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Friday, June 28, 2013

Such a Snoop: Quinoa Salad


I'll admit it, I totally peek into other people's shopping carts and create imaginary lives for them based on what they're purchasing.  To be fair, I do the same with my cart - looking at the contents and imagining how they portray my life.

I can't help it, food says so much about who you are! And looking in my shopping cart would have most people scratching their heads, I'm sure with our range of items from Nesquik to buckwheat soba noodles.

This morning, as I was dropping Thatbaby off at daycare and putting his lunch away my eyes we caught by one of his classmate's lunches-quinoa! We're big quinoa fans in Thathouse, but I don't think it's a typical toddler lunch. But it should be. We started using it on a more regular basis as a protein substitute when Thatbaby was refusing to eat meat and it remains a regular part or our meal plan.

Now that summer's here we move from warm quinoa casseroles to cold quinoa salads.  Quinoa salads are incredibly versatile, limited only by what you have in your fridge.  Throw in some olives, feta, and tomato and you have a Greek salad.  Walnuts and apple make for a great fall salad.  Grapefruit, watermelon, and feta make for a fantastic summer salad.  This one goes for a bit of a southwestern theme with jalapeno and avocado.

Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
3 cups water
1  cucumber, peeled and diced
1 red onion, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 jalapeno, with seeds and ribs removed, and minced
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
  1. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.  Add quinoa and return to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Drain and let cool.  
  2. Combine the tomatoes, chiles, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice and olive oil in a bowl. 
  3. Add the cucumber and onion, season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the quinoa and avocado, toss and adjust seasoning as necessary.

6 comments:

  1. Loks delicious.. Is that the red quinoa.. We always get the white.

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    1. It is red. We have it so often I've been trading off every time we're at the store. Trader Joes carries red, white, and tri-colored, so I just buy a different bag each time.

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  2. Love quinoa! That salad looks delicious.

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  3. i definitely hope my future babies eat quinoa! we love it around here.

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  4. Wow, what a great looking salad. I love quinoa. Thanks for the recipe.

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  5. The quinoa looks great. I have to laugh - I do exactly the same thing in the grocery lines and more often than not I really ask myself how people really feed their families.

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