✓ 2 cups water or vegetable broth (optional) Pinch of salt
✓ 1 cup carrot cut into ½” cubes (about 2 small-medium carrots)
✓ 1 cup quinoa
✓ ¼ cup onion cut into ¼” pieces
✓ 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets, or other vegetables of your choice; you can keep the florets intact or chop into smaller sized bites, as you wish
✓ ½ cup kale leaves (compressed), stems removed, roughly hand torn into approximately 1” pieces (about 2 or 3 leaves)
✓ (optional) ¼ teaspoon turmeric
✓ (optional) 5 or 6 dried apricots cut into quarters
Next, follow the steps to finalize your dish and finally be able to enjoy it!
Soak and rinse the quinoa as described above (or skip this if you wish, as I do)
Put all of the ingredients except the vinegar into a pot and bring to a boil; I love the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric but like the aesthetic of light colored quinoa to contrast with the vegetables, so skip it
Reduce heat to low-medium and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes, uncovered
Continue to simmer until all the liquid is absorbed (allow about 7-10 minutes, less for smaller quantities) or do as I do, just turn off the heat and cover, then expect the quinoa to be done in about 12-15 minutes. You will know that you are done when the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa “grains” (really seeds) show a light colored spiral shape.
If you used the passive method, uncover the quinoa
Mix in the vinegar and let cool down till warm (allow about 20-30 minutes)
Serve in a bowl, possibly garnished with scallions, chopped tomato, and/or parsley or cilantro sprigs. You can add cooled chickpeas if you wish to have an even more filling and healthy bowl, but I like it with none of these additions – it is tasty!
