Q. What is the real ratio of water for cooking quinoa and rice to a perfect “al dente” outcome? It is never what the box says and I always seem to need to add more water or added too much. Some say to boil the water first? Help!

A. I ignore the amounts listed on the package and use about 1 and 1/4 to 1 and 1/2 cups water per cup of quinoa (a little more for rice). That produces a really nice texture that is not mushy, and perfect for either cold quinoa salads or warm quinoa dishes with sauteed veggies.

You do not need to boil the water first. Just dump quinoa and water together in pot and let them do their thing. Matter of fact, I’ve even used what seemed like burnt quinoa in a salad and it tasted pretty good. Gave it sort of a roasted taste. 🙂

FYI, quinoa is a high protein grain which contains amino acids (loads of lysine), iron, magnesium, vitamin E, potassium and fiber. If you add black beans (more fiber), red pepper (loads of vitamin C), parsley and nuts you’ve got a super-food kind of a salad for a super-woman kind of a day. Or super-man. Sorry guys.