Quinoa Deliciousness

I am not sure what to call this recipe other than "Quinoa Yummy-yummy-good" (aka deliciousness). A few weeks ago I made this for a side-dish at a dinner party we attended. I received lots of requests for the recipe, so I figured I would post it here. I have also made this in the past and paired it with a spinach salad and it has stood up beautifully as the main course.

Quinoa-yummmy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs canola oil
• 1 large yellow onion (I like walla walla sweets)
• 2 cups quinoa (rinsed)
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 cup carrot juice
• 2 cups peas (frozen or fresh)
• 6 sliced green onions (white and green parts)
• 1 cup roasted, chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 4-5 minutes (until the onion starts to soften).
2. Stir in the quinoa, 1 tsp of curry powder, 1/4 tsp of salt and cook for 2 minutes - stirring frequently.
3. Add the 4 cups of boiling water, lower the heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, use a small saucepan to heat the carrot juice, peas, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/4 tsp salt for 5 min over medium heat. Add the green onions and pecans - heat for 5 more minutes.
5. Stir the heated carrot mixture into the quinoa - mix thourougly.
6. Eat and enjoy!

Sometimes I think cooking is as much about making something beautiful, as it is about making it delicious. I LOVE the color the carrot juice lends to this recipe - it makes the quinoa a brilliant orange jewel tone. Last time I made this I reserved some of the slices of green onion to sprinkle on top with each serving - they looked stunning against the orange and browns of the quinoa and pecans. Enjoy the beauty and tastiness of this dish. :)