"Odds-n-Ends" Quinoa Edition

This week I made a giant pot of quinoa, which was a good idea, because now it is all gone and I'm wishing I had some more. Heretofore I will make it in this larger quantity. There are so many different ways to eat quinoa, and it's so nice to have it on hand for that fantastic vegan-complete-protein energy boost. Instead of using all veggie broth this time in the quinoa prep, I used half broth and half filtered water. I was not sure how I'd be using the quinoa and I didn't want to limit the possibilities with a pronounced savory flavor. Above is a photo of a fantastic bowl I ate for lunch with arugula, cold quinoa, black beans, red pepper hummus and goddess dressing jazzed up and thinned with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil (it was the bottom of the bottle, and I hate to waste any!).

Here is one of Wynne's school lunches. Sorry about the bad photo quality. It was about 6:30 a.m. and I hadn't yet finished my coffee. Wynne is not a vegan, but she doesn't like the idea of eating animals. For all intents and purposes, as it turns out, she's usually vegan at lunch. Wynne says the school lunches are terrible, and from what I understand, she's right. It's a shame our public schools can't do better for our children, but that's enough for another post. Making Wynne a lunch each morning from my vegan leftovers is something I am more than happy to do. You will notice a variation on a theme from Wynne's last favorite meal featured -- tomatoes and chick peas! This time they are mixed into the quinoa with a little touch of veganaise. Wynne LOVES food like this. I also send her a luna bar, some applesauce and an Izze fruit juice soda.

Very similar in content to the first salad pictured, but different in dining experience, is this warm bowl I put together from kale, quinoa, hummus and almonds. This was a very satisfying and filling dinner. Among other meals born of my giant quinoa pot are:

A great massaged kale salad recently featured on Sammy's "Vegan Pandamonium" -- the kale is massaged with avocado instead of oil, and then cooked quinoa is added -- it is so good!

Quinoa "porridge" for breakfast -- I just added some almond milk to the cold quinoa and microwaved it. The porridge was fine, but I was too morning-foggy to think about yummy additions that would have made it delicious like chopped, dried dates or maple syrup, etc. Next time . . .