What I'm eating: calamari with lemon and thyme quinoa

For Christmas a very thoughtful relative gave me a voucher for The Cruelty Free Shop which we happily spent on foods that we have not seen here in Adelaide (some old favourites and some new things to try). One of the things we bought was a box of Just Green Calamari. Being summer, we thought it would be lovely to have with some salad one hot evening.

Well, the other day I decided the time was right. I made a delicious rainbow salad of mixed baby salad leaves, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot, corn, and chopped walnuts, with an olive oil, lemon juice, and cracked pepper dressing. I also decided to cook a packet of Celebrate Health Lemon and Thyme Quinoa (it's very easy, just add water, simmer for 10 minutes, then leave to sit for 5 minutes). I thought this was something I'd never had before but then it ended up tasting quite familiar so I think maybe I have had it once before. This packet had been sitting in my pantry for quite a while, waiting for the right accompaniment. I believe my mum bought it for me in Woolworths or Coles.

Then I excitedly got out the calamari. I looked over the packet for the cooking instructions. Unfortunately, my eyes found the ingredients. Ingredient #1: algae gum. What the?! Yuck! Well, I told myself, I'm sure it tastes delicious anyway. So I cooked it up and served a very mouth-watering looking meal. I ate the salad, refreshing and interesting. I ate the quinoa, awesome! I ate the calamari. It tasted fine I guess, but my mind kept saying over and over "Algae gum. Algae gum. You're eating algae..." I ended up having to force it down and I felt a little nauseous afterwards, though I know that was entirely psychological. Jeff, who I had told about the ingredients but would eat anything, said it tasted fine.

There was one more serving left in the packet so I decided to put the algae gum to the back of my mind and give the calamari another shot at lunch the next day. Nope. Once again, as I was chewing, the image of slimy, smelly, algae filled my mind again. I couldn't eat it. So sorry if you were planning on eating and enjoying Just Green Calamari in blissful ignorance, unaware of the main ingredient. I'm sure that If I hadn't known what was in it I would have liked it. On the other hand, if you're like Jeff and eating algae gum doesn't phase you, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this product!

On the plus side, the quinoa was brilliant. I definitely recommend it!

And I made a rockin' salad.

Happy eating!