Summer Quinoa Salad

Hi! How is your week going so far? I have been happy knowing that at the end of this week, we get to celebrate the 4th of July with a 3-day weekend. Layla will be staying at a doggie hotel for two whole nights while I get a little break back at the coast.

(source: Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon)

I started getting back into running recently and have been having a blast running with my friend, Tonya. We started tonight’s trail run at Sellwood park. It got a little dangerous when we took a closed-off hazardous trail that included a dirt cliff and us hopping a fence and crossing some train tracks. We survived – haha!

I wanted to share a new salad recipe with you today. I will forever credit Jennie Brouse for introducing me to her quinoa salads. There were a a few quinoa salads that I had tried in the past, but nothing like hers. Today’s recipe is an adaptation of her classic quinoa salad.

Summer Quinoa Salad

I cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1 cooked beet, chopped

1 cup raw zucchini, chopped

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup cooked corn kernals

1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1/2″ peices

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil, sliced

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Soak the quinoa is hot water for 10 minutes. Drain in fine mesh sieve. Add the quinoa to two cups of boiling water in a medium size sauce pan. Cover and cook at a medium simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest with the cover for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature.

2. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with the vinegar and olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

I love to pack this as a quick lunch or snack on a smaller portion of it. You can also substitute any of the ingredients with other types of vegetables. For example, I don’t really care for beets, but I try to make myself eat them because they are so healthy. If I’m really not feeling like beets, I would just use more zuchini in place of the beets. Or, if you prefer feta to goat cheese, go for it. The mixing and matching of ingredients is a fun way to make their salad your own!

My salads all packed up for the week.

I then pre-pack my salads for the week and I am ready to easily grab one from the fridge and take with to work each day. See how time-efficient you can be by doing your grocery shopping and meal prep on the weekends? I’m off to go play with Layla. She has been begging to play and chew on her bones.