Quinoa and Broccoli Combo

Tonight, in addition to making my whole wheat pita bread and “chili and pearl barley,” I made a quick quinoa and broccoli thing with peas.  I’m not sure what to call it, but it was quick, easy, healthy and delicious. My favorite combination!

Basically, I prepared the quinoa using the traditional method.  First, I let about 1 and a half cups of quinoa soak in water (in the saucepan I would be cooking it in) for about 30 minutes to clean it off and let some water soak in before cooking.  I don’t think that’s necessary, but I did it anyway.  I drained out the water, then added 3 cups of water (quinoa is a 2:1 ratio grain, unlike pearl barley, which is a 3:1 ratio grain) and brought it to a boil.  When it was boiling, I removed it from heat, covered it, and let it soak up the water for 15 minutes.

While that was working, I put the broccoli in a wok and added some water (about a cup, cup and a half) and olive oil (only about 1 tbsp) and put that over medium heat to simmer for a while.  I made sure I kept my eye on it so that it didn’t burn or overcook some pieces.  When the water was almost entirely gone, I added the quinoa (which was ready) and a can of drained peas.  Then, I added a couple of spices.  I’m not sure what now, but it was just a pinch of pepper and some specialty salt thing my mom bought me a year or so ago.  Anyway, I mixed that in the wok for about five minutes, to combine flavors, and then finished it all off.

All told, it was inexpensive, healthy, quick and tasty.  The whole recipe ended up being enough for three meals or so, and it probably cost me a total of $6, including the quinoa, broccoli and a can of peas.  I think quinoa is so flexible that I could use it for a LOT of different recipes.  I am going to think over this week how I can use it in a fancier recipe to save for that week.