Behold, the newest addition to my kitchen army!
I have been wanting and needing one of these for a long time! This little baby is a Zojirushi induction-heating rice cooker, we bought him with Christmas money we got from family.
Take a peak under the hood…
Yeah, tons of cargo space. This is my kind of hot-rod.
Before heading out to the gym today I filled my new toy with 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water and set him to cook while I was gone.
That may look more like rice than quinoa to you because it is rice. That’s a shot of some rice I made last night that didn’t turn out too great because I had it on the wrong setting, but I forgot to take a picture of the quinoa before cooking, so this’ll do.
When I got back from the gym I had this waiting for me…
Perfect, fluffy quinoa ready to eat and still warm!
There was a ton of it so I decided to make two different preparations, one sweet and one savory.
For the sweet one, I added the following:
- handful of chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup or so mixed dried cranberries, golden raisins, and goji berries
- about 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- zest of a small orange
I then made a dressing with the juice from the orange and a spoonful of honey, and heated it in the microwave so it would be thinner and distribute better. I just tossed it all together for this delicious sweet treat.
That one will be awesome in the morning with some almond milk drizzled over, or piled on top of yogurt. I’ve made a sweet maple cinnamon breakfast quinoa before, but this one is even better!
For the savory one I added:
- half a red bell pepper, chopped super small
- one chopped scallion
- one carrot, grated
- a handful of spinach, chopped finely
- zest of a lemon
For the dressing I used the juice of half the lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper, about 2 tsp. white wine vinegar, 2 tsp. tahini, and olive oil whisked in.
To make I just grated the carrot directly over with a microplane to get it really fine…
And added the chopped spinach…
Having a quality knife has been so wonderful!
Mixed in the dressing and here it is!
Believe it or not, this one was even better than the sweet one!
I had both for lunch with an apple dusted in cinnamon.
The quinoa gave me a big dose of protein to repair my sore muscles after today’s workout. Both preparations were so delicious and I managed to whip up both of them in about 20 minutes total.
I am hopelessly in love with my new rice cooker. I can’t wait to try cooking millet, farro, oatmeal, and of course rice, in it!
Look for many, many rice cooker recipes to come!
I really liked the new rice cooker as soon as we unpacked it. After it played a song when our first batch of rice was done, I was in love.
The quinoa looks fantastic! The rice cooker seems to have really brought out their tails :3 Great post love!
Yes, it serenades me with it’s melodious song when I cook with it, and I find that most enjoyable. Also, cat face :3
I have wanted a rice cooker for years! Some day…
Katie @ peacebeme recently posted..Defining my blog
I have that! Ours is smaller though. The inside only holds 3 cups as opposed to 5. I like the song too.
We got it for a wedding present and it’s probably the present that I use the most. That and a really sharp knife.
Lee recently posted..Once Upon a Time- I Ran a Marathon
Yes, Jeff got me two really good knives for Christmas and I cannot believe what a different experience it is to use them. I’m converted.
Jealousss! I’ve been coveting a Zojirushi for so long! 😛
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan recently posted..Vegan cookies and P90X
Looks AMAZING! I just got a rice cooker for Christmas, but it’s NOWHERE NEAR as fancy as yours! I’ll be looking forward to other fun recipes! : )