create (a life): quinoa crunch

My husband's co-worker passed us this recipe for Quinoa Crunch about four months ago with the proclamation that we were going to love it. I was skeptical. Toasted quinoa? I also had no time between newborn and toddler to experiment in the kitchen. She kept asking, in a nice way, if we'd made it yet. Hubby would say not yet, then she would say, "Well, you're going to love it when you do." Life settled down and I finally got around to a little experimenting in the kitchen- and not just because she graciously gave us all the ingredients for Christmas. She was absolutely right. We do love this, and it's perfect for Isia and Mama to make together. Which is good, because we're needing to make it often!

Quinoa Crunch

1 cup quinoa

1/4 cup flax seeds

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1. Set oven to 375.

2. Rinse quinoa until water comes clear*

3. Drain well & add flax seeds.

4. Mix olive oil & honey together- pour it over the quinoa/flax seeds mixture and toss well. 

5. Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet and cook until mixture is slightly browned, 12-15 minutes. 

*I was rinsing mine until I realized that it's pretty Trader's Joe's packaging meant it was pre-washed. When I return to bulk grains again, I'll add this step back in.

I remove it from the baking sheet fairly quickly and scrape it into a container that has a lid. I've found that it dries into a cohesive mass, and breaking it up on the baking sheet results in little explosions of quinoa all over the kitchen. Much easier to let it dry in the open container, put on the lid & shake, shake, shake. And then you're all set to store it as well! Keeps in the cabinet for at least a week, although it rarely even lasts past a couple days around here. Enjoy!