Curry Quinoa

I stumbled upon this recipe as a means to use up some excessive squash my garden was producing.  I had given away zucchini and squash, but as you know, there are still more that come.  Because I love both quinoa and curry, this mixture was sure to win big.  I doubled the recipe below so there would be left overs to take to work.  What I like most about curry dishes is the longer it sets (to a point) the better the flavors are.

Curry Quinoa

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock, divided
• 1/2 zucchini
• 2 carrots
• 1 round yellow squash
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 small purple onion
• 8 slices of ginger, minced
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 TBSP red curry paste

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear, drain and transfer to a medium pot.
2. Add 2 cups vegetable stock and 1/4 tsp. salt to the pot and bring to a boil.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, prep the veggies for the curry.  Chop zucchini, carrots, squash, bell pepper, and onion evenly in size.
4. In a separate pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable stock. Once pan is heated, add the onion.  Sauté the onion until fragrant and then add the vegetables except for the ginger.  Let cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the coconut milk, curry paste, and ginger, stir, and cook on medium heat with lid on until completely warm.
6. Remove from heat and transfer into quinoa pot and mix well.

variations:

•  add 1 cup frozen then thawed peas in with the vegetables
• add 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro in with the ginger

Serves 4

adapted from THE CHINA STUDY COOKBOOK