Questions about Quinoa

First off, I purchased it at Wegman's (our grocery store, not a speciality store) in the bulk foods section of the organic food section. I also saw it at Whole Foods, near the rice and couscous and polenta (which I purchased to try another new recipe...that stuff is interesting). I would think that the Fresh Market would also carry it.

Second, you could say it's like tofu, taking on the flavor of what you are cooking it with. I don't particularly care for tofu (to me it's like eating cardboard), so I would say it's like rice or couscous or grits, since they take on the flavor of what you are cooking them in as well. It does have a consistency similar to grits or couscous. Although, it doesn't have the creamy liquidy stuff that grits have. It's almost like rice that is slightly underdone (which could mean that my quinoa was underdone, too).

Also, I did a little research on Wikipedia.

In contemporary times this crop has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete food. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered as a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights."

I might try adding it to stews that call for rice, since it's such a super-food and all.