumpkin. Place the pumpkin pieces skin side down.

3. Bake the pumpkin at 350 °F (177 °C) for 45 minutes or until tender. Once your oven is preheated, slide the baking dish with the pumpkin slices into the middle rack. At around 45 minutes, poke the flesh of the pumpkin with a fork to see if it’s tender. Your fork should slide in and out of the pumpkin with ease, and you should be able to scrape the soft flesh from the skin.

If you're baking smaller pumpkin slices, check on them around the 30-minute mark.

4. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let cool 15-30 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and lay it out on a flat surface to cool. After waiting for 15-30 minutes, touch the flesh of the pumpkin to make sure that it's cool enough to handle with your hands.

5. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the skin with a spoon. The pumpkin flesh is the soft inner part of the pumpkin that is used as an ingredient in many pumpkin dishes. Avoid eating the skin, as it tastes bitter.

6. Eat the pumpkin flesh or use it as an ingredient in a dish. At this point, you can sprinkle some salt, sugar, or cinnamon on your pumpkin flesh or eat it without any seasoning. Most people, however, will use the pumpkin flesh as an ingredient in another dish like pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie.

You can also store the pumpkin for up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze it for up to 6-8 months.

You can also use the baked pumpkin flesh to make pumpkin cookies, muffins, pancakes, pumpkin spice lattes, or a pumpkin bundt cake.

Method 4 Baking Cubed Sugar Pumpkins.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Turn your oven on to preheat it before you start baking the pumpkin for an even cook. Most ovens will have a beep or light to indicate when it's fully preheated.

2. Place the pumpkin cubes into a cooking tray. Use a glass or metal cooking tray or dish to cook your pumpkin. Arrange the pieces so that they are level in the bottom of the dish. This will encourage a more even cook.

3. Pour 1/4 cups (60 ml) of vegetable oil on top of the pumpkin and toss. Toss the pumpkin with oil to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of your cooking tray. Coating the pieces of oil will also encourage them to brown.

4. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of brown sugar or salt. Seasoning the pumpkin will enhance its flavor. If you're cooking a savory dish, sprinkle the pumpkin with salt. If you're making a sweet dish, sprinkle brown sugar on the pumpkin.

5. Bake the pumpkin for 30-45 minutes. Check on the pumpkin 30 minutes in by poking a piece with a fork. If the fork doesn't easily slide out of the pumpkin, it needs to bake for a longer time. Continue to cook and check the pumpkin until it's tender.

Method 5 Baking Miniature Pumpkins.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Preheating your oven will give your miniature pumpkins a more even cook. Turn the oven on and wait till it reaches 350 °F (177 °C) before you start baking it.

2. Fill the bottom of a cooking sheet with 1⁄4 inch (0.64 cm) of water. Filling the bottom of your cooking dish will prevent the bottom of the pumpkin from sticking to the cooking dish or getting burned.

3. Cut off the top of the pumpkin. Carefully insert the knife about a 1⁄4 in (0.64 cm) away from the stem and cut a circle around it. Set the top of the pumpkin aside because you'll be using it later.

4. Scrape out all of the seeds. Use a spoon to scoop out all of the seeds in the center of the pumpkin. Set the seeds aside and bake them later, or throw them away.[26]

5. Fill the center of the pumpkin with your filling of choice. Popular fillings include ingredients like brown sugar, butter, and stuffing. You can also fill the center of your pumpkin with roasted vegetables, cheese, quinoa, couscous, or even soup! Try different sweet and savory fillings to see what you like the best.

You can fill up the pumpkin partially or you can pack it to the top.

6. Place the lid back on the pumpkin and bake for 30-40 minutes. Put the lid of the pumpkin back on after you fill it and put it on the baking sheet or dish. Put it in the oven and check it with a fork around the 30-minute mark.

Cut the pumpkin open to eat it once it's cooled down.

Things You'll Need : Water, Knife, Spoon, Baking dish, Vegetable oil, Pinch of salt or brown sugar, Water, Butter, Stuffing or filling of your choice.

Januari 23, 2020

how to make flour

How to Make Flour.

Many people may not understand the making flour is a simple process that has been done for thousands of years in a number of different civilizations. The truth of the matter is that you can make it yourself in seconds. Why use that processed flour that's been losing vitamins for weeks on the shelves when you can get fresh flour now? All you need is some sort of grain that can be used as a flour, and a grinding apparatus (such as a coffee grinder or a coffee mill.

Any type of grain, nut, or bean that can be ground (wheat, barley, oats, rye, quinoa, corn, rice, peas, garbanzo, etc.)

Part 1 Stocking Your Kitchen.

