Marty

Most important thing with quinoa is rinsing before cooking, no matter where I buy it, I always do, as someone posted previously there is a residue on them that can make them bitter and give you a stomach ache. There are a complete protein grain, you don't have to eat legumes with them to get the complete protein mix. Though what I've been reading lately, you don't even have to combine grains and legumes in the same meal, as long as you consume them in the same day. A 3-C rice cooker is a great tool to have in the kitchen too. Put your grains in with water, push a button and phew, done in a flash! I even soak my grains over night, though quinoa doesn't require much soaking at all, this makes grains more easily digestible. I buy white and red and mix them together to cook. The white tend to be softer and the red crunchier when cooked, I like the combo.

I add 1-2 bay leaves, as they help take the gasiness out of the beans, they just don't add flavor I found out in an herb book. I also add a strip of kombu (seaweed) crumbled up while the beans cook. After the beans are cooked I add any of the following: diced carrot, parsnip, slivered leeks, olive or flax seed oil, 1-2 tsp cumin powder, crushed fresh garlic to taste or garlic powder, 1/2 butternut squash peeled, seeded and diced into bite sized chunks, 1 red garnet yam peeled and diced, 1-2 celery sticks diced or sliced, 1-2 tsp salt or Bragg's. I stay away from nightshades (peppers and tomatoes or eggplant because they tend to be inflammatory). The sky/fridge is the limit! When the beans and veggies are done, I puree 1-3 cups of the mixture in my VitaMix (or blender) and pour back into the pot and have a nice thick bean stew or soup. www.dietdessertndogs.com and www.affairsofliving.com both have a SOS Kitchen Challenge, adzuki beans the star this month. Check it out their adzuki bean spreads!

Thank you so much for this vegan gluten-free recipe! I've been searching and trying others that are so-so. One thing I miss being gluten-free, vegan is NO problem!