Quinoa -- The Simplest Bowl for When Almost Nothing Sounds Good

Still very early in the pregnancy — I'm calculating about six to seven weeks, I have my first OB appointment Thursday — and I'm in that particular limbo of knowing something enormous that is not yet fully known, confirmed by tests but not yet confirmed by a heartbeat on a monitor. I know how this goes from the clinical side, which is both reassuring and complicated: I know too much about what can go right and what can go wrong, and the clinical knowledge does not fully immunize you against the personal stakes of the situation. It just changes the flavor of the fear.

Sean D. has been unfailingly decent about this, which is what I expected and also what I'm grateful for. He does not hover. He noticed I wasn't sleeping well and bought a different pillow without making a thing of it. He made the pancakes on Saturday without being asked and ate them next to me without commenting on the fact that I only ate one, which is not my usual quantity. Small attentions. That's what love looks like in practice: small attentions, consistently offered.

I haven't told anyone except Meghan yet. We're waiting until after the first appointment. Maureen is going to be absolutely incomprehensible with joy when she finds out, and I'm holding that knowledge like a gift I haven't opened yet.

Cooking has been complicated this week by the fact that several things smell wrong — not bad exactly, but wrong in the specific way that early pregnancy changes your sense of smell. Garlic is currently on the wrong side of the line. Raw chicken smells like a problem. What works: crackers, plain toast, apples, plain pasta with just olive oil and salt, tea. I made the simplest possible soup this week: chicken broth from a box (which I cannot believe I'm admitting) with a handful of thin rice noodles, no vegetables, nothing that smells like anything. I ate it at eleven PM in the quiet kitchen and it was the best thing I'd had in four days and I'm choosing to find that funny rather than distressing.

That eleven PM bowl of rice noodles reminded me that the simplest food is sometimes the most honest food, and I’ve been leaning into that this week. When I needed something a little more substantial but still couldn’t face garlic or any real smell, quinoa simmered in plain chicken broth turned out to be exactly right — warm and filling without asking anything dramatic of my senses. It’s become my quiet kitchen ritual for now, and I’m choosing to find the smallness of it comforting rather than sad.

Quinoa

Prep Time: 2 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup white quinoa, rinsed well under cold water
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or water)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse. Place quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water for about 30 seconds, rubbing gently with your fingers. This removes the natural bitter coating and is worth the extra minute.
2. Combine. Add the rinsed quinoa and chicken broth to a small saucepan. Stir in the salt. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
3. Simmer. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 15 minutes undisturbed.
4. Rest. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for 3 minutes. This allows any remaining steam to finish the cooking gently.
5. Fluff and serve. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Drizzle with olive oil if using. Serve warm in a bowl, plain as you like it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 320 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 55g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 310mg