Suzanne’s Keen for Some Quinoa

Sebastian Jones in West Dawson is growing quinoa to share with Suzanne … if it goes to seed.  Last year it almost did.  This year, Sebastian started it earlier, so fingers crossed.

Without rice or pasta and very few grains (some barley and rye), quinoa would be a real treat to be able to add to a local Dawson diet.  And it will be excellent to know if we can successfully grow it this far north with our short growing season.

With twice the protein content of rice or barley, quinoa is a very good source of calcium, magnesium and manganese. It also has good levels of several B vitamins, vitamin E, and dietary fibre.  Moreover, quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids making it a complete-protein source, and a great choice for vegans wanting to get enough protein in their diets.

Lambsquarter (a.k.a. pigweed) is related to quinoa and grows wild in the Yukon.  Suzanne will be trying to collect the seed from lambs quarter in the Fall to see if she can cook it up like quinoa.  If anyone has had success with this, let us know!