Rainbow Quinoa Salad

Since it is summer and bloody hot in my house, I am finding ways to make a healthy, fulfilling dinner, without using much of the stove top or the oven. It's quite a challenge if you're like me and get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. I can handle eating a salad two or three times a week, but after that, I don't want to see lettuce until the next week. I am like this with everything, and it drives my partner crazy. But, I am picky. And opinionated. And extremely stubborn. So when I started cooking with quinoa more, I thought this would be a great dish and it would include all the colours of the rainbow. 

I love corn. And I love black beans, and I think they are delicious together. Something about corn reminds me of the summer, and I enjoy it so much. It's sweet, crunchy, and delicious. And don't you worry, this is 100% organic corn, so need to worry about GMOs in my food. I don't usually have time to soak beans over night and then cook them when I am ready. Not that I don't have time, let me rephrase that: I don't remember doing this vital step. So I used canned beans, but I do rinse them as well as boil them so that people don't get gassy. Other than that and the quinoa, nothing needs to be cooked. 

Quinoa and I met just recently, and we fell in love. It's such a simple little grain but it is so filling and filled with fiber, something I need very much. And, it cooks just like rice so it doesn't take a long time.

The one thing I really like about this salad is all the colour from all the vegetables. You can add whatever vegetables you want to this mix, but I like the way I have it listed below. It's crisp, sweet, sour, and light. The sauce that goes on this is delicious as well, with the dash of lime and cumin, it adds a nice little summery kick to it.

And I love that I can use a lot of avocados, because they are just so delicious and good for you. 

The sauce is simple: olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper to taste, and lime juice. It's a great summer sauce and adds to the lightness of this salad. I really appreciate that part of this. And the quinoa just soaks it up, which makes a huge difference the next day because the flavours have really mixed together.

This is a great dish to take to a BBQ because it makes so much! I also tend to cook up more quinoa because I like to save some and make a breakfast dish in it the next morning so I get a good, complete breakfast.

Rainbow Quinoa Salad
Serves: A LOT!

2 c. un-cooked quinoa
1 red onion
1/2 each of: green, red, yellow, and orange bell pepper
1 32oz. black beans (the large one, which may not be 32, but not the 15 oz.)
1 15oz. corn kernels
1 container of cherry tomatoes, or any other small tomatoes
1 tbs. vinegar
1-2 avocados (your choice on how much avocado you want. I personally think more is better)

For Sauce:
1/2 c. olive oil
1 container of lime juice
1 tbs. cumin (or more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Wash two cups of quinoa thoroughly, removing any sand or dirt crumbles you might find. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add quinoa. Bring down to a simmer, place the lid on the pot, and let cook for 20 minutes, undisturbed (much like rice).

Meanwhile, rinse black beans and corn, and also cook in a pot with water for at least 5 minutes (you can not do this as well, but I have noticed that if you don't cook it for just a bit, you and your company may get some gas).

While everything is cooking, chop all the vegetables. I cube the avocado to small pieces so that it goes with the rest of the sizes. Once everything is chopped, place in a LARGE bowl with the tablespoon of vinegar.

Strain the beans and corn and rise with cold water. Add to the bowl with the vegetables. Once quinoa is done cooking, let cool for 20 minutes. Add to vegetable mixture and stir thoroughly, making sure that there are no clumps of quinoa.

Dressing: whisk all ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning as you see fit. I like it limey, so if you don't, add more olive oil to tame the lemon juice. I also like mine a bit cumin-y, so the tablespoon isn't too much, but if you want more, add more.

Add the dressing, and stir the salad well. I like mine to cool down before I eat it, as it is more summery that way, so I stick it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, which also allows all the flavors to combine.

Enjoy!

Sauteed brussel sprouts and cabbage

It's been awhile since I wrote a post, forgive me? Things have been crazy in my kitchen lately. What do you mean, you may ask? Ohhh, just this thing of me baking my gluten-free and vegan baked goods at a new coffee shop!

Last week, I prepared: gluten-free and vegan banana flax-seed muffins, gluten-free and vegan snickerdoodles, gluten-free and vegan pumpkin bread, and cranberry bran muffins. So, I have been busy baking, chatting with the general manager, and then working my full-time job, cooking all the time. It's been very busy. I have been very busy, so I needed a quick meal that wasn't going to take me long.

I have never had brussel sprouts, and I was walking through the grocery store just staring at all the vegetables and so I grabbed ten of them. I also grabbed two small heads of cabbage because they looked kind of good. The problem with me going grocery shopping, and being bored while I am grocery shopping means I grab random food I don't really know what to do with it. And then I realized you can pretty much cook anything and make it taste good if you saute it. 

The first think I learned when I started cooking so much, is that you always need to fry your onions and garlic first, because it just adds a totally different flavour. I have to say, it's kind of annoying to cook ALL the time. I am sure I would probably get annoyed with baking all the time, but this new adventure is something that will show me if I am cut out for baking a lot. I will still be working my real job, and then when I come home, I will be making gf and vegan banana flax muffins and gf and vegan snickerdoodles every day. It could be extremely tiring, but I am going to try. If it ends up being too much, I will try and work something else out so that I can still provide baked goods for them, but maybe not every single day. 

Anyway, getting back to this meal, it really turned out so much better than I thought it would be. I am sure it would taste even better if things were sauteed in butter, because honestly, butter! Like Paula Dean always talks about... butter, butter, butter. 

Roasting some sunflower seeds is what I did to add a little crunch to all the softness of the cabbage and brussel sprouts. I actually ended up loving the brussel sprouts just on their own--I don't know why so many people hate them! I think I enjoyed them so much. 

I had all these things sitting in the fridge for over a week, including asparagus, so I needed to cook them all. This last minute idea was pretty quick and delicious. And it was really filling. It's so nice to eat good food that makes you feel good. Even when you have a crappy day. It tends to lift you up.

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts and Cabbage
10 brussel sprouts
2 small heads of cabbage
1.5 c. roasted sunflower seeds
1 onion
6 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil to coat pan

Wash all the brussel sprouts and the cabbage. Cut the brussel sprouts in half and shred the cabbage like would cole-slaw. Cut the onions in half and slice the six cloves of garlic.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Once heated, toss in onions and garlic. saute for 10 minutes until things get a little crisp. Add the brussel sprouts and cabbage. Cover with a lid and let cook for 15 minutes.

Once the cabbage has shrunk in size, toss the ingredients in the pan, and cover for a another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, take the sunflower seeds and put them on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 350 degrees until they start to brown, about 10 minutes.

Once the sunflower seeds are done, toss them into the brussel sprouts and cabbage.

Toss them altogether in the pan.

Put in a bowl, grab some chopsticks, and enjoy!