1. Obtain your grains, seeds, nuts, beans...something to grind to a pulp. Practically any grain, nut, or seed can be turned into flour. Try exotic items such as quinoa, popcorn, acorns, and peas to the more traditional options like rice, wheat, oats, and barley. Fresh, whole wheat berries, rye berries, whole oats and the like can often be found at health food stores, sold in bulk. They'll be white, russet, purple or amber-colored. And it's cheaper by volume than the pre-made stuff, too!

Know what kind of flour you want to make. Want whole wheat flour? Get whole wheat berries (they don't look like berries -- that's just what they're called). Want rye flour? Get rye berries. Flour ain't no rocket science!

2. If you're going for wheat flour, know what's best for your cooking needs. Each kind lends itself to a different use. Spelt, Emmer and Einkorn grains are on the comeback and are healthy versions of wheat, too. For yeast breads, hard red (winter or spring) wheat is best.

For breads that don't need yeast (like muffins, pancakes, and waffles), soft white is the standard choice. Spelt, kamut, and triticale work, too.

3. Choose your grinding mechanism. If you'd like to spend hours cranking for your daily forearm workout, you're more than welcome. Or you could throw the seeds/berries/nuts/beans in your blender/food processor/coffee grinder and let it do the work for you. If you do use some sort of electric device, the higher powered it is, the finer your flour will be.

The manual mill really has one advantage: It doesn't produce any heat to damage the nutrients of the seeds. Other than that, it just takes a lot of time.

The main drawback of electric mills is that they're just mills and they're a bit expensive (your cheapest one is going to run at about a couple hundred bucks).

The only downside of using a blender/food processor/coffee grinder is that it may not get you the finest quality of powder ("finest" here meaning like small, not of good quality). It all depends on the specific product you're using.

Part 2 Grinding Your Goodies.

1. Place the good stuff into your mill/blender. Make the amount you plan to use right now -- fresh flour can go bad very quickly. Fill the mechanism only about halfway full so there's room for it to blend away.

1 cup of wheat berries should produce just over 1 1/2 cups of flour. For beans and nuts, etc., the same to 1.5x the original amount will be produced.

2. Grind away. If you're using a mill, turn the crank until all of the grain has been processed through it. If you're using a blender, select the highest setting to blend the grain for about 30 seconds. Then turn it off, remove the lid, and stir with a rubber spatula. After stirring, place the lid back on and blend some more.

Your mechanism determines how fast the stuff will grind. If you're using one of those fancy schmancy high-powered blenders (like Blendtec or Vitamix[6]), your flour will be done before you can say, "Is the flour done yet?" If you're grinding manually, well, hope you took the afternoon off work.

3. Continue to crank your mill or blend your grains until the flour reaches the texture you want. You can check on this by sifting the mixture you have into a bowl and surveying it up close. Touch it to make sure it has the right consistency (wash your hands thoroughly first!) and if it doesn't, run it again.

Your coffee grinder will never get the flour to a processed-flour-like consistency. What you may have to do is take the flour through a sifter to get out the chunkier bits and make do with what's left over. It'll still be delicious!

Part 3 Using and Storing Your Flour.

1. Once you're satisfied with your flour, pour it into a resealable bag or container. You may have to use more than one if you've made a lot of flour, but keeping it fresh will definitely pay off in the long-term. And there you have it: ready-made flour for the dough of your dreams!

Keep your flour in a cool, dark place. This will prevent insects and sunlight from doing irreparable damage. If you'd like, place a bay leaf in with the flour to prevent bugs from bugging your flour.

2. If making bulk amounts, keep it in the fridge or freezer. Whole wheat flour will go rancid especially fast, clocking in at only a few months: if put in a cabinet. If it changes color or smells bad (which it won't do when kept cold), don't hesitate to throw it away.

To freeze the flour, just put it in its resealable container and chuck 'er in. It'll keep for years. Just don't forget to use it occasionally!

3. Experiment with your flour first. You may find that your homemade flour has a much different taste than you expected and acts quite differently when cooked (that's because it's super fresh). So don't use it straight away if you're looking for a gold medal at the fair. Experiment first.

Fresh flour gives the yeast more to feed on, resulting in more fermentation activity. This can change the tastes of recipes you have been baking for years. It should definitely change it for the better!

Tips.

Adding a teaspoon of lemon juice for every two cups of grain will help make the flour rise better.

If you're not achieving the desired consistency from your mill, try using your blender too to see if it makes a difference. Even though a hand mill's intended purpose is to grind up grains to make flour, a blender can sometimes get the job done more effectively.

Note that different types of grains contain different nutrients. Do some research before picking out the one(s) you want to put in your flour.

Warnings.

Wheat flour is extremely flammable. Never have flour out near an open flame!

Like other crops, grains can be prone to contaminants and natural toxins, so wash them well before consuming.

Things You'll Need.

Some type of grinding apparatus (flour mill/food processor/blender/coffee grinder).

Rubber spatula (optional).

Sifter (optional).

Bowl.

Container(s) for freezing.

Desember 05, 2019