Honey Harvest Quinoa

You probably noticed that I have hopped onto the grains wagon. Haha!! Yeah I have started eating more of these ancient grains and find that it is really quite nice. 

Previously, I had quinoa with garlic, walnuts, shimeiji mushrooms and broccoli together with miso-glazed salmon and I must admit it really tasted quite good with garlic and the works. So this time I found a breakfast kind of quinoa to try. Frankly, I'm a savoury person when it comes to breakfast. It could be the fact that I'm an Asian :P If you look at Asian breakfasts, it is usually pan fried carrot cake, dim sum, bread, noodle with soup or dry, etc etc, yes it all shouts savoury!! But it is ok, I'm still willing to give this a go and see if I like it.

This recipe is from Ellie Krieger's So Easy: Luscious, healthy recipes for every meal of the week. You can see my modifications in blue below. Basically, I modified the recipe into about half as I was the only one eating. 

Ingredients:

1 1/3 3/4 cups quinoa 
2 2/3 1 1/2 cups water 
1 small golden delicious apple, cored and cut into chunks 
1/4 cup dried cranberries  fresh figs, cut into quarters
1/2 cup pecans walnuts
1/2 1/4 cup low-fat almond milk, plus more for serving  
2 Tbsp agave honey, plus more for serving 
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
4 tsp unsalted butter (optional) 

Method:

1. Add the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under the tap; put the rinsed quinoa in a saucepan with the water.
2. Bring to a boil, then decrease heat to a simmer; cover and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the apple chunks and cranberries figs and continue to cook, covered over low heat, until the water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, toast the pecans walnuts in a dry skillet over med-high heat, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
5. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
6. When the quinoa is cooked, stir in 1/2 cup of almond milk, 2 tablespoons honey, and the cinnamon; cook until the milk is heated through, about 1 more minute.
7. Spoon the cereal into serving bowls and top with the toasted pecans and butter, if using.
8. Serve with additional honey and milk to taste.

It actually tasted ok for a change. In fact, the sweetness from the figs and honey didn't really overpower the whole cereal. I like the overall taste though. However, I think it will definitely take some time for my savoury attuned palate to get used to this. It is definitely worth a try for sure. If you are getting sick of your daily breakfast, try this for a change. You may like this!

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs - Ancient Grains.

I'm also submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up - March 2016: Honey organized by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Doreen of My little favourite DIY and Joyce of joycescapade.