Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Quinoa Salad

Happy hump day! I’m so glad the week is half over with! That means that Saturday is just around the corner, and I will be on my way to NJ. Traveling from Jackson, TN to Randolph, NJ…wow, that’s a long way. I’ve got to get some vegan traveling food together, so I don’t starve! I’m a bit nervous, but excited about the trip. Nervous because it’s the first real trip that I have taken since being vegan. We are going to visit family, so that is the very exciting part. I am hoping to perhaps come across some new vegan foods to try while on my trip!

Okay…on to the food. Last night for supper I had a little bit of my leftover Chinese food from lunch, sauerkraut, and quinoa salad. As I was reading the recipe for the quinoa salad, I again realized that I didn’t have everything to make it, so I had to make some changes. I don’t know how the original recipe would have turned out, but my version was good.


3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons basil
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1/2 cup quinoa, thoroughly rinsed
1 ½ teaspoons of cumin
1 cup cooked black beans
3 tablespoons minced onion
salt and pepper to taste

Combine lime juice, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper and set aside.
Bring 1½ cups water to a boil in a small saucepan and add corn. Reduce heat and simmer until the corn is tender. Drain corn, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Return cooking liquid to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add quinoa and cumin. Cover and simmer 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove quinoa from heat and set aside for 5 minutes.
Fluff quinoa with a fork and transfer to a bowl. Let it cool for a bit.
Add corn, black beans, onion and dressing to quinoa and mix well.

The original recipe says to chill before eating, but I had mine warm and it was fantastic. I did have some cold today for lunch and it was just as good.

This morning I had another green smoothie. This mornings smoothie had frozen strawberries, pineapples, mangos and peaches for the fruit. First, I put about ¼ cup oatmeal and 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds in the blender and blended until the oatmeal was like a powder. I then added a handful of spinach, the frozen fruit and some orange juice. Oh, and a little agave nectar. I blended all that up until nice and creamy. This was only like the second time I have ever put oatmeal in a smoothie. My first try was horrible, but I didn’t blend the oatmeal alone on my first try. Today’s smoothie with the oatmeal was a success. Even if I did get told at work that it looked like it had already been drank once. :o(


~Peace~

9 comments:

  1. I have found the oats work better when you grind them alone first too. ;-) People always find my green smoothies to be odd. But since I cringe at their cheese covered food I guess we are even.

    I hope you have a nice trip to NJ.

    Ali

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  2. Get used to the comments at work about your food. They never stop.

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  3. I love black beans and corn, that quinoa salad looks good. I'm glad it turned out well with your adaptations - I love it when that happens!

    What a weird comment about the food. I agree, though, you can expect a lot of that. Sadly.

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  4. Not sure what the original quinoa recipe called for, but your adaptation sounds really good. I love that big pile of sauerkraut!

    Hooray for the week being more than halfway over. Have fun in New Jersey!

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  5. I don't know why exactly, but I LOVE quinoa in Southwestern preparations.
    What a mean thing for someone to say about your smoothie! >:[

    -Amber Shea @Almost Vegan

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  6. I'd never think about making an oatmeal smoothie! I bet in the winter itd be awesome! I'm sorry your coworker said that, but I have to admit I did laugh a bit. :) I'm still a bit intimidated by green smoothies myself but yours does sound good. One of these days Ill work up the courage to throw some spinach in there...right now its baby steps!

    And thank you for my birthday message! Your comments mean so much to me!
    xoxo

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  7. Michelle, come to my spot for a treat for you.

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  8. Ooo, I'm excited to hear about your trip and what kind of food you find. I love hearing about vegan finds on trips. I hope you find a really awesome place to eat. I wish I lived in the Northeast. I wish you could sneak over 40 miles or so into Manhattan and enjoy an amazing vegan meal at, say, Candle Cafe. :)

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