peachy breakfast quinoa.

Oatmeal definitely gets all the attention for breakfast. Whether cooked in a bowl with some flax and sunflower seeds, or crumbled with cinnamon, butter and clumped over apples, it's always oatmeal.

I recently got Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook It's All Good ("all iz well" what up movie reference, what up superwoman reference). In it, she talks about how she was really feeling the ill effects of her stressful, crazy lifestyle, and so went about eating better. The cookbook is a culmination of mostly vegan, pretty simple recipes with basic ingredients.

I haven't actually made any of her recipes yet, but they are pushing me to cook more random, new-to-me things. I haphazardly made huevos rancheros the other day, and they were AWESOME. And beyond easy to throw together.

I've made avocado toast a couple times for myself - my favorite reincarnation of that also simple meal includes feta, a fried egg, and lots of lime/lemon juice.

And then I tried this breakfast quinoa. After seeing it on foodgawker, it looked too good to not try. Dry quinoa and cinnamon are toasted in a pan. Peaches are allowed to warm and caramelize without any butter or oil in the pan. Just as they start to stick, almond milk and the spiced quinoa are tossed back in. Twenty minutes of simmering results in a very interesting breakfast dish.

I don't think I was a fan of the cinnamon. But the entire thing was insanely filling! And softening the peaches like that releases their natural sugars so much that it was almost too sweet for me. I ate half of it, and gave half to my mom, who said that all the chewing was enough to fill her up. Whatever works, right? he he

I will most likely make this again. Tryna give oatmeal a break, you know?

Peachy Breakfast Quinoa
slightly adapted from here.

• 1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• tiny pinch nutmeg
• optional: a teeny bit of coconut oil (I did this)
• 1 peach, washed and sliced (I like the skin on)
• 3/4 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened)
• 1/4 cup water (or could just use almond milk)
• a glug (about 1/2 Tablespoon) maple syrup, optional (I did this, but it was too sweet for me; my peaches were sweet enough alone)

1. Add quinoa and spices to saucepan. Toast on medium-low for about 5 minutes. If you'd like, add a small chunk (1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon) of coconut oil to coat the quinoa grains. Remove quinoa to a bowl. 
2. Microwave (or heat on stove) almond milk and water until very hot and slightly steaming.
3. Add peach slices to saucepan. Heat on low-medium for about 5 minutes. Just as the peaches start sticking, add quinoa and hot almond milk into pan. Stir.
4. Partially cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once quinoa is cooked (you can see its little spirals), it is ready!