POM Giveaway

Today's post is a loaded one. Not only do I have a yummy recipe for you, but it also ties in to Holiday Food Fest and National Pomegranate Month and a sweet POM giveaway. Shirley, who I met on the POM Blogger Tour, is the blogger behind Gluten Free Easily and boy does she know her gluten free stuff. She invited me to participate in a bloggers' Holiday Food Fest - to link one of my posts during a food-themed week to share with other bloggers and readers. Hop on over to Tasty Eats at Home to check out more Fall Dishes, which is this week's theme.
It's also National Pomegranate Month, the height of the pomegranate season! To celebrate, I cooked up a pomegranate-fall-themed-dish for dinner last night and the wonderful people at POM offered to send two of my readers some POM goodies. So when you're done reading, leave me a comment to tell me about the best pomegranate themed food you've ever had. I'll pick two winners at random, so make sure you leave me your contact information in the comment so I know where to find you!

Now onto the recipe. I'll call it Pomegranate Quinoa with Peas and Celery. That's not only the title, but also the ingredient list!

1 cup quinoa - rinsed and drained in cold water
2 cups POMx iced tea - I used the hibiscus green tea but you could use any flavor, or POM juice, or even plain old water or vegetable broth
1.5 cups frozen peas
5 celery stalks, diced salt to taste

After rinsing the quinoa, bring quinoa and POMx tea to a boil. Once you're at a rapid boil, lower heat to a simmer, add the celery, peas and salt, and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut open your pomegranate verrrryyyy gently so the arils don't pop and splatter all over your white ocuntertops and white cabinets. I cut off a thin slice from the top, and make a shallow slice on one side then grip my pomegranate on either side and crack it open. Tip: I do this in a bowl of water so if those arils are going to pop, they're not going to pop all over me or my white kitchen! Then just poke and prod the arils out into the water, drain, and voila! Nearly two cups of gorgeous ruby red arils.Once the quinoa is done cooking, stir in one cup of the pomegranate arils and your dish is done!

This meal is packed with protein from the quinoa and peas, fiber from the quinoa, veggies, and fruit, and an antioxidant overload from the POMx iced tea and arils. It was a sweet and savory dish that we enjoyed piping hot. And no, it didn't taste like iced tea! The POMx tea added a subtle flavor of hibiscus but nothing overpowering. I love adding sweet fruit into my savory dishes so this one hit the spot.

Happy Holiday Food Fest and National POMegranate Month - don't forget to comment to enter to win some POM beverages!

Disclaimer: I am not being paid by POM to promote their products.