Keen- wha?

After explaining to my guests that quinoa (keenwa) is actually the thing we all think at first is kwee-no-a and it is a grain--we sat down to eat the meal I had prepared in advance last night. I'm a newbie to quinoa myself, and since the little bag of it has been sitting in my cabinet for months, I thought it was high time to put it to use. I can't take credit for this recipe, but I can attest that it is pretty great. It had a pretty light and summery taste, but the thing I learned about quinoa tonight is that it makes you FULL! I also learned that quinoa looks weird. I have a fairly old camera with not alot of tricks so all the close-ups I tried to take came out all blurry but quinoa ends up looking like little risotto balls with curly-cue hairs. Fear not, it does not in any way taste hair-like! It's flavor is a little like brown rice, but less nutty than brown rice can be. This recipe here has some grated carrots, apples, green onions, and dried cranberries with a homemade apple honey mustard dressing. I let it sit overnight, and I think it was a hit because people went back for more. The verdict: I will definitely be trying quinoa again!
The recipe can be found at http://www.cookingquinoa.net/. The one I made is called Tangy Quinoa Salad with Cider Vinagrette. Thanks Wendy!!