Quinoa parade and the 1:00 am insomnia

So...it's 1 am on Monday morning and I can't sleep because it only feels like midnight. Please pardon me if this entry is a little goofy :)

This week, on my fill-in shopping trip, I found Ancient Harvest Quinoa on sale for $3.99/box at King Soopers, of course.  I was Sooper happy!  It's usually $7.99 - so of course I picked up 2 boxes.  Then, lo and behold, there was something new - Red Quinoa!  I've never tried the red kind before, so I picked up a box of that too.  I have a stockpile now.  

That little discovery sent me in search of artichoke hearts & black olives too, which were not on my list mind you. But, I think one of my favorite things in the world is a nice greek salad.  I keep feta on hand just in case I get a craving, it can turn almost anything greek instantly. Quinoa isn't Greek (obvs) but I do declare, makes a great greek salad!

Here's how I make it:

quinoa

feta

chopped fresh tomato

chopped cucumber

finely chopped red onion

red wine vinegar

artichoke hearts

chickpeas

black or kalamata olives

maybe a dash of Olive oil,salt and pepper

Don't ask me the measurements.  I just chop and dump and dress it until it tastes how I want it.  Sometimes I like more tang and sometimes I like more creamy - you just start with the chopped up cuke and toms, add a little of each of the rest till you're happy.

More excitement ensued the next day. I went with my dad to a different King Soopers (we just needed soda) but decided to take him on a tour of all things gf.  We stopped in the pasta aisle and I was so excited to see quinoa pasta there.  I'd heard it existed but if I don't find it at King Soopers or Walmart, I don't eat it.  It was at King Soopers (just not the one near me - must put in a request there).  They also had rice lasagna noodles - I've never in my life felt the urge to build a lasagna, but nice to know I have the option if I find a huge chunk of time to kill.

So, I grabbed the quinoa pasta and then we looked for the Amy's gf dinners.  Bonus!  They have the mac & cheese I've heard about too...ON SPECIAL! So of course I grabbed that.  

Finally made it to the soda stacks and another exciting find - throw back Pepsi made with real sugar. SUGAR! Not High Fructose Corn Syrup, which I think is evil.

I confess, I eat and drink stuff that contains it, but I still think it's evil and avoid it like the plague.  Nothing short of pure desperation will lead me to ingest that poisonous glop.

Mmm...then the cookie and cracker aisle.  I had to show him where to pick up gf crackers (well, the ones I like) and they had 4 kinds of Pamela's cookies there too!  Pecan Shortbread (my absolute favorite cookie in the whole world), ginger, chocolate and chocolate chip.  Well, we didn't pick anything up there - this was mostly an educational drive-by.  Somehow though, a package of those shortbread cookies ended up in the cart.  Dad said he couldn't forget the cookies, I thought he grabbed oreos.  I teared up a little (so proud!).

So, all in all, GREAT weekend for gf at King Soopers. I have enough quinoa to last 2-3 months and now, I have to go twitter to the Quinoa cookbook people for some recipes.  Maybe I'll go to bed and do it in the morning.

Sweet gf dreams!

p.s. can we give up Daylight Savings Time?  It just messes me up!