Sesame Tofu with Quinoa

I've discovered quinoa, the ancient, super-nutritious, high-protein grain from South America. I've known about it for a while, but never tried cooking with it until I found a simple recipe in Cooking Light magazine and a box of the grain at Trader Joe's.

I wasn't blown away by the recipe, but I was pleased with the quinoa and plan on using it more often. Here's the recipe for Sesam Tofu with Quinoa:

• 8 oz extra firm tofu, drained and cubed (I just used a whole package which was closer to 14 oz.)


• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds


• Olive oil


• 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (I upped it to 2 cups.)


• 1 cup of uncooked quinoa (I upped it to 1 1/2 cups.)


• 1 Tbsp soy sauce


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Saute the tofu with the sesame seeds in olive oil for a few minutes. Remove tofu from pan and set aside. Fry the quinoa in the pan for a couple of minutes. Then, pour in the vegetable stock and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. When quinoa is finished, toss with tofu, soy sauce, and green onions.

I served this with spinach that I sauted with a little garlic and olive oil. While the dish wan't bad, I thought it was kind of bland. I splashed some lemon juice on it which helped brighten up the flavor a little. Normally, when I cook with tofu, I use a lot of seasoning and I let it brown in the pan. The tofu prepared in this dish had little to no flavor.

I did like the texture and flavor of the quinoa. Cooking it in a rich vegetable stock had a lot to do with the flavor, I'm sure. It was just as easy to prepare as rice or cous cous, so I will plan on using it in future recipes, just not this one. If anyone has any good quinoa recipes, let me know!