Quinoa with Chili-Orange Dressing

This was our first experiment with quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) and it was a success. In fact, quinoa is now one of our staples. (It’s delicious in place of cous cous in Tofu Mojito.) We found the original recipe—of course, we couldn’t resist tweaking it a bit—in one of the random magazines my aunt gave us, but it comes from The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook.

1 tsp finely grated orange zest

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 2-4 oranges)

1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp chili sauce

1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cubed

1 cup quinoa

8 oz. can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 cups snow peas

4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and chili sauce. Set aside.

2. Cook quinoa according to package directions.

3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté scallions, red pepper and tofu for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the tofu starts to brown. Add snow peas and water chestnuts and sauté for one more minute.

4. Combine tofu, vegetables, quinoa and dressing in a large bowl. Toss.

5. Serve hot or cold.