Can you say, “Keen-wah”?

I don’t know if she coined the term, but my sister accurately labels the following phenomenon: You find out about something for the first time, and then, over the next few days or weeks, it keeps popping up—conversation at the gym, magazine article, radio reference, grocery store…it can get a little eerie. B calls the experience “déjà new.”

My most recent case of déjà new is called quinoa, a plant valued for its grain-like seed that’s also a complete protein. Oh, I think I’d seen the word in recipes in the past, but when Real Simple magazine identified it as a superfood that can solve all your problems in life (okay, they didn’t actually say so, but they implied it), I perked up and paid attention.

Presuming I would not find such a specialty item at my first-choice discount market (which is not Walmart), I looked for it at the A-Town Tops. “Excuse me,” I optimistically interrupted the stocky teen-aged stock boy. “Do you happen to know whether I might find something called ‘quin-oh-uh’ in this store?” “Uhhhhh…what is it?” he understandably replied. (I’d like to interject here to say that my own dear dad is a stocker at the B-Town Wegmans. When I related this story to him, he said he’d have told me I could find the mysterious product in the pharmacy dept. Dad’s humor.)

Three stock boys and 2 managers later, I discovered there’s no quin-oh-uh at A-Town Tops, but they do have it at the M-Town store. Well, that’s fine, and M-Town is only 12 minutes away, but I just don’t drive in that direction very often. So, instead, I sought out the miracle food at Dad’s B-Town W, where I learned it is pronounced “KEE-nwah” and it is Gluten Free. Bonus. (Lately, I have taken to fantasizing that perhaps I am lactose- or gluten- or nutrient- intolerant, and that is the reason I am having so much trouble shedding pounds…not anything at all to do with my over-consumption of Cake Mix Cookies and other carb-rich comfort foods.)

The very next day, I eagerly put my new friend Keenwah to the test and whipped up (“painstakingly plowed through” is more like it) the following recipe, which had been posted by a Facebook friend as part of the déjà new quinoa experience:

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Quite possibly the most complicated recipe I’ve ever attempted, but also quite possibly the tastiest, healthiest meal I’ve ever served. Maybe my problems didn’t mysteriously disappear with consumption of this concoction, but, by gum, I’m pretty proud of myself for the effort. And a little boost of the spirits, a tad more culinary confidence, plus a whole lotta vitamins, sure help stave off the doldrums!

(Incidentally, my peppers turned out just like the photo, which reminded me of the Cheesy Bells A-Town entry of old. What goes around, comes around. I think I’ll dance the Hokey-Pokey today.)