I don’t eat breakfast, as I generally don’t have time to do so, but this basic ‘porridge’ recipe inspired by Martha Stewart, featuring quinoa, might solve that problem in the future.
Basic Breakfast Quinoa
Basic Breakfast Quinoa – serves 4
1 cup quinoa
2 cups milk, whole or 2%
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
pinch or two of ground cinnamon
Fruit Add-ins – amounts are rough estimates
1/4-1/3 cups dried fruits like apricots, cranberries, dates, raisins, prunes
1/3-1/2 cup fruit compote
1/2 cup fresh fruit like whole blueberries or diced firm fruit like apples, pears, peaches, nectarines
Soak quinoa for a half hour or rinse several times and then drain it well.
In a medium sized pan, bring the milk to a boil and stir in the prepared quinoa. Once the milk has returned to the boil, reduce the temperature to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, salt and ground cinnamon, cover and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
If using dried fruit, add it in with the brown sugar and cook for the additional 10 minutes. If using fresh fruit, add it in a few minutes before end of the final cooking period and cook for another 2-3 minutes. If using the fresh fruit compote, stir it in just before serving.
Additional add-ins: Roasted seeds like sunflower seeds may be added before serving or nuts like sliced almonds. For additional sweetness, a tablespoon or so of sweetened condensed milk may be poured over the quinoa.
This ‘porridge’ may be eaten warm or cold with additional milk poured over the top.
Breakfast quinoa with nectarine compote stirred in and more served on top
Dried cranberries and sweetened condensed milk … I didn’t have any oranges or I would have added some orange zest as well. Ready for cold milk to be poured over.
Another possible quick breakfast …
The inspiration for this fresh fruit compote recipe was found on “The Story of a Kitchen” blog
Nectarine Murabba/Compote served over drained yogurt
Nectarine Murabba/Compote – makes 2 cups
1 pound nectarines** (or apricots or peaches), peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
4 cardamom pods, cracked
1/4 tsp rosewater
pinch of salt
juice of one lemon (use the juice of half a lemon if your fruit isn’t fully ripe)
** Free-stone fruit is preferred but cling-stone works too
In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to the boil. Add the diced fruit, cardamom pods, rosewater, salt and the juice of half a lemon and stir through. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
Taste one of the fruits and only add the rest of the lemon juice if it seems sweet enough.
Transfer the fruit to a 2 cup capacity glass canning jar. Pour over enough of the syrup to cover the fruit. Screw on the lid and let cool on the counter until it has reached room temperature and then refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Serve over drained yogurt for breakfast or as a dessert topping over ice cream or cake.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
I’ve never thought to have quinoa as a breakfast element apart from in a cooked breakfast.
I thought its resemblance to oatmeal seemed obvious. 🙂
See #16 on this page.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/deenashanker/ways-you-never-knew-you-could-eat-quinoa-for-breakfast?utm_term=.xjq2WoB9W#.uj0y32mP3
#16 looks good. That said, I really do like old fashioned porridge made from rolled oats.
My mom used to make porridge with cream of wheat/farina or mamaliga/polenta with cornmeal for breakfast when we were kids and pour hot or cold milk over it for breakfast. Rolled oats … I didn’t see that until I was in my 30s.
I used to have rolled oats porridge made with milk until about 5 years ago when I was told it tastes okay with water.
The two types of porridge were cooked with water so the milk was a way of getting the extra nutrition into our diets. We weren’t big milk drinkers, as I recall.
I never liked milk on its own when I was a kid. Give me a milkshake any day 😃😃😃
Milkshakes weren’t something I experienced until my late 20s early 30s either. Just not part of our culture and I don’t think I was ever familiar enough with it to try to make it at home. Though I DID drink hot chocolate … bought those canisters of chocolate powder that you only had to add to hot water (or hot milk).
When I was a very young child, up to the age of 10, I spent a lot of time in a restaurant my maternal grandparents owned and ran. They would make milk shakes and I was allowed to make them and use flavours I wanted. I remember having caramel, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and lime milkshakes. With a little extra ice cream, they became thick shakes. Then in 1974, Brisbane was hit with a deluge of water and the 1974 floods wiped out my grandparents’ livelihood. They never recovered.
How very sad. Natural disasters ruining their business. I like that you still have such good memories of your childhood there though.
The strongest memory though was when I was at the serving counter alone and two young women came in and asked for a couple of takeaway spring rolls. I sold them for 20 cents each rather than 40 cents. I was scolded and sat down and lectured about the importance of getting the prices correct and always checking.
I briefly worked in my brother and SIL’s chocolate/gift store … hated it.
Compote is the best. You and your readers may enjoy this apricot version😋
https://reallifeofanmsw.com/2017/08/01/apricot-compote/
Thank you. It does look delicious.
I had to look up Murraba – it sounds wonderful! This is the 1st I’ve heard of it! Anyway, breakfast quinoa – it looks so good but reminds me a little of oatmeal or cream of wheat, only healthier? I’d scarf this up in a heartbeat!
I liked both the names for what is a relatively simple fruit dish … compote is a very old fashioned/archaic term and murabba is from another culture.
I’m not much of a breakfast/porridge eater but I have about a pound of quinoa left so I want to use it up in as many different ways as I can. 🙂