April

Quinoa Salad

for Beltane

Great for having "instant food" in the fridge that isn't chips or other garbage. It is also a good candidate for potlucks as it can easily be made vegan. Using quinoa instead of couscous means you can use it as a main dish. Perfect for hot weather! 

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 cups quinoa

1-2 tomato, chopped

15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 English cucumber, diced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

¼ cup minced cilantro or parsley

dressing

1/2 cup lemon juice

¼ cup broth

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

6 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

½ tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp Tabasco

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, pecans, or walnuts

salt and pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and broth to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid is mostly gone (10-15 minutes), stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cover to steam for 10 min. Spread onto cookie pan to cool, chill when done.

Mix in everything else.

Put dressing ingredients in jar; shake well. Add to salad and mix well. Served chilled.

Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Optional:

I ended up adding ¼ cup Italian dressing because there was just *barely* too little for my taste.

You can also add cooked chicken to this, but the quinoa and chickpeas give you plenty of protein.

You could swap out couscous for quinoa (follow the instructions on the box/bag for cooking the couscous) but I’m trying to avoid wheat.