Summer Quinoa Salad

I't's so busy around here this time of year that I live on Quinoa (KEEN-WAH). For every party, event, quick supper this is what I contribute and it's always a hit (except with my picky kids!) It's whole grain, vegetarian, high in protein and cooks up fast! Like a painter's white canvas it'll take anything you want. Add, subtract, substitute to make your favorite. To get you started, here's one of my summer versions based on a warm quinoa salad by my dear friend April.


Ingredients: 

1 1/2 c. dry Quinoa

Olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar ( plain, cherry or fig )

Sunflower Seeds 1/2 cup. optional

Pumpkin seeds 1/4 c. optional

1 - 1 1/2 c corn kernels (canned or fresh)

1-2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced and lightly salted

1/8-1/4c (2-4 TBSP) fresh basil, chopped

1 large avocado, cut into small cubes and marinated in juice of 1/2 lime and 1 TBSP olive oil, a pinch or salt and pepper

Salt and Pepper

Juice of a whole lime or more

Directions:

1 1/2 cups of dry quinoa cooked according to directions yields approx. 3 c. cooked quinoa. 

(1 c. quinoa to 2 c. water, just like rice. Cooks in 15 to 20 minutes).

Fluff with a fork: Add 1-2 Tbsp Olive oil and 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar 

After cooling slighty,

Toss with salt and pepper to season the grain. To your liking. I always start light. Maybe 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.

Next, add seeds and corn. Toss lightly and check seasonings. Add more olive oil or vinegar if needed.

Add chopped basil. Toss. 

Add Tomatoes, toss lightly. 

Add avocado and the juice of 1/2 lime and toss very lightly.

Additional Salt and pepper if needed. 

Leftover marinade for avocado can be added if needed.

The vinegar and lime juice add important acids to help keep the grain from disintegrating. Will keep well in the refrigerator for 5- 7 days. Enjoy!

Nuts about Nuts ( and other ingredients I want my kids to eat)

It’s been a long time coming with my kids, but I have converts. Finally I have kids who like nuts. I’ve tried every kind of nut you can imagine. Big ones , small ones. raw ones, salted and roasted ones, seeds and kernels. We’ve tried organic and horribly processed too. For years, the kids just thumbed their nose at them, “No Thanks, Mom.”, “Can you make Banana Bread with no nuts?”, and “I don’t like_______ (fill in the blank).”

But I persisted. I made Madeleines the old-fashioned French way with ground almond flour. I made Olive Oil Cake (another recipe based on an ingredient I want my kids to eat: olive oil) full of ground almonds. I made Banana Bread with (Flax), Pecans and Chocolate. I made it ALL the time. I made Ranger Chocolate Chip Cookies full of (oatmeal and) nuts. I added them stir fry. I made cakes and cookies, and anything reasonably appropriate for them,  CHOCK full of nuts and asked pardon, not permission. 

Ultimately I bought piles of the least objectionable candidates organic and raw and toasted them, plain. Intially we just added them to recipes. In our minds, toasted nuts make everything taste better. Before we knew it the toasted nut atop the Banana Bread were our family’s favorite recipe-- and the Olive Oil Cake, Madeleines, and Chocolate Chip Ranger Cookies were favorites too.

One school day morning there were bowls of extra toasted pecans and Scott tucked them into the kids’ lunches. 

That day my kids ate toasted nuts alone---and liked them. After prolonged exposure, something finally took. My 12 year old son said , “Mom put extra pecans in the Banana Bread.”, “Mom can you toast pecans, cashews, pine nuts, _______ (fill in the blank).”, “Mom would you toast more nuts?”

It’s been a long time coming, but I can say my kids like nuts. 

Now, onto the next challenge.