Beloved Quinoa

I should do some kind of ode to quinoa (keen-wah), but I'm not feeling especially poetic right now. Just excited about this peach crumble that Shaenee and I have been working on. That girl is an amazing little chef!

Okay, so some of you know that I have taken myself off of all wheat flour. I was exclusively gluten-free until I found out that I could eat oats with minimal-to-no effect on my body. This is probably because oats do not actually contain gluten; they become contaminated by sharing crop space with wheat. Anyway, what wheat gluten does to my body is a little funky. Aside from causing exhaustion and shortness of breath, it does something with my mood. I still don't quite know how or why, but when I have even the smallest amount of it, I become short-tempered, angry, and unbelievably frustrated. It's not good. So my motivation to keep away from the thing is pretty high.

So my peaches are all very ripe. And I have a lot on my tree. I did a short search online and found a recipe for an oat-and-quinoa peach crumble. YUM! Here's the site: NY Times blog

I'm at Vanessa's house, so I cleaned out the flour mill and threw in some quinoa to grind. It made some terrific quinoa flour, which is part of the crumble topping. I won't write down the recipe because it's already in the link above. Shae and I just tasted the cooked crumble topping and OH-MY-GOODNESS it is yummy. Slightly nutty, buttery, oaty sweetness. Gonna cook the peach filling next, then add the crumble. I think we're having that for lunch. Oh, I would recommend doubling the topping recipe, tho. It didn't make nearly enough for how good it is.

So if you want to make the best peach crumble ever, I recommend this recipe....

Okay, okay, here it is, copied and pasted. (I didn't add blueberries)

2 1/2 pounds peaches or nectarines, sliced (about 2 quarts sliced fruit)

1 cup blueberries

2 tablespoons mild honey or dark agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 batch quinoa-oat crumble topping

1. In a large bowl, mix together the peaches or nectarines, blueberries, honey or agave nectar, cinnamon, vanilla and almond extract. Cover and let sit for one to two hours, in or out of the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a two-quart baking dish. Scrape the fruit and all of the juice in the bowl into the baking dish. Set the baking dish on a baking sheet for easier handling, and place in the oven. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the liquid syrupy. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool if desired.

3. About 30 minutes before serving, spread the crumble topping over the fruit mixture in an even layer. Bake 20 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: Serves eight.