This was my first experience cooking with quinoa, and Elliot and I agreed that it's very tasty. The nutty/crunchy bran reminds me of brown rice, but this had both a nicer flavor and a more interesting texture. The salmon was a variation on many salmon recipes we've had in the past, but it was nice. My goal has been to find a glaze/marinade that's not too sweet, and this worked pretty well, though I thought it was heavy on the soy sauce.

Orange Salmon

• 1 lb. salmon fillet
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup honey (I used less)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger

Whisk marinade together. Place salmon fillet in a large resealable plastic bag or airtight container, cover with marinade. Refrigerate one hour.

Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and grease with non-stick cooking spray. Place fillet onto foil and bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. While baking, reduce leftover marinade to make a thickened sauce.

Quinoa Pilaf

• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 4-6 oz. mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried sage
• 1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 quart vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 bunch spinach, swiss chard, or other greens

In a large pot, cook onion, garlic, bell pepper in oil or butter until softened. Add quinoa and toss for a minute or two to coat with oil and lightly toast. Add seasoning and stir to combine. Add broth, simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Add mushrooms, simmer for 10 additional minutes or until most of the broth is absorbed. Add greens, cover and cook for another few minutes until wilted, serve.

These recipes were modeled on the ones I found on AllRecipes for Honey-Orange Marinated Salmon and Quinoa Chard Pilaf. The recipe boxes above reflect what I actually did to make the meal in the pictures. Next time I might make a smaller amount of quinoa since there are only two of us (we'll see how well it reheats) and try using more OJ and less soy sauce in the salmon marinade. We shall see. Quinoa will definitely be a new staple food for this household! Making it reminded me of making a risotto, but with way less stirring, and also less fat, yay!