Quinoa or Kinwa, it's the same thing

Quinoa is a hot cereal that I have had only a mild interest in for some years. It can be used as a substitute for rice and couscous in which form I think I first experienced it in daughter Alice's kitchen. We have friends in the temple from Arequipa and they have prepared it several times for us.  Sister Ramos recipe is unlike any I have ever had and would like to duplicate, though I think it is heavy on the butter, cheese, and cream, maybe even having some chicken broth. In any case I have not found anything from Arequipa that I have not thoroughly enjoyed.

Cooked and waiting to cool to put into the refrigerator after
I had a couple small bowls

My experimenting for an alternative to my normal breakfast of eggs fried, or eggs scrambled is proceeding well with the quinoa.  I start with a third full blender of water and add an entire large onion, a rocoto pepper, a fresh tomato or two and let it rip. After everything is blended I add 4 ounces of mild white cheese, also from Arequipa, called queso paria.  If it were a lot stronger it might pass as a feta goat cheese, but queso paria is from the cow. Two cups of water and one of milk are being heated on the stove top and the enitre mixture is put together. When it starts to boil I add a 500 gram package of quinoa and let it cook, stirring occasionally until the seeds become a little softer. I add a little salt to taste. There is enough piquancy with one rocoto that RA does not complain too much. It is easier and faster to cook than rice and of course much healthier.

Quinoa plants in the farmer's field about to be harvested 

Quinoa is not a true grain like wheat or oats, but is more closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds maybe amaranth too.  With the Inca it was esteemed as the mother of grains or "chisaya mama."   It has a very long history, like so many other things in Peru, and archaeologists have found non domesticated quinoa dating back 7,000 years among various ruins.

It is related to other similar plants of the Northern Hemisphere known as 'fat hen' or something called 'pitseed goosefoot.' This crop was important to a number of the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas before maize became the dominant crop though among the Inca of Peru it was second only to the potato in importance for their diet.  It is high in protein 12-18% and is a complete protein, unlike rice and wheat, which is very unusual among plants, according to Wiki. In addition, it is high in iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and a good source of dietary fiber. The Spanish Conquistadores forbade its planting for a time making the Inca substitute wheat in its place. For many years, even centuries, well into the colonial period, it was viewed as "indian food." So important was it to the Inca that the emperor would plant the first seeds of the new crop with a golden shovel. It was sacred to the Inca. Maybe I can find a golden spoon to enjoy our quinoa for breakfast and lunches at the temple.

One funny story I had read elsewhere, in researching quinoa, concerned efforts by genetic engineers to modify the quinoa seeds to remove the very bitter and protective coating on the seeds called saponins.  Through successful breeding and genetic modification strains of quinoa were grown without this bitter coating. It also has a serious laxative effects and some care has to be taken by the processors in removing the saponin during processing.  Several fields were planted for farmers here in Peru and with some amount of expectation with increased profits due to less processing time. A good deal of enthusiasm was exhibited as these GM crops neared harvest.  When the seeds began to change color signaling harvest time, thousands of birds also determining this quinoa had been grown for them descended on the defenseless plants.  One observer likened it to Alfred Hitchcock's movie 'The Birds.' Quinoa remains unmodified today, being the same plant that has been planted and harvested in the Andes mountains and plateaus for thousands of years.

We want to learn to prepare quinoa Arequipa style. I did find twenty+ recommended recipes for this versatile grain on a web site called allrecipes.com