Quinoa: all the cool kids are doing it

Tightwad has been diggin' quinoa ever since she was at a friend's house several years ago and had a delicious mesclun green salad with chilled quinoa, which had been cooked like stovetop popcorn.

In Peru, quinoa has been revered for over 3,000 years. North Americans are just catching up to this little seed (it's apparently not a true grain), which packs high amounts of protein, calcium and iron, lysine and several of the B vitamins. If that info isn't convincing enough to make you try it, here's more: quinoa contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. That's right people: it's a perfect protein!

Quinoa is very versatile; it can be served hot (in soups and casseroles), or cold in salads. You can dry roast the seeds in the oven or pop them on your stovetop in a bit of olive oil.

Tightwad has rounded up a few intriguing quinoa recipes - they are mostly salads, but you can find quinoa flour at health food stores and bake lots of goodies, too.

Strawberry Pepper quinoa mango parsley salad

Jamie Oliver quinoa tabouli

Klutzy Chef cinnamon quinoa cereal

Gordon Ramsey tangy quinoa, chickpea and mango salad

Stonesoup warm roast cauliflower and quinoa salad

Cookin' Canuck quinoa with black beans, corn and chipotle pepper, lime and honey dressing

Karinas Kitchen blueberry quinoa cereal bars

Closet Cooking Moroccan roasted carrot and chickpea quinoa salad

Zahavah quinoa with persimmon, pomegranate and walnuts