this literally is a garden salad, with many of the ingredients coming from my small garden.
ingredients:
- 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package instructions. let cool in fridge.
- 1 bunch of fresh chives, snipped (about 1/4 cup)
- 5 or 6 large leaves of fresh basil, chopped
- 2 or 3 mint leaves, as garnish or chopped into the salad
- 2 or 3 small cucumbers, diced
- sweet green pepper, diced (seeds removed)
- small tomato (larger than the grape tomato in photo above! or a handful of grape tomatoes), diced
- juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper to taste
directions:
- um, do what the ingredients say, mix it all in a bowl (vintage pyrex optional, i suppose), roughly in that order. enjoy!
- (think i have a hope of getting a cook book deal? gotta work on the formal steps, but really, this recipe is a no-brainer :-))
where i get rambly, because i can:
- i’ve written about quinoa before. it’s a versatile nutritional seed that fills dishes (and tummies) much like a carbohydrate, but feels lighter and is actually a good source of protein and fibre. it’s especially good in summer dishes because it is light and filling, and has a mild flavour so it can be used in many different ways.
- mint and cucumber have cooling properties, which i explained in my recipe for cucumber soup. perfect for summer.
- if you want, you can replace the lemon with your own favourite dressing. i like how the lemon keeps it tangy and light.
- after the quinoa has cooled in the fridge, fluff it with a fork. the clumps break up easily and it’s kind of fun, actually.
- this is a very simple recipe that you can throw together with a few ingredients in very little time. it can be made ahead and stored in the fridge, but i recommend eating it fresh to enjoy the full flavour of the summer harvest.
oh I just love that last photo. hmmmmm summer, thanks for sharing some warmth, as I sit here listening to the wind howling out the window, wrapped in my blankie, snuggled in my beanie and scarf.
It looks good! Quinoa is awesome ;)
By the way, I was afraid you’d say Tobermory – I’ve never been up there yet – I would love to go – but 4 hours driving time one way – – I wish we carpooled Ana! ;)
looks gorgeous Ana and just right for these scorching hot days we are having in Virginia…
thanks so much for sharing and inspiring me…we use the Red Quinoa a lot :)
oxo
That looks good. Do I find the quinoa in the grocery store? Went to the local farmer’s market yesterday and bought some fresh, fresh vegetables.
most grocery stores here have them. bulk food stores and whole-foods type stores should as well. the bob’s red mill packages are usually all found together in the dry goods section. it looks like this.
Yum! Always looking for new ways to use quinoa! I’m bookmarking this with plans to go pick up some fresh veggies at the farmers market this weekend!
i hope you like it! (let me know if you put your own twist on it, i’m imagining it now with diced avocados mmm!)
thanks for sharing! i only tried quinoa for the first time like a year or two ago, and would love to try a new recipe.
You know, I’ve actually never made quinoa before. Thanks for sharing!
ana, the instructions on the package I have (which my daughter sent while she was in Israel) are in HEBREW. How do I make it?
I love the italics in (vintage pyrex optional, i )
WHAT DO THOSE html TAGS MEAN???
There they are so helpfully at the bottom of the comments box and I can NEVER get them to actually work!
oh no, you got html’ed again! ;) you have to add the closing tags with a slash, so like this <*/i> after the word you want italicized (minus the * i added so it would show up)
and that’s all i know about html :P also, use google translator for the cooking instructions.
Your little garden is doing well! So far, I just have zuccini.
The salad looks delicious. I make a similar dish using couscous
with an olive oil/lemon juice dressing.
i love quinoa and one day i hope to be able to eat it cold – because it generally forms part of a quick salad with feta i leave it until the last minute and then have to be careful it doesn’t wilt the lettuce! ;D
Oh yum, this does look delicious – love that last, tasty photo!
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