Thursday, April 19, 2012

Q is for Quaich and Quinoa part 1 and 2

- This is a Quaich (pronounced "Quake", from the Gaelic word "Cuach"), a traditional Scottish drinking vessel used to offer a guest a cup of welcome and also as a farewell drink, usually a dram of whisky.  These days they are used for celebrations like weddings and christenings in Scotland or those having an association with Scotland by heritage like me.  Note:  that's my quaich resting on my family tartan in the photo above, with coffee in it.  I am commissioner for the state of Georgia for my Scottish Clan, which is a fancy title for one who gets saddled with the tent at Clan gatherings in Georgia.  :)

- This is what my niece Rebecca has for breakfast every morning.  Quinoa with kale, topped with radishes and poached eggs, with a splash of vinegar.  So I was home at lunchtime yesterday waiting for a technician to show up.  (Sigh. Another story.)  And decided to make it for lunch.  Note - I used my microwave egg poacher, steamed the kale and cooked the quinoa the old fashioned way.

- And this is how it looked all combined.  It was pretty good!  I felt so organic and in a peaceful state of mind when the technician showed up at 2:10pm, after the noon to 2pm window he was supposed to show up in.  It's easy to be forgiving when you're loaded with super foods and ready to seize the afternoon.  :)

It's Day 17 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge featuring the letter "Q".  Things that give me pleasure!  (Except for that whole waiting for the technician thing.)  :)

22 comments:

Cloudia said...

Great people, the Scotts!

Thanks for teaching us about the 'quake'


Warm Aloha from Waikiki
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Cloudia said...

We do have a gathering of the clans here on Oahu and also Maui! See you there?

Marcie said...

Oh, the Scottish traditions are so fascinating...Imagine having your own family tartan, I'd love that! Visiting from the A-Z blog challenge!

Claudia Moser said...

Nice recipe with quinoa!

Riot Kitty said...

Microwave egg poacher!! LYNN! You just made my day. I love eggs benedict w/avocado. We are part Scots too. The part that probably got kicked out of the country ;)

Elephant's Child said...

That is a truly impressive looking plate of food.
And no technician ever shows up when they hint they might. They are also very good at turning up while you are in the loo, knocking v quietly and then scarpering. Growl.

Lynn said...

Cloudia -

Thank you - I love my Scottish heritage, as you can see.

I would LOVE to come to Oahu for a gathering of the Clans. I need to suggest that for a Clan trip. :) I'll look that up!

Marcie -

I keep thinking I'll have a skirt made out of our family tartan. The tartan pictured is a scarf - I have two of them.

Claudia -

You know - it was simple and good. I made a black bean and red bell pepper salad with the rest of the quinoa last night.

Riot Kitty -

Yes - one of my prized possessions. You have to experiment with the time a little to get it the way you want. This one was 45 seconds - left a hair too long sitting in the microwave, but still too good. I wanted the eggs a little more runny for this. I do know how to poach eggs the swirly simmering water way, but this is faster.

The Elephant's Child -

I finally called that guy at 1:55 and he said he was on his way. I had to leave work at 11:15am in order to be home by noon to wait for him. I was a little annoyed.

Leonora said...

I learned something new! I never heard of a quaich before. Your Scottish ancestry sounds very interesting.
The lunch plate you made looks amazing!

Betty Manousos said...

i've never heard of quaich before, either. thank you for sharing it.
i am a big fan of scottish traditions
and that meal plate looks really awesome.

wish you a wonderful day.

big hugs!

Louvregirl said...

"...which is a fancy title for one who gets saddled with the tent at Clan gatherings in Georgia."
Love this line! So funny.

What a beautiful red tartan, as well Lynn. You know how I do like that stuff!
louvregirl;
that's a 'sweet' post today!

MunirGhiasuddin said...

Quinoa is a very good source of protein I heard, never had any luk with it though. It washes off in water and I end up loosing it.

happygirl said...

Good work on the tough letter of the alphabet. :)
You would have enjoyed the church I attended Easter Sunday. I never saw so many men's knees in one gathering. There were kilts galore. I loved it.

Jannie Funster said...

I love seeing your tartan. Do you ever wear it anywhere except at the Games?

Healthy niece!!

xo

Fireblossom said...

Look at that. "Q" didn't even make you blink.

Lynn said...

Leonora -

I enjoy my heritage, for sure. And yes, that food was pretty good and healthy!

Betty -

Hugs to you!

lg -

I'm glad I could give you a chuckle. :)

Munir -

I have a strainer with tiny holes for such things as this.

happygirl -

Actually I could have come up with more for Q.

Sounds as if they had a Kirking. We do that at our church, but on a Sunday in February.

Jannie -

Just at the Kirking of the Tartans - a church service we hold at our church in Feb.

xo

FB -

Right? But X - hmmm.

Granny Annie said...

Well you did great with a super challenging letter. I shall begin offering my guests a Quaich as they arrive and when they leave:)

"Q" is also a very high point letter in scrabble and I most often can find a use for it as Qi, Qis, Qua... even though my spell check tells me those are not words.

Lynn said...

Granny Annie -

I know - I wondered where you were! They make Quaichs in pewter for traveling, too.

I use QAT sometimes in Words with Friends (I think that's about the same as Scrabble.) My friend Shelley is always swapping that one out and I ended up with the Q at the 11th hour now! I'm saddled with the Q and the Y and the score is 291 (me) to 281 (Shelley) - I think I'm losing this one - there's nowhere to put that Q!

Chatty Crone said...

Well I learned something new about you today - you like to eat healthy. I am not sure about the quinoa. sandie

Snaggle Tooth said...

I've been so tired I have to catch up on 3 letters...
Wow, what a good Q post- I've never heard of either of these! Thanks for enlightening me.

Lynn said...

Sandie -

Quinoa is very good for you, but doesn't taste like much of anything. It's what you add to it. :)

Snaggle -

I'm sorry you are tired! Hope you are rested up now.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Lynn .. love the Quaich and Quinoa .. interesting bit of Scottish history - and you being commissioner for the state of Georgia for the Scottish Clan ..

Keep an eye open for my V castle ..

So pleased the techie turned up ..

Cheers Hilary

Lynn said...

Hilary -

Now I can't wait for V!