Quinoa-Cornmeal Beer Loaf

Don't let the name intimidate you. This side dish has potential. For dinner tonight, I grilled up some wild salmon (again... my family loves salmon), rubbed in a tequila-lime spice mix and then slathered with a mango tequila lime vinaigrette. Served over (or on the side of) a mixed greens salad with freshly grated organic Gruyere cheese and chopped cinnamon-cayenne nuts.

I got the idea for this loaf because I saw a recipe for a Quinoa skillet-bread. Tonight I was originally just going to make quinoa and keep it simple, but then as the time kept ticking without my fam showing up, I just kept adding more and more to the saucepan. I decided, hey, it's summertime.. why not some cornmeal? So I stirred that up. And it just didn't look very good... and then it started soaking up so much water, but I didn't want to add more water because I could tell it would taste bland. So I got to thinking.. what's liquidy and tasteful and summery and fresh?

Oh, Bud Light with Lime, of course! So I poured in enough to allow the quinoa and cornmeal to soak up. And it still didn't look complete at all. And no one was home yet. So I stuck it in a loaf pan, chucked some butter chunks on top, more salt, some Craisins, the juice of half an orange, and some orange rinds. Then put it in a 350 oven until the top turned golden. Then serve with honey dribbled over it.

All in all, it turned out pretty good!
But this is what I would change:

-more beer!! We could hardly taste it. I would honestly put in at least half a bottle. It has a really nice flavor pairing with the cornmeal.
-more salt... don't be fearful (like I was)... the beer will need it.
-add about 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour to thicken it up (mine was less of a loaf and more of a mush)
-more orange juice (only fresh though, of course). use the juice of a whole orange rather than just one half. and more orange rinds on top.

Sooo just more of everything. I guess it's good to go safe the first time, because now I know.