Maybe there’s a grain here you haven’t tried.
We are losing one of my favorite specialty stores here in The Woodlands. As of March, Hubble and Hudson will be no more. That has always been my go to place to find unusual ingredients and browse their produce section that has/had amazing fresh products. We are getting a Whole Foods here so I can’t wait to see what I can find there.
Just because I obsess over finding new products to try doesn’t mean you have to. This recipe started off to be just a red quinoa salad and while shopping at Trader Joe’s I came upon this Harvest Grains Blend and thought the salad would be more interesting with a blend of different grains. This Harvest Grains Blend is a savory blend of Israeli style couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa. So if you can’t find this blend of grains then pick a couple or even just one to make this Mediterranean Salad.
Quinoa (keen-wah) is one of the grains in this mix you may not have tried yet. It is a grain-like (more of a seed) from the goosefoot plant. This little “seed” has a long history and if you want to more more about it to to wikpedia and read about it. It has been grown for around 5000 years in the Andes mountains.
There also seems to be a controversy over quinoa because the prices have tripled for the farmer’s selling their crops and they choose to feed their families now on wheat and rice instead of the quinoa that has been part of their diets for hundreds/thousands of years.
If you are looking for a different salad to take to a gathering, try this. I loved the different grains and the look and texture it gave the salad.