Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Strawberry Quinoa with Basil Lime Syrup

flickr strawberry quinoa Strawberry Quinoa with Basil and Lime Syrup!

It has been a long, long time since I last participated in the Royal Foodie Joust which is held each month by my very dear friend Jenn, The Leftover Queen! Way too long!

The Royal Foodie Joust is a monthly challenge that is hosted by Jenn-The Left-over Queen. Every month the winner from the previous month is allowed to choose the 3 ingredients that must be used in the up coming challenge. She also gives out prizes for the best overall winner, best photograph, and the most unique interpretation of the ingredients! Sounds like fun huh? Click here to join in on the fun, you have until tomorrow at noon, plenty of time!!!

The ingredients this month were chosen by LK from Healthy Delicious and they were:

Strawberry
Whole Grains
Basil

I immediately knew what I was going to do but I needed to have all of the ingredients on hand and the time to do it. In other words that stars had to be perfectly aligned for me to pull this off!!! And the other day they were!!!

I have made the cereal part of this many times and usually top it with honey but the basil and lime syrup paired perfectly. Lori used the basil lime syrup with a fruit salad and that is exactly what I am doing with the extra syrup that I made. Check out her post here!

P1010641basil and lime infused simple syrup!

Strawberries Quinoa with Basil and Lime Syrup (Quinoa from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks and Basil and Lime Syrup from Lori of The Recipe Girl)

Strawberry Quinoa Cereal:

1 cup low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons Basil and Lime Syrup

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in strawberries, transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon Basil and Lime Syrup.

Basil and Lime Syrup:

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
½ cup (packed) basil leaves
1 Tbs grated lime rind

Combine sugar and ½ cup water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in basil and rind. Cool. Strain sugar mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids & keep syrup.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

12 comments:

Maria said...

I need to eat more quinoa. I just bought some so perfect timing on this recipe! Looks great!

Deeba PAB said...

How wonderful Judy. I wish I had got onto this earlier. Seems like a great combination fo 3 ingredients. Love what you made for the joust!

Thistlemoon said...

It is great to have you back Judy! Especially during this busy time for you! Your entry looks great! :)
I love all the combinations of flavor!!

Patsyk said...

Good luck! Looks like a nice combination of flavors and textures.

Can't Believe We Ate said...

What a fascinating dish! I've never cooked quinoa...not as a grain anyway! Sounds simply wonderful! Best of luck in the Joust!

Helen @Foodista said...

This looks great! I eat quinoa all the time as a side for savory entrees, and though I've heard it could be made into a dessert or breakfast, I never wanted to try it as such- until now! Nutty quinoa, sweet strawberries, an intriguing syrup... yum

RecipeGirl said...

What a COOL creation! It has summer written all over it.

maybelles mom said...

great entry. Would be great for breakfast.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

What a great idea -- I've never used quinoa with a sweet base, but now I'm inspired to try.

tobias cooks! said...

i love strawberries. nice recipe. besides that I had no clue what Quinoa was.

Peter M said...

Judy, this is a "get back to the program" reminder for me too! I have to get in on the Joust again..a fun monthly exercise.

You've got one healthy salad here, quinoa's really made a mark on the food scene again.

Maggie said...

Yum! I have yet to try sweet quinoa and this is really tempting!!