Quinoa, herb and pomegranate salad and the digital age
Delicious and quick quinoa salad
I sit behind the computer and every once in a while (like every two seconds) I glance to my left where my trusted Iphone is hooked to the Mac… I’m installing the new software update version 5.0 on my Iphone 4 (no no not the Iphone 4s!) and it is taking a loooong time. Ok, I do have to admit that Itunes mentioned that it can take up to an hour or even more to do this update, but I’m used to updates being quick and taking a couple of minutes. However, whenever there is a new phone release there is also always a major software update for the existing phones… I do consider myself to be fairly technical but when it comes to changing my phone or computer I do get VERY nervous… Imagine that everything stops working?? :O(
If you were born in the sixties as I am, you can still remember the times before digital, before the mobile phone, before computers, before, well even before color tv or video! Sometimes when I think about it, it dawns on me how many technological changes there have been since I was born. It’s mindblowing really when you think about it. I can’t imagine my life without mobile phones, computers and facebook to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on in my life/work. Can you remember how things worked before computers/email/twitter/facebook? Or are you too young? 
Imagine having your car break down in the middle of the night and you don’t have your phone with you? How terrible would that be…?
Delicious and healthy quinoa salad
We’ve become so used to the digital age that it’s impossible to picture our lifes the way it used to be. Writing long letters on a piece of paper, going to the post office to get a stamp and then sending it of to your pen pal, friend or whoever else you wrote letters to in that time and age. My aunt lives in the US and that was the other end of the world to me. Impossible to have a connection to. These days I have friends all over the world, that I keep in contact with on a daily basis either through email, chat, facebook, google hangout and yes, we even meet in real life once in a while. I would not have known all those people if we didn’t all have digital tools to keep us connected. I do think there is a fine line between over using your digital resources, you have to be able to go without all that for a couple of days (try it; it’s liberating!!) and I hate it when I’m having dinner in a restaurant and the only thing you see around you is people bend over their mobile devices. (and tweeting to eachother!! Crazy!) Now that – to me – is taking it a bit too far.
In the meantime, while I was ranting about digital stuff, my phone has finished it’s update and seems to be working fine again… Pheww… I can relax now and go back to what you came to see here. That delicious recipe that I found on the internet using my Iphone..lol.. I then send it over to my computer to print. (Yes, I still like to read my recipes on paper so I don’t have to worry about getting grease stains on my Iphone!)
Quinoa, herb and pomegranate salad
Yield: 2
Prep Time: 8 mins
Cook Time: 12 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
- 150g quinoa
- 1/2 vegetable stock cube
- 75g pine nuts
- 1g pomegranate (seeds removed)
- 1 small handful mint (chopped)
- 1 small handful coriander (chopped)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Cook the quinoa according to pack instructions adding the vegetable stock cube to the cooking water. Leave to cool, then break up with a fork.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until lightly golden. Mix the pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, herbs, lime juice and 4 tbsp oil through the quinoa.
Recipe from BBC Good Food
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
the salad looks healthy. love it that you used pomegranate
its my favorite for salads. i agree , its sad that people spend too much time on their mobiles, computers etc too much is not good. its important to go out & meet ppl too . i’m not so attached to my phone, i take internet breaks often- it is liberating ! i send postcards to friends once a year at least….just beacuse i miss doing it . its out of fashion , but feels good to use snail mail once in a while 
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:57
I do have to confess that snail mail is not something I use a lot anymore but I do send out real christmas card to our friends and family too, so that counts as once a year right? Plus on holiday we might send out postcards too… It’s just not the same sending a digital one!
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This looks delicious! Gosh I miss quinoa…must make some soon!
I definitely remember life before the internet! I think those of us who have lived before the internet, and then witnessed its birth and subsequent entrenching into our lives, have experienced something really special
We will appreciate it and be amazed by it in a way the ones born into it cannot 
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:55
I agree it’s been a really interesting time to be alive. I always wonder if our grandparents felt the same way about their era but I can’t help but think that the amount of changes we had in this age are much bigger then the ones happening in the generation before us!
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Hey Sim. You know that version of hell? It happened last week and my new blackberry still seems to think it’s off. As mush as i enjoy the ipad and Mac, I like the BB as a phone (cheaper too for the enormous amount of internet I use out of office)..but only if it worked. Our lives have changed and I have no idea what we did before. Probably listened to each other a lot more..or pretended to
Lovely salad. The mint is a winner.
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:54
O yes…. I had all email stop working yesterday and I freaked out… Thinking I might have missed email this or that.. while in reality it was only a few hours that it was dead after all… What did we do with our time? We must have had so much left?
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A beautiful quinoa! For some reason I don’t really fancy quinoa. I tasted it once, but found it unappealing. Maybe I’ll have to try it again to see if I am wrong…
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:52
O you should give it another try Rosa! I think it’s a bit similar in texture to couscous although the flavor is different. I love quinoa as it is so versatile (and healthy too!)
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The salad looks great. I remember the time when people wouldnt stare at their phones all the time.
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:51
Good old days right?
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I love this reflective ‘the way we were’ before technology post.
When I moved to the US is was right before email and the interent took of so the first few years were spent with me phoning home (at ridiculous prices) every Sunday for one hour. It broke the bank but I
was homesick and needed that contact with my parents and siblings.
I have no idea HOW I would survive without the ease of communication that the internet offers us today.
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I am a child of the late Fifties, I know EXACTLY what you mean
Beautiful post and photos as always Simon.
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:47
Lol… glad I’m not the only one Wendy!
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I remember life without all these devices that are supposed to make life easier. I don’t know if it was better or not, but now most of us are so used to technology that, like you mention, we would be lost without it.
I love the salad. Quinoa is such a great ingredient.
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 15:47
It’s definitely one of my favorite ingredients!
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Simone, all I can say is that thanks to internet and everything we did not have in the 60s has brought me you as a very dear friend! And just think, we can sit and have a chat, watching each other, any time we want as if we lived in the same house! How wonderful is that? Ha I look up the list of those who have left comments before me and how wonderful that we live all over the world yet are all friends!!
And that top photo is STUNNING!! It came into my email box and I just stared at it for 10 minutes! And what a fabulous salad. I love this post…
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 18th, 2011 at 23:36
Mwah… You’re such a sweetheart Jamie, but you are also absolutely right! We would never have met if not for internet, twitter and blogging! And I would not have missed that for the world…
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i like your food pictures and want to invite you to try out tastingspot.com. it’s for anyone that just wants another place to submit photos and share it will other foodies. It’s still in beta version, but would love for you to start adding some photos and help get it going.
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I also still send out proper paper Christmas cards, and postcards when I travel! But other than that, I’m a digital age girl all the way… It was nice last weekend though to have chunks of time when we had no wifi at all so were forced to stay off the net and live in the now! Love this salad – the textures and the colours.
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 20th, 2011 at 23:53
Yes I do think I’ve fully embraced the digital age.. (love it!) but there are still a few remnants of the paper age that are sticking to me..
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Wow, I made this the other day and loved it! (my hubby wasn’t that thrilled so it meant more for me, yay:)) I made it with half quinoa and half bulgur and added some green onions…delish. the thing I miss most about the old, pre-digital age are handwritten recipes…:(but on the bright side, so many wonderful food blogs and creative recipes to try!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 5th, 2011 at 15:20
Glad that you liked it! I have to say that I don’t think my hubby would like it very much either. I make these dishes usually when he’s not there!
Probably too healthy!
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