Food of the Incas

Made two loaves of half quinoa and half whole wheat today. Kneading it was a bit bizarre~ it was unbelieveabley sticky and wet so I had to keep adding flour to it. It rose twice as much as usual and required 25% less cooking time. It's got a gorgeous nutty taste and a surprising (but not so bad) bitter aftertaste.

But why quinoa? Check it out:

- NASA designated it as THE "controlled ecological life support system crop" due to its high protein content and perfect amino acid balance.

- the Catholic Church supressed it due to its importance in "heathen" ceremonies...

- contains loads of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and it's gluten free!

- it's grown organically up in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia and hand harvested by Sergio (see below)

Penny Wong

Senator Wong bacame the highest ranking politician from South Australia after Rudd nominated her as the Minister for Climate Change and Water. She is the nation's first openly gay and first Asian-born person to serve in a PM's cabinet. She studied in Brazil, does yoga, plays Sudoku to relax and will accompany the PM to Bali for the UN Climate Change Conference. She's only 39 years old. Damn, I gotta get to work on my life.