head up eyes forward don’t falter walk tall beating heart burning sun crystal frost hear it thrum
head up remember
remember those who would have given anything to be here one more day just one more day
remember those who have never shown anything but faith in you, not even when you’ve crouched down panther-eyed waiting for a flicker of doubt to cross their faces
a flicker of doubt that never comes
remember that you’re here and this is your only your only that this is your time-pocket only
and keep
your head
up.
I made you a little bowlful of Pandan Quinoa with Star Anise and Cinnamon today. There’s almond milk, too, and a little agave, but you can use any milk or sweetener you please.
In fact, you could leave out the sweetener altogether and serve this quinoa as a fragrant glorious accompaniment to a spicy warm heady curry, or satay-smothered grilled tofu, or any delicious savoury dish to which this quinoa could play the heroic sidekick.
I had my quinoa for dessert and for breakfast, tossed with diced fuyu persimmon, pomegranate seeds, toasted pistachios, and an extra drizzle of sweetness.
I love the fragrance, flavour, and healthful goodness of this quinoa cooked in almond milk with greengreen pandan and spices. I hope that you do, too.
Pandan Quinoa with Star Anise and Cinnamon
Serves 1, easily doubled (or tripled or quadrupled)
- ½ cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup almond milk (or milk of your choosing; coconut milk would be blissful)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 long pandan leaf, tied in a knot
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 1 tb agave syrup (or sweetener of choosing)
- pinch of salt
- Place all ingredients into a small-medium saucepan, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender and the liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the pandan leaf, cinnamon stick and star anise.
- If desired, serve with fruits, nuts, and syrup of your choosing. I like this both warm and cold, and think it would be equally lovely without the agave, served as a fragrant side at dinner.
Submitted to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend.
Anise and cinnamon go so well together. I will definitely try this one out. I was really surprised to see in Chile how popular anise was!
That surprises me too! I’ve only ever associated star anise with Asian countries (and recipes).
I love the idea of pairing this with a savoury curry! So smart
Wish I had a scratch and sniff computer screen! I haven’t cooked with pandan before but I have admired its lovely colour – but am surprised there is no green in the final product – have you cooked with pandan before and got any green out of it? Or maybe it is only the powder that makes food green
This is the first time I’ve cooked with pandan so I can’t say, but I can’t help thinking that there’s food colouring involved with the extracts and powders. After all, kaya isn’t normally bright green, more a brownish colour?
Oh, how lovely! I adore quinoa. And it seems like pandan is EVERYWHERE lately. I’ve never tried it, but I love the sound of it.
I’ve only ever had kaya before this, but I can safely say that I adore pandan. It’s just so…. fragrant and delicious and wonderful
lovely
lovely photo, wanting to try pandan, trying, trying to imitate free verse
panthers
are
pretty.
sometimes
when you write
i feel like there’s glowing star waiting
just out of reach
waiting
I’ve never thought to mix quinoa with wonderful Asian ingredients such as pandan and star anise. This looks amazing, Hannah!
Thank you Libby! If I’d had coconut milk and black sesame on hand I would’ve gone all out with the Asian ingredients
Yummmmmmm!
LOVE everything about this post… words/thoughts/ingredients/dish…. LOVE
Perfect winter comfort food!
Thank you Lou. Truly.
wow, this simple recipes really intrigues my quinoa loving heart! I have never actually used anise before, and I’ll definitely refer back to this once I get the ingredients in the future.
Thanks Ellie
You wouldn’t need to have absolutely all of the spices involved to make this, but not having any would mean the quinoa would be rather plain 
Captivating title, and words, and recipe…my heart now wants this more than I can say.
And please, one day, write that book
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo a million times. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that. xoxoxoxo
I needed the post (not that I’d realised it before reading it) so we are doing well
Take care darling xo
Thank you precious. Someone else said to me that this post was exactly what they needed to hear, and I swear hearing that makes everything worth it. xo
I love all those ingredients except pandan.
I’m so not fussy about foods, but that’s one thing I really don’t like.
However I do love cooking quinoa porridge in coconut milk or almond milk.
Then I highly recommend leaving the pandan out, cooking this in coconut milk, and then spooning on a little black sesame spread to melt through
It won’t be pretty, but it’ll be tasty!
When I first saw the title I assumed it was a dessert, but- so versatile, love the savoury serving suggestions you made!
Teehee, I know, I know, me talking about savoury food is a rare event
Yum, I’m always looking for new ways to use quinoa
I can imagine how fragrant and delicious this would be! At first I read this post as “panda quinoa”- I was getting worried, lol.
Teehee! I may not be technically vegan but I’d never go that far
This is a truly novel way to use quinoa, I never thought of it as a dessert ingredient. Interesting mix of rather Asian ingredients too, I love the fragrance of pandan but it seems to have such faint presence in my dessert soups when I use it. I’ve also recently tasted almond milk (at Cumulus Inc) – *swoon*!
Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, but this pandan made my kitchen smell heavenly more than it made the quinoa truly taste pandan-y.
So I’m relieved to hear you say it doesn’t come through strongly for you either! Is it better to use the extract then?!
