Day 240: Don't Always Do As You Are Told

If you follow the cooking instructions on the quinoa box, you are going to be disappointed.  At least the Trader Joe's quinoa.  Follow this steaming method, from Epicurious.com, and you'll have light, fluffy quinoa that's similar in consistency to couscous and you will be happy!

Place 1 cup of quinoa in a metal strainer in very small holes and rinse thoroughly under cold water.  Boil a medium sized pot of water, add quinoa, and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.  Strain the quinoa.  Place some water back in the pot, bring to a simmer, and lay the metal strainer with the quinoa over the top.  Cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel and then cover that with the pot lid.  Steam the quinoa like that for another 10 minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat, remove the lid, and leave the quinoa covered with the towel for 5 minutes.  Comb with a fork and you'll have light and fluffy quinoa!

Meanwhile...place the zest and juice of one lemon, 1 tsp of sugar, and 2 T of olive oil in a bowl.  Whisk together and when quinoa is done, mix it in.  Season to taste with S&P.

We had sauteed shrimp and sugar snap peas over our quinoa.  This is also very easy:

Coat a large pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Lay down 24 large shelled shrimp in a single layer (do this in shifts if they don't all fit).  The first ones you put down will be ready to turn by the time you lay down the last one, so flip them all over.  Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside, covered with foil.

If you're lucky, you'll have some shrimp fat stuck to the bottom off the pan.  Deglaze that with white wine, reduce the heat to medium low, and add 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Cook the garlic for 2-3 minutes until soft - stir frequently to ensure it doesn't burn.  Add 1/2 pound of sugar snap peas and crank the heat up to medium high.  Cook the peas and garlic for about 10 minutes until they start to blister.  Watch the pan carefully.  If it seems to be too dry, putting the garlic at risk for burning, add another splash or two of white wine.  I added a splash about three times tonight, which tells you how important it is to watch it.

Once the peas are cooked to the desired doneness, add the shrimp and any juiced that collected and mix.  Cook for just another minute or two until the shrimp is heated through.  Spoon shrimp and peas over quinoa.

This was a light, fresh, healthy, easy dinner.  And, my husband asked me right away to make it again soon!  Let me know what you think when you try it!