My Keen DadMy Pop is a pretty trendy fella, I must say. He's about as swankified as a Dad can be, so I shouldn't have been surprised when he invited us over for quinoa (KEEN-wah), which seems to be having another round of popularity these days. Chris and I had an unsatisfactory quinoa experience last year, but we readily agreed to try it again, especially if it meant a night off from making dinner. Well, my Pappy did it again. He changed our minds about quinoa while entertaining us with his joke of the day and witty take on current events. He also served up some tasty General Tso's Chicken Skewers and the first morels of the season! If you want to try making quinoa, I highly recommend Dad's recipe.
Quinoa with Walnuts & Raisins

In case you're wondering what the heck this quinoa stuff is, it looks like a cross between oatmeal and wild rice when cooked. It is a crop Native to South America. It contains a very high content of protein, is gluten free, and considered easy to digest. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus, and is high in magnesium and iron. 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 space flights. It's a pretty complete food overall.