Hola mis amigos!!
I was going to make this over the weekend but I wanted sunlight for photos. I had work to do for a client on Saturday and then church on Sunday so I wasn’t able to carve out time to cook. But I actually had a great weekend – church was awesome, the preaching was great, I got to wear my new shoes that I’d been trying to find online for months, I had a great fitting appointment with aforementioned client, and then I went for a concert in the park with my friend after which we watched Ant Man. And I managed to get more than five hours of sleep on average! This may not sound like a lot to you but I have a bad habit of not getting enough sleep for one or two weeks at a stretch and then needing to catch up later.
So, back to the pudding…
I came up with the idea while driving. I randomly thought of rice pudding which I really like, and tapioca pudding which I also like – I get it from Trader Joe. I wanted something creamy but with a bit of texture. Comforting but not too heavy. I used to dislike quinoa – yeah, yeah, powerfood, blah, blah – but about a month ago I had a quinoa salad that changed my mind.
Ever since then, I’ve been eating more of it. Not a whole lot, but more. In any case, I thought “Why not use quinoa” and the idea was born. I’ve also been drinking coconut milk instead of regular milk at home. Why?? I bought some for the vegan strawberry cupcakes and had some remaining. I like that it is thicker than almond and soy milks which is why I have been using it in recipes.
So I woke up yesterday morning, went to work out, and had the pudding cooking while I got ready for work – it is really that simple. And mannnnn did it taste good!!!! I scraped the bowl clean – almost took a picture of it but didn’t want to embarass myself. Yet, here I am confessing.
Get the ingredients ready – quinoa, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and coconut milk.
Rinse the quinoa until the water runs clear. This is important! So make sure you measure out a smidge more than you need to account for loss in the washing process. Use a fine mesh strainer to drain the water.
Put it all in an adequately sized saucepan, then put it on the stove at medium until it is boiling. Then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring periodically
Allow to cool. Garnish and serve.
See how simple it is? Crazy. I will be making more. The thing is it’s a sweet pudding so don’t tell yourself “ohhhh it’s super healthy because it has quinoa and coconut milk”.
I didn’t send you o! I have told you now – it has sugar – a few blackberries does not make it fruit salad. Ha! Eat this when you want something a bit filling and sweet. It is healthy enough – just not a salad (not that all salads are healthy)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed and scant
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 3/4 cup coconut milk
- A pinch of kosher salt
Directions
- Rinse the quinoa until water is clear. Use a fine mesh strainer or colander to drain the water
- In a pot, combine all ingredients and set on medium heat until boiling
- Lower the heat, and allow mixture to simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Turn off the heat, allow to cool
- Serve and enjoy
Happy Hump Day!!! God Bless y’all!
