Breakfast in Bolivia

For today's breakfast, I tackled the intimidating stash of quinoa that has been living in my pantry since my forays into vegetarianism a few years go. Relatively high in protein (6g per 1/4c serving) for a grain, Heidi Swanson's recipes make it sound delicious and somewhat approachable. I decided to start off the day with an interesting oatmeal replacement:  Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa.


The quinoa I used is red quinoa from the Anapqui cooperative in Bolivia and is USDA Organic and Fair Trade, distributed by Alter Eco. After visiting coffee cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico, I am really supportive of this kind of deliberate consumption. By providing fair wages, fair trade provides farmers an alternative to losing most of their income by selling at a low price to corporations or losing their lands altogether because they are unable to support themselves on it. Large agro-business is strong in Latin America, especially due to the lack of legal protections for many farming and indigenous communities. It may seem like a small thing, but an extra dollar of income means a lot to people in underdeveloped nations who are dependent on income from farming. (I am not affiliated with Alter Eco Fair Trade or the Anapqui Cooperative.)

I also took this opportunity to repackage my red quinoa as well as an open bag of regular quinoa (also organic) into airtight containers. We've had some problems with mice. They've mostly gotten into my roommates things, and only got into two packages of spaghetti for me. I'm trying to get better about keeping things sealed. I've mostly been tossing open bags of things into plastic shoeboxes, but I'm running low on those and it makes it hard to find things as I need them.



I made a couple of changes to fit my "what I have in the pantry" guidelines, but mostly just followed the recipe. Because it's just little me, I thirded the recipe (which, according to Heidi, was initially 4 servings). My 1/4 cup measurer parted ways with its handle, so until I reunite them or find a new set of cups I like, I'm stuck. I also didn't have milk, but have plenty of heavy cream, so I substituted part of the milk with cream and the rest with water. I just guesstimated on the pecans, cinnamon, and agave nectar. Basically, here's what I ended up with:

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa with Blackberries

1/3 c. quinoa
1/3 c. water
1/6 c. heavy cream + 1/6 c. water (eyeball it)
Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer for 15min, until quinoa has absorbed the liquid.

Meanwhile, toast some walnuts in toaster oven for 6min at 350. Wash those sad looking blackberries that have been in the fridge for 2 weeks but are miraculously edible. 

Put the quinoa in a bowl, mix in a dash of cinnamon and 5-6 blackberries. Top with toasted walnuts and a generous drizzle of agave nectar. Nom.

It ended up being a bit much for me so I probably should have stuck with the 1/4 cup servings, but I have a little bit in the fridge (sans blackberries) for a snack later. I'll see how well it microwaves.

A New Beginning

The last few years have been difficult for me, to say the least. I feel that I have come a long way despite (or because of?) that struggle. Now I stand on the brink of adulthood, with so much yet to learn.

My main goals are intertwined:
They all boil down to one thing anyway: Get Healthy.
1.) Reduce Stress
2.) Unclutter
3.) Get my budget under control.

I feel like these are all general things that everyone strives to be better at. For me, however, each of these three struggles are thoroughly intertwined. They are knotted into a mess of chaos that control my life, my body, my mind. I think I'll never truly be able to free myself from the burden of panic and anxiety if I cannot combat some of the self-replicating symptoms thereof.

There are probably a billion and one things I could aim to do, but some seem more pressing right now than others.

I need to clean house. Physically, literally, down and dirty. I have too much STUFF. It is perhaps typically American, or even more typical of a just-barely-middle-class life trying to pretend to be something more. I'm deathly terrified of losing something. Deathly terrified of being without. I've had a hard time letting go my whole life. Of anything. It was easier letting go of people - they walked out with an almost predictable regularity. Sometimes I think that's why I don't want to let go of the things. At least they're constant. Permanent.

So here we go. A purging. A 7 day miracle.

And on top of it? No shopping. No purchasing. Somehow I can rationalize kitchen gadgets, housewares, "useful" things. And barring that - food. I have enough food stockpiled for a large family - let alone little old me. I don't eat that much.

So... I'll join Angela Barton in her January Pantry Challenge. Her rules are fairly straight forward, but I'll shake them up a little to fit my current pantry situation and my own needs/abilities.

1.) Make do with less than the best. Buy only fresh produce I do not have a substitute for. (i.e. frozen spinach, onion flakes, powdered garlic, canned tomatoes).

2.) Make It From Scratch. Bake my own bread, muffins, bagels, english muffins, pizza crust, etc. I have enough flour to feed an army. It's time to use it.

3.) Experiment with What You Have. Use up: Pasta, Beans, Quinoa, Flour, Barley, Oats, etc. The main challenge will probably be the steel cut oats, which are great for breakfast, but not easily substituted for rolled oats in other recipes (at least as far as I know now....). I'm also trying to figure out how I ended up with 3 different packages of quinoa.

4.) Scavenge. Use only meat from the freezer, until it's all gone.

5.) Love People: Feed Them Tasty Food.  I have more than enough food, and being with friends in my own space helps my mood quite a bit. Plus, I don't have to pay to go out. I love cooking so I might as well make big batches and a big deal out of it.

6.) Travel. Well, sort of. I can't afford real travel right now so I'll travel culinarily. Russian, German, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Hungarian, Indian, Latin American... I have the spices to do it. I'll try to see how many different dishes I can make from the same base ingredients. Plus side is this should help use up some of the exotic ingredients I've been hording.

7.) Share the Wealth. That is, write about it. This serves triple duty: Keeps me honest, gives me a topic to write about daily (maybe break through some writer's block), and serves as a cathartic release. As much as I'm sure my facebook friends love hearing about my cooking, I think this is a better outlet. :) It should be interesting to look back on what I've learned along the way, maybe how I've grown.