Seared Sea Scallops over Quinoa Pilaf

Tonight was an easy meal to make for one.  I picked up some sea scallops and decided to make a quinoa pilaf with ingredients I had on hand - pine nuts, dried cranberries, frozen peas, and rosemary from the roofdeck.
Here's what I used:
-4 sea scallops
-1/2 cup quinoa
-2 TB pine nuts
-1/4 cup frozen peas
-1/4 cup dried cranberries
-1 sprig of rosemary
Total prep / cooking time: 10 min.

First I got the quinoa going, as that takes the longest.  Add it to a pot with 1 cup of water (or the same ratio for the amount you need.) and get it started.  You can also use broth (vegetable or chicken) for extra flavor, but I wasn't sure how the saltiness would pair with the cranberries, so I just used water.
I also added the frozen peas directly to the boiling pot (though I should have added them a bit later - they cooked a bit too long.)

Then I toasted the pine nuts just slightly in a small pan (the same one that I will use for the scallops.) Make sure to stir them while they cook and pull them off as soon as they start to brown.  Set aside and add to pilaf right after it is done cooking.
Then rinse the sea scallops, remove the mussel on the side and discard (you CAN eat it, but it's really tough) and pat them very dry with a paper towel.  Add some salt and pepper to the scallops and get the small pan very, very hot.  Add 1 TB of butter - butter should start to brown nearly immediately if the pan is hot enough.  Then add the sea scallops and do not touch them for 2-3 minutes.

Then flip them just once, and let the second side cook on high for one minute.  Then turn the heat down and let them cook for 2-3 more minutes until they are just opaque.

Once all of the liquid is absorbed in the quinoa, stir in the cranberries, rosemary, and pine nuts and serve the scallops on top.

Et Voila! Easy, fast, and healthy.  Enjoy!