Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf

This is a tasty and nutritious recipe, and one pot meal. Quinoa is a seed used like a grain from Bolivia that is high in protein. It worked well cooked as a pilaf with vegetables. When we visited family in the UK over the summer I have a fond memory of my Grandma ordering butternut squash and quinoa at a restaurant she really enjoyed it and I loved that she is willing to try new things. Sometimes foods with unfamiliar names can seem intimidating but once you try and learn a few ways to prepare them, you may be surprised to enjoy them and add them to your cooking repertoire.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 of mixed quinoa 
• 3 cups of vegetable stock
• 1/2 a chopped zucchini
• 1/2 a chopped squash
• one carrot grated 
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1/2 a red onion chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• a little Turkish spice blend
• 10 mushrooms sliced
• salt and pepper to taste 

Method:

1. heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the onions and garlic and cook for 5-7 min
2. then add the mushrooms and squash and cook for another 5-10 minutes until soft, add the spices and carrot
3. add the uncooked quinoa and vegetable stock 
4. cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is soft. It will have a little bite and a seed like mouth feel 

This is great to keep in the fridge for snacks and as a packed lunch. I must confess though my kids didn't like this, I think it was the mouth feel of it. Its funny just after I tweeted about it, a twitter buddy in Australia said they wouldn't eat it and he was right. The key with kids is not to worry they won't like everything you cook but its a bonus if they try and you can always quickly boil some pasta and vegetables if they don't like it and who knows down the line they may like it. 

My daughters class got to sample vegetables from the school garden last week, magic and I hope to get another class out again this week. So happy we started the garden and I hope you are able to help with local gardens in your neck of the woods. 

I am attending my first Agriculture conference this week in Durham, should be interesting and I am sure to learn a lot. We plan to get property and start a market garden/ mini farm :-) watch this space. 

Have a wonderful weekend all

Hugs

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