Mmmmm...cherries

I have a rocky history with quinoa. When I was about 13 years old, my mom put my entire family on the Atkins Diet. As a pain-in-the-ass teenager, I refused to eat pretty much anything she presented as "Atkins friendly." Quinoa was one of those things. Nearly 20 years later, I figured it was time for me to give quinoa a second chance.

Quinoa, Fruit, and Nut Salad (pg 138) turns out to be good. A little nutty, a little crunchy. I thought the pumpkin seeds, almonds, dried cranberries, cherries, and raisins worked well with the grain, and the vinaigrette was just right as a background note.

I think I just like anything with dried fruit in it.

Conclusion: I liked it. Don't tell my mom. (In fairness, she simply boiled and served it, without any seasoning. If I were served that today, I probably still wouldn't like it.)

For dessert, I made Whole-Cherry Clafoutis (pg 452). I was alarmed when I read the instructions NOT to pit the cherries before baking them in an ambiguously puddingish/cake-ish batter. It sounded like it would be supremely annoying to have to chew around pits. Much to my surprise, it turned out not to be too great of an inconvenience, and it was a hell of a lot easier than having to pit all the cherries ahead of time. The cherries plump up as they bake and fall right off the pit in your mouth. It sort of tasted like a bread pudding with cherries in it. Yum!

I didn't expect the cherries to pop to the top like that. Neato.

Conclusion: Liked it a lot, and it was very easy to make. Score!