California Quinoa Salad

This recipe from Damn Delicious is a "copycat recipe" inspired by a salad at Whole Foods. I've never tried this salad before but the combination of ingredients (mango, red pepper, coconut, raisins, red onion, lime, cilantro) looked interesting to me so thought I should give it a try.

This salad was light and fresh tasting, and had a unique flavour.  I will definitely be making it again!

A few notes:

• I didn't add mangos. Sold out at 2 grocery stores. Who knows, maybe it would have made the salad even better! If anything, it may have made the salad too sweet for me - I felt the raisins and coconut had enough of a subtle sweetness.
• The orange in the picture is an orange bell pepper as I only had half a red bell pepper
• I toasted the sliced almonds
• Not stated in the recipe but I seasoned (to taste) with salt and pepper

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I bought a bunch of colourful bell peppers and needed to find a recipe for them - I found this great recipe from Damn Delicious.  This dish was beautiful and delicious - there is something about preparing and eating lovely looking food… So, I'm posting some extra pictures!

I think this would be a great side dish if you're having company over and wanted to impress them.

A few notes:

• I excluded the green chilies and pepper jack cheese
• I didn't exactly measure any of the ingredients that went into the quinoa mixture, I think that is what is great about this recipe as you can tweak it to how you like it!
• 1 cup dry quinoa yields approximately 3 cups cooked
• I happened to have celery in my fridge so I diced a stalk and threw it in

 

Just out of the oven!

One-Pot Curried Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

This recipe from Oh My Veggies caught my attention.  This curry was perfect for a chilly day like it was today - warm and very filling!

A few notes:

• I didn't use frozen butternut squash.  I peeled, chopped into bite sized chunks, then baked the squash in the oven on a lightly 'olive-oiled' baking sheet for about 25 minutes at 400F
• I also didn't use frozen peppers.  I chopped about 3/4 of each a yellow and red bell pepper
• I think cilantro would also have tasted nicely as a garnish instead of parsley

Quinoa Salad

This recipe is inspired by a quinoa salad I had at Prairie Ink Restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Ingredients:
Salad

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1/2 c almonds, toasted
• 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and grated (this is approximately one 6-8" carrot)
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 cup corn
• 3/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 shallot, finely diced (or 1/4 cup red onion, diced)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 to 4 cups arugula

Dressing

• 1 or 2 limes, juiced (this is about 5-6 tbsp if you have juicy limes)
• zest of 1 lime
• 1 heaping tsp cumin
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp honey (optional)

Directions:

1) Cook quinoa according to package directions. Cool.

2) Toast almonds* 

3) Prepare dressing by whisking ingredients in a small bowl.

4) In a large bowl, combine quinoa, carrots, tomatoes, corn, black beans, chickpeas, shallot and cilantro and mix gently.

5)  Add dressing to salad.  Salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, toss with arugula. Garnish with toasted almonds.

*Throw almonds into a pan, cook on low-medium heat, and stir occasionally until golden brown.  No need for butter or oil.

Notes: 

• I kept a little reserve dressing and lightly tossed arugula in it before adding to salad.
• I kept the arugula separate from the main salad until ready to serve because I wanted to eat the salad the next day and was unsure if the arugula would be soggy
• I used a blend of red, black and white quinoa

This salad was great, I will definitely be making it again!

Bocconcini and Oregano Salad

This salad is from the cookbook Quinoa 365 and posted with permission from the publisher at CookThatBook.

I actually didn't have bocconcini so you can see in the pictures that I used a bit of feta instead.  This quinoa salad was good, but not spectacular. I would like to try this recipe again with the bocconcini and fresh (rather than dry) oregano.

Quinoa, Pomegranate, Almond and Feta Salad

This recipe is from cooking-spree.  This salad was awesome, beautiful colours and nice flavours.

Note: For the quinoa part, I used a blend of white and black.

Asian Quinoa Salad

Recipe from two peas & their pod.

I really wanted to love this salad, beautiful colours and individually the ingredients are things I like. But, unfortunately for me, the end flavour just wasn't something that I really enjoyed.