Minnesota

Quinoa and Black Beans

Sophia W. (original recipe)

My notes say, "I stopped here to watch hockey" which I'm sure endears myself to your proud state.

This recipe looks a little strange on paper, but these kids know a secret which is that quinoa makes any recipe great. Yes, it's expensive, which is why some kids have the clever idea of cutting it with a cheaper grain. It's super nutritious, though, as well as tasty, so at least you are getting value.

I guess I may as well add that I am currently unswayed by the argument that we shouldn't eat quinoa because it makes it too expensive for Peruvians to afford it. If Peru wanted, it could make sure that quinoa is affordable to its people whatever the international price but they make more by selling it to wealthy Americans and then choose to spend the money on other things which is their choice. Maybe the Peruvian government fails to represent the interests of its quinoa-consuming citizens and this is a real concern but as a practical solution I would pressure the Peruvian government to take action, they can afford to by selling some to us at a ridiculous price but if everyone stopped buying it then that would take this option off the table, as it were. I'm not an expert on this so feel free to contact me with your take on the issue. In the meanwhile, if I omitted quinoa from this project I would have nothing left to cook, so I will make a commitment to further educate myself as I use up what I've already bought. I will be sure to appreciate it.

This recipe called for cheese optionally, and I knew this was the perfect excuse to show off my classic parm substitute. My town used to have two 24-hour diners and now it has none. When my life fell apart and I was all on my own, I used to eat at a diner frequently. I would order spaghetti marinara and top it off with my parm shake from a cool shaker that I bought at a local restaurant supply store. I almost bought another for this project because it was pretty cool, everyone at the diner thought it was pretty cool, but in truth, a regular jar is much more practical.

Pine nuts, like quinoa, are expensive but they pack a lot of punch. Minnesota may be interested to note it is one of few, if not the only, commercial crop from a coniferous tree. Your state tree is the red pine!

Diners are kind of an eastern thing so I don't know if you have them in Minnesota, but I thought this anecdote would give me the opportunity to share my wealth deserts program. This resulted from pondering the issue of urban food deserts and realizing it was basically the same problem as the provisioning of services in rural areas. What they have in common is the characteristic of low wealth density. A Whole Foods is never going to open there because there is simply not enough wealth to support one.

I've been to rich rural communities and often these can support services, but for the urban and rural poor and the rural middle class, what's needed is a program that can help subsidize service providers in these areas. Food deserts may have a population to serve, but need help to do so profitably. Meanwhile, much of small-town America is eroding, and my program would subsidize livelihoods in these communities. Giant corporations get tax breaks when they create jobs, so why not small entrepreneurs who see a community need and seek to meet it?

This idea is pretty nascent, but I think the economic issue it seeks to address is pressing. My instinct is to subsidize labor costs (encourage hiring) by forgiving some or all payroll costs for service providers (e.g., food, healthcare) in areas of low wealth density. Of course, we still need to pay for Social Security and Medicare, but payroll is kind of a bad way of doing that. I think my approach is a good framework for thinking about it because a good policy has "knobs" that we can use to adjust it through adaptive management, or else to phase it in slowly, and this policy approach has several knobs, e.g., how to measure wealth density, the levels of payroll forgiveness, how the two relate.

One of my favorite restaurants in town was shut down for failing to pay payroll tax. Maybe it was an act of protest.

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• 1 cu. Celery, chopped

• 3 cloves Garlic, chopped

• 3/4 cu. uncooked Quinoa

• 1 1/2 cu. Water

• 3/4 cube Vegetable bouillon

• 1 tsp. ground Cumin

• 1 tsp. Chili powder

• 1 cu. frozen Mixed vegetables, thawed

• 1 15-oz. can Black beans, rinsed and drained

• Pepper

Parm Shake

• 3 parts Almonds, ground

• 2 parts Pinenuts, ground

• 2 part Nutritional yeast

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, saute the celery and garlic for about 3 minutes. Add the quinoa, water, bouillon, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

To make the parm shake, simply combine ingredients in a jar and shake to mix.

Add the mixed vegetables and black beans to the saucepan and heat. Season with pepper and serve along side jar of parm shake.

Discussion

This is what it looks like before parm shake.

I wasn't sure whether I'd been through Minnesota or not but turns out, I have! I know because I stayed the night near the Mayo Clinic, which is Rochester, MN. I knew Rochester, MN existed as a kid because it would pop up when I searched for rock concerts to go to in Rochester, NY. I saw some great bands there, oftentimes right before they went through kind of a crappy period -perhaps they crossed-over? Taytay style- (so I saw them at just the right moment). I'm sure your Rochester gets mixed up with our Rochester all the time.

Massachusetts

Minnesota Home to the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the U.S.

North Carolina