Quinoa and Veggies

quinoa and all the veggies in the fridge

For lunch today, I scoured the fridge and pantry, and, for the life of me couldn't figure out what to eat. I kept thinking, "there's nothing, and I don't want to go to the grocery store..." So, I reminded myself to think outside the box from my every day ideas, and I grabbed the box of quinoa (Peruvian seed that's low in fat, but high in protein and lots of important vitamins and minerals) off the shelf.

I peeled and chopped one carrot, one medium red pepper, one chili pepper, half of a white onion, two cloves of garlic, and tossed them in a pot with just a little olive oil.

After about two minutes on a medium high flame (I just wanted to bring out the flavors a little, not really cook anything through), I added one cup quinoa, one cup water, one cup veggie stock, a little ground mustard, allspice, salt and pepper. I brought this to a boil, then turned the flame to low, covered, and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Then I remembered how awesome couscous is with golden raisins and almonds, so I chopped a handful of each, and tossed them in.

There was so much flavor from all the veggies, and then little bursts of sweetness from the raisins. The only part I would change were the almonds, they were just a little too crunchy, so I would either, cook them longer, leave them out, or add flax seeds instead for a little nutty flavor.