Ant & Anise

Simple, elegant, healthy food and a fondness for gluten- and grain-free recipes

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Quinoa porridge: comfort food with the power to soothe

red quinoa in bowl with milk

Mom’s breathing, which had been labored for several hours, got shallower, and the space between breaths took longer. With my hand on her forearm, I watched her face and listened as her breathing slowed even more. In, out, pause. In, out, pause. Then in, out, longer pause. In, out, longer pause.

And then, just like that, she stopped breathing for good. I waited a few more seconds, but that was it. The last breath. And the end of a very long, incredibly painful journey through Alzheimer’s disease.

That was on March 29, Good Friday. And that is why you haven’t seen much going on at Ant & Anise lately. My mom, Ann, is Eve’s sister. Or was, I should say. I’m not used to the past tense with her just yet…. 

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The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 26

paleo diet challenge day 26 quinoa chocolate cake

I’ve Googled I don’t know how many ingredients to check to see whether they’re considered Paleo or not. Is mustard paleo? Mayonnaise? Pickles? What about quinoa?

Ah, quinoa. It’s a superfood, right? Wouldn’t Paleos get behind that?

Well, not so much. Turns out it’s fairly controversial in Paleo circles. Quinoa is technically a seed, but it’s what is known as a psudocereal. Huh? A pseudocereal is a plant that isn’t a grain or a grass, but produces seeds or fruit that are used like grains. Amaranth, buckwheat and chia seeds are other examples, along with quinoa.

The Spunky Coconut has a good explanation of why Paleos stay away from quinoa, but even Mark Sisson concedes that more moderate Paleos let quinoa into their diets now and again.

As you might expect, I took a more moderate view of quinoa. We had a special birthday today, my Dad’s, and in contemplating what kind of cake to make, there weren’t too many Paleo choices. Quinoa to the rescue.

I stumbled across an intriguing recipe for a quinoa chocolate cake, and thought that, like zucchini, quinoa could lend a moist quality to the cake without imparting much flavor. Let the chocolate take over, as it likes to do. Who am I to stop that?

And you know, it worked like a charm. Thank goodness, since I didn’t have a back-up plan. It was moist, with a good crumb, and oh so very chocolately. Really, really good. Happy birthday, Dad.

paleo diet challenge day 26 quinoa chocolate cake

 

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

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About Us

We’re Eve and Kris, an aunt and a niece. We love food. And while we have a lot in common in our approach, we also have our differences. So why not hash it out in a blog? Ant and Anise is a conversation about food in our lives, past and present. We like real food that doesn't take hours to prepare, but has something unexpected about it. It helps if it's pretty, too.

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