QUINOA SKILLET DINNER

QUINOA
A recently rediscovered ancient "grain" native to South America, quinoa was once called "the gold of the Incas," who recognized its value in increasing the stamina of their warriors.

Quinoa Skillet Dinner
Serving Size : 4

This is one of the quickest dinners around. Everything is in the pantry and ready to go! Just add a green salad for a great meal.


1 cup quinoa
15 ounces tomatoes with green chilis
15 ounces canned kidney beans - rinsed and drained
15 ounces hominy, canned - rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon onion powder1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt -- or to taste


Rinse quinoa thoroughly and cook, covered, on low heat for 15 minutes in 2 cups boiling water. Stir in tomatoes and chilis, beans, hominy, herbs and spices and heat thoroughly. Serve.

It was fun to share the history of Quinoa with my family during dinner! If you have time check it out this Whole Foods website for nutrition and benefits:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142

History

While relatively new to the United States, quinoa has been cultivated in the Andean mountain regions of Peru, Chile and Bolivia for over 5,000 years, and it has long been a staple food in the diets of the native Indians. The Incas considered it a sacred food and referred to it as the "mother seed."
In their attempts to destroy and control the South American Indians and their culture, the Spanish conquerors destroyed the fields in which quinoa was grown. They made it illegal for the Indians to grow quinoa, with punishment including sentencing the offenders to death. With these harsh measures, the cultivation of quinoa was all but extinguished.
Yet, this super food would not be extinguished forever. In the 1980s, two Americans, discovering the concentrated nutrition potential of quinoa, began cultivating it in Colorado. Since then, quinoa has become more and more available as people realize that it is an exceptionally beneficial and delicious food.

Spring/Summer planting time is here! Time to prepare your soil, order your seeds and start your plants.

For some great planting information and a schedule for our area use the link below to get to the ASU extension gardening site:
http://ag.arizona.edu/gardening///news/calendar/index.html

Also, please use the familiarize yourself with their site! If you have questions, they probably have the answer:

http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/

Here are some pictures of my winter garden - the tomatoes are doing great - we did have a little bit of damage from the freezes this December, especially to the winter squashes and the birds (sparrows) have made it to my hit list - all my greens are covered with netting now!

Please feel free to post any of your questions and I will get back to you.

Gluten - Mock Chicken

Everyone in our family loves this "chicken"! Great for sandwiches, salads, "chicken" fingers-dipped in BBQ sauce, breaded, soups, casseroles --you get the picture and SO EASY!

• 1 1/4 cups gluten flour
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. onion granules or powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tbs. light oil (olive, grape seed)
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbs. Chicken Flavored Broth powder (optional - but really makes a difference in taste)

1. Whisk together dry ingredients.
2. Stir together broth, oil & soy sauce
3. Stir together just until combined
4. Pat into 8 X 8 lightly oil pan
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes until completely set
6. Cut into cubes, cutlets or chop in processor to use as chicken salad etc.
   
   Stores 2 weeks in refrigerator
   
   
   

Gardening Newsletters From Erlyn Madsen

Here is a link to a really neat Gardening Site - gardening, food storage and much more. My sister Karen sent this to me.

http://ourldsfamily.com/MadsenGarden/

Hope you enjoy!

Mindi

Bucket Storage and Gamma Lids

follow this link for more great tips http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node

When you store you 5 or 6 gallon buckets remember to stagger stack (pyramid style) your buckets. Over the years, if buckets are stacked directly on top of each other the lid weakens and caves in - just ask me how I know!

Gamma Seal Lids are also a great way to use your product directly from the bucket keeping things fresh and bug free. The gamma lids have a rubber seal that spins on and off making it airtight, waterproof seal that is easy to get into.

I purchase mine at Emergency Essentials. They have a flat shipping rate, so check with your friends and combine your orders!

http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_MS%20L702_A_name_E_GAMMA+SEAL%99+Lid+-+Red

If you have any questions, just let me know

Wheat is not Created Equal!

Okay, so now you know, wheat is not created equal. So many factors come into play when looking for a good bakery quality wheat, i.e. baking breads, rolls anything that would use yeast or making seitan (gluten).

The crop currently available is probably from 2007. Most hard wheat is harvested in the summer months. Here is the question that you need to ask before purchasing your wheat for food storage or baking - Very Important!

What is the gluten content?

Anything less than 13% will not make bread. I won't purchase anything less than 15%. If I am going to spend my time making breads for my family I want it to turn out well without any additives or conditioners. The 2007 year crop has not been the best. My favorite Hard White Wheat - Golden 86 came in at only 10%. In years past I have gotten some at above 17%. Prairie Gold came in at 15% - which is what we purchased to replace what we have used to keep our food storage supply replenished.

Here are to links to purchase bakery quality wheats - keeping in mind that you still need to do your homework before putting in an order......I am waiting on this years harvest of Golden 86 from Walton Feed. Hopefully is will be in the 17-18% area.

http://waltonfeed.com/

http://wheatmontana.com/

Hope this information is helpful. Check back often, we will be adding more tips and information soon.