I’ve never used the extracts, but you now got me thinking how I can best push the taste of pandan into our cooking…? I remember a Nyonya kueh where mum had to blend the pandan with coconut milk and then strain it with a muslin cloth… Perhaps it’s more a fragrance herb rather than taste herb?
But surely kaya is made with real pandan? Or the traditional one was? Maybe Aussie-grown/imported pandan is just stupid.
This looks like a wonderful recipe, but the text worries me a little. Beautifully written, but are you OK?
love
Catherine
I will be. I definitely will be. How could I not, with comments such as yours to boost me up? xo
*Hugs* Stay well.
(I went on a chocolate walk today, and thought of you – I think it would have been rather your style!)
That does sound like a most marvellous way to spend a Saturday! Except I’d keep asking if, instead of hot chocolates and truffles, I could have blocks of chocolate to take home
Oh, this is so much better than how I cooked quinoa last night. I cooked a green chicken curry and instead of serving it with rice, I served it with quinoa that I cooked in water! How boring compared with your recipe. I will have to try this xx
On the plus side, you served green chicken curry with quinoa. That’s awesomeness in and of itself, considering that our grandmothers would never even have heard of the newfangled “cui-know-ah” back when they were cooking for their kids
Wow i’ve never thought of using quinoa like this and you’ve used some really authentic oriental ingredients
INTERESTING!
I ain’t a poet but
the fragrance reaches me
as I strain
to grasp the truth
of life ahead
and ponder the challenge, now rising
to search, find and attain
some fresh Pandan leaves
in a land
of Alpine herbs, electric cheese melters and fireworks
perhaps
it is only when we
let go
of our aspirations to Poetry
(canonical, finger-wagging)
and instead write simply
our heart-words
that the rhythm/music/soul-poetic
flows.
What a gorgeous looking porridge my friend! I am a sucker for quinoa and am in love with star anise too
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yes please!! Thanks for making me this today
I just made this for breakfast and it was bloomin’ awesome, thank you for sharing Ms Hannah. I added toasted pistachios and black sesame seeds to the mix. Yummy yummy yummy. I am a lover of pandan and the way it makes the home smell when cooking with it, it is one of my favourite things. I hope all is well in your world. xx
!!!
That represents the happy delighted excitedness inside my mind, particularly because you might see above in the comments that black sesame is one of the things that I hope to add myself soon! And pistachios have long been one of my favourite nuts
Thank you so much, you have truly made this icky day feel better. I was thinking of you just the other day, and wondering how all the job/career/life plans were shaping up? xoxo
xx
Been on such a cinnamon kick lately
I love the sound of pandan with star anise and cinnamon…sounds so aromatic and delicious…definitely a heart warming dish that comforts the soul. Hope your day is getting better because although your writing is beautiful, it makes me cringe to think life is not at its best in your world. xxoo
Much, much soul-comforting
Thank you Jenny; I’m so sorry to have made you cringe! I promise, things aren’t awful, just a tad stressful. Life always has its ups and downs like this, but we get through xo
Dear Hannah,
I have yet to try quinoa but pandan start anise and cinnamon is definitely a good combo for a dessert.
beautiful, lovely. gorgeous words, very wise. do remember those things. we are lucky to have every day.
Heidi xo
p.s. I made coconut quinoa yesterday without even seeing this! in tune, I tell ya. Yours looks so fluffy and divine.
Thank you darling. Yes, each day is a boon, but dear heavens I wish that my “each day” could be next week already! Ah well. I’ll get through.
xo
P.S. Quinoa twinsies!
Can I be your heroic sidekick?
A million and four times yes. Yes.
You have no idea how many times I’ve resisted the urge to text you at 11pm saying “where are you? My life feels empty” lately.
Also, I’m now, workwise, where you were just before you finished up. In other words… back to typing I go. xo
Lovely post, lovely message, lovely food xx
You know this reminded me so much of Sri-Lanka that I was almost transported back to being back on the beach or at one of the many awesome places we ate “rice and curry”. And I’ve been wanting to make some curries and home so this will be the perfect thing for it instead of rice perhaps. I think I’m musing out loud, but I don’t think you mind. Ok one last thought…
Yummmmmmmmmmmm.
I never, ever mind anything you say. I love everything you muse. Even when you talk about panties.
Well, I may not know what pandan leaf is, but I do know: 1) This sounds divine. 2) This sounds even more divine the way you had it for breakfast. 3) How I do miss pistachios! 4) You are an amazing poet. 5) This post made me smile. 6) Very big (see #5).
xo
See, this is why we love each other so much: we both go for the sweet option here.
Thank you darling! When I started writing this post, it was just meant to be normal text/prose. I don’t know what happened, but I decided to let what my fingers had typed out from my heart stay. So thank you. x
This looks lovely. I’ve never tried pandan, but I am always up for a new way to enjoy quinoa. I’m just discovering your blog, and I like how you incorporate your poetry. So cool!
Thank you Claire! In truth, I didn’t intend for poetry to appear in this post; it just kind of came out when I typed
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