More quinoa

Wow.  Last new post was on March 19th.  Sorry about that!  As you may recall from either knowing me or from this post, there are a few big changes going on in my life right now (in a good way!).  So I've been mildly distracted.

Despite my overflowing proverbial plate, a girl's gotta eat.  So here is a tasty item to put on an actual plate:  warm tomato-basil quinoa.

This recipe was given to me by my "aunt" at my wedding shower.  The shower was kitchen-themed - very appropriate!  - and each guest was to bring their favorite recipe.  I now have all of those recipes in a binder and refer to it often.  Genius idea - thank you, Sara and Michaela.

Quinoa is lovely with Asian-style dressings or served cold, as this previous quinoa post demonstrates.  But you may not realize just how savoury and delicious it can get with the right ingredients.

Like basil:

garlic:

(Yes, the freeze-dried stuff.  This little bottle came in very handy during my month in the wilds of Labrador.  It tastes just like the real thing.)

mushrooms:

and tomatoes:

Now do what you know you want to do and fry up that garlic in some butter:

Obviously, the next step is to add the mushrooms (garlic-butter-fried mushrooms is my new number one crave):

Meanwhile, your quinoa has been bubbling away in vegetable broth (1 part quinoa to 2 parts broth).  The quinoa brand you buy will have cooking instructions on the package.  When it's time to remove the quinoa from the heat, toss in the sauteed mushrooms and fresh, diced tomatoes, like so:

Now, cover and let stand for about 5 minutes.  To finish the dish, you need to add a generous handful of fresh basil, lots of fresh-ground black pepper (use some elbow grease) and a good solid 1/2 cup of freshly-grated parmesan cheese.  Or a full cup if your hand 'slips' while grating it.  Mix it all up, and then settle down with a big plate of your newest comfort food.

It's there for a good time, not a long time:

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as I do.  It's a staple in the wedding-shower binder.  Thank you Aunt Clair, for the great addition!