When quinoa first entered mainstream consciousness a decade or two ago, it started something of a food revolution. It was nowhere, and suddenly it was everywhere. Some people refer to it as a super food, and it's a staple of vegan and vegetarian diets in particular. We don't mind a hot bowl of quinoa porridge in the winter. It also works well in salads.
Quinoa is a grain crop specifically grown because its seeds are edible; it serves practically no other purpose. When pronouncing its name, though, it's important not to get thrown by the 'q' at the start, which always has the potential to make things different'. "Kwin-oh-a" isn't the way to go with this one. This is a word that has Spanish origins, so he 'q' has a hard edge, and the 'u' becomes silent, which gives us "keen-wah".