Cook some food, that's what I'll do.

A few weeks ago I bought some quinoa. Quinoa, for those of you who don't know is a grain that is cooked pretty much the same way as rice. It has a somewhat nutty flavor and a slightly chewy texture. So, I cooked some today and I'm very happy with the results. Here's the recipes I made today.

Cook one cup of quinoa according to your package directions. That should yield about 3 cups. I split the cooked amount in half, and used about 1 1/2 cups for each recipe.

The first is a salad, kind of like tabouleh, but not really. Once quinoa has cooled, add one can of drained, rinsed black beans. Toss together lightly with a spoon. Chop a handful of parsley and a handful of basil leaves. Add to the bowl. Add any chopped vegetables on hand, green or red peppers, tomatoes, carrots. Top with a vinaigrette made with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, pinch of sugar, large pinch of salt, pepper, a few dashes hot sauce, and a few dashes of soy sauce. Toss everything together. Taste for seasoning. Eat cold, and store leftovers in the fridge.

The next things I made were some quinoa patties. There was a recipe in the package, but I kind of threw that out, and made it up myself. First boil 2 small potatoes with 1/4 of an onion until soft. While that is cooking, press or chop a clove of garlic very finely. Mix into quinoa. When onion and potatoes are soft, drain, but reserve some of the cooking water. Mash both with some of the water, then mix with the quinoa. Taste mixture and add salt and pepper as needed. After this has cooled, form into patties about 2 inches in diameter. Dust with flour. Heat a skillet with a generous amount of olive oil. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side. The patties should be golden brown and crispy. These are really fucking good, and would be great with roasted garlic instead of raw. Seriously, they're awesome.