Quinoa?

Que?

While at Trader Joe's, they had quinoa featured on a display at the end of an aisle. It was labeled as gluten-free so I decided to buy it (a good reason, I know.) The food was featured in some of my gf books, but it never jumped out at me as a staple for my pantry.

Apparently this is my quinoa weekend! I bought it on Friday night and then had it as part of my Chicago Diner dinner. I'm currently watching "The Next Food Network Star" and one of the contestants made a dish with quinoa, which is a protein. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is quite good! Find more on this food here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

For a late lunch, I made Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa, Peppers and Basil (recipe courtesy of the Quinoa box). I have noticed a marked improvement in my knife skills! I was able to get the peppers and onion really thinly sliced. Having more confidence (and breaking out my new knife) seems to be the key. (Okay, and watching Eliot show me how to properly cut a pepper helps a lot, too...) Preparing the quinoa was interesting. You have to rinse and drain it first. I have never had to do that before. Thankfully, my strainer was JUST small enough to let me rinse the quinoa without loosing any. When draining, the quinoa felt like wet sand. After cooked, it was fluffy and a really welcome alternative to rice or pasta. The rest of the recipe was easy since I have become a pro at cooking chicken and vegetables. This was a really easy dish to create and a very healthy lunch. I plan on cooking with quinoa more in the future.

Does anyone have good quinoa recipes?