AVOCADO Gets Freaky with the Queen

     "The time has come for something freakishly healthy," the Voice of My Body has been constantly yammering into my brain.

           "I know, I know..." I keep telling it. "Shut up already. I know. I will! Tomorrow."

          After, of course, I polish off the handsome canister(s) of vinegar Pringles in the cupboard; which, I confess, I have been subsisting heavily on as of late. For convenience's sake, of course.

          This ploy of squashing my Inner Health-Conscious Hag has worked for a while now... (Just can't stop with the junk food these days.) But the morning did come this week when I awoke feeling, for lack of a better term, yucky. Miss Yuck. Big ole' yuckball. That's me.

           And when I turned to my trusty vinegar potato chips for a serving of crunchy consolation (or denial) they suddenly were-- dare I say-- unattractive. Yucky. Just like me.

           So it was time for something healthy. Freakishly healthy. With my spices, I can happily do that. Bring it on.

          Our Trina must've had similar issues-- she joined an aerobics group at her college called 'Butts N' Guts'. Trobee watches Celebrity Fit Club III on VH1 "like a religion!"with a friend. I'm not so ambitious. This week I sought the aid of the Queen.

          The Queen. As in quinoa, a super-grain that is jam-packed full of nutrition. It's great great stuff, busting out with protein, fiber, amino acids (whatever those are), etc. It cooks up in about 15 minutes, just like rice, and is kind of like "a whole-wheat couscous" according to Trobee. What I especially dig about quinoa? It slurps up spices so very well. Spices and quinoa have a dynamic relationship. Spices make quinoa not just edible, but glorious, bestowing upon it flavors to equal its health attributes. It's a marvel to behold.

          So, I merrily extracted this funky recipe from the NC File Cabinet. I love it. And so much can be done with it and to it. Quinoa with avocado, coconut milk and Indian spices?--crazy-cool.

~~ Quinoa is 'correctly'pronounced KEEN-wah, but who cares, really. You can find it in any decent health food section by all the other grains.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

So now let's talk about the avocado.

Even though quinoa is hogging all the buzz for this post, the avocado is what dictates the spicing here. Quinoa, after all, is open to a dazzling infinity of flavors to take on. Avocado is a particular character, even edible by its lonesome. So spicing it was a tricky evolution of experimentation-- though we have it down now.

Notice that it is added at the end after the heat is turned off, giving the chance for the avocado to be warmed n' spiced, but not overcooked.

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And now back to the quinoa. The grains turn out best when they're dry-roasted a bit before being cooked up. Well, that's just dandy for using Indian spices: Ground spices can be easily added with it and safely roasted without burning from direct pan contact, such as with Masala 2.

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Quinoa Avocado Stuffing

• 1 Tb pumpkin seeds or almond slivers
• 2 tsp oil
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 ½ cups water or broth
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp honey or maple syrup
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 avocado, cubed
• spritz of lemon juice

Masala 1

• 1/8 tsp asafetida
• ½ tsp black mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp black onion seeds

Masala 2

• ½ tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder

1. Dry roast the pumpkin seeds or almonds. Set aside.
2. Get out your medium skillet and heat the oil until it's sizzle-hot. Add Masala 1.
3. When the seeds are done popping, add quinoa and Masala 2. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer.
5. Uncover and turn off the heat. Add the coconut milk, pumpkin seeds or almonds, honey and avocado. Spritz on the lemon juice. Done.

photos by Mo Digital and Trobee