Cooking with Dr. G: Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Smokey Quinoa

For those of you who are not quite ready to change the way you think about a what makes up a meal, here is a plant-based option that resembles the meals that you are used to. Get ready to fire up that grill.

For the mushrooms:
4 large portobello mushroom caps
1/2 cup of your favorite marinade or salad dressing (I used Annie's Green Garlic dressing)

Remove the stems, gills, and edges of the mushroom caps. Place them in a dish and pour on the dressing. If you use a thick dressing, thin it out a little bit with some water. Dressings without olive oil work best for this recipe because olive oil tends to smoke on the grill. Cover the dish, shake it up to make sure everything is evenly coated, and pop it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Mushrooms don't take long to marinate so don't leave them in the fridge for hours, you will have mushy mushrooms. Consider yourself warned!

While those are marinating start the quinoa.

For the quinoa:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
a pinch of salt

Don't like bitter quinoa? Me either. Rinse it well before cooking it.

Throw all of your ingredients for the quinoa into a pot, bring it to a boil, and then turn the heat down to medium. Let it simmer away until all of the liquid is absorbed. When done, quinoa should be a little chewy and if you look closely should look like little Saturns (the planet with the rings, not the cars). If your quinoa is too chewy add some more water and keep simmering until it is just how you like it.

Again, for the protein concerned (stop worrying about protein) FYI quinoa is a complete protein meaning that it contains all of the essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and your body can make most of them. However, those that your body cannot make are called the "essential amino acids".

When your quinoa is done (20-30 minutes), grab those mushroom caps and get them on the grill.