Quinoa Black Bean Salad

I have taken the quinoa plunge and enjoyed it very much. I was a bit hesitant to try it as a few of my sisterfriends said it was super repulsive and some have said it is fabulous. It's also $12.00 for a pound at my grocery store. Luckily, I found a 14 oz bag for $5.00 at Jubilee. I also have seen it online much cheaper, so will now be putting in an order. Quinoa is a great food because it is a whole grain and a great source of protein. Unlike other grains, the protein in quinoa is complete, meaning it has all 9 essential amino acids. Quinoa is an ancient grain once considered to be "the gold of the Incas" and was used as a major energy source for their army. Quinoa was nearly wiped out when the Spanish invaded South America. The Spanish made it illegal for quinoa to be grown as a way to control the South American natives. Makes a person wonder what other great foods have been lost to the conquering of the world. More info on quinoa can be found here.

I did use a SNAP recipe this time, which can be found by clicking the title of this post. It basically ended up being a very hot, fresh salsa. It went well with the dried out slow cooker pork roast ( I'm not too good with pork) and roasted potatoes we had for supper last night. I put some in my scrambled eggs this morning which was also delicious.

Changes I made:

1. Did not have any cumin so I used 1/4 tsp cayenne instead.

2. Could not find ground coriander at Walmart so left it out. Really, how often
would I use it anyway.

3. Probably used 4 TBS of cilantro because I pretty much can't get enough of the stuff.

4. Used 2 10.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies added. I should have drained them a bit better as there was a bit of liquid at the bottom.

5. For the fresh green chilies, I chose serrano, because I don't know the difference. As I was cutting them, I told husband that they don't smell hot at all. I then proceeded to use my thumb to scrap out seeds. A few minutes later, thumb was in a bit of pain so I stuck it in my mouth. Yes, the peppers were hot and my thumb still hurts a bit. Moral of the story: if you are a wimp, wear gloves.

Additional info as of 3/11 - This dish gets hotter as it sits! If I made it again, I would leave out the chilies. They about killed me.