For the 4th this year Josh and I ventured up north to Massachusetts to visit my parents, my sister and her family, my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and three cousins. It was a packed house which means lots of hands on deck for meals and baby watching (my niece and nephew are 2). Unfortunately the 4th itself was the day Hurricane Andrew came our way so it was dark and stormy and resulted in a pretty quiet day around the house. My mom gave me a needlepoint piece that she found that I had been working on 6 years ago when I lived with them! I had never finished it so she had helped it along and I almost made it to the finish line while we were there. Josh and I had a ton of fun playing with the babies. They repeat everything you say and got a huge kick out of Josh's funny voices and noises.
We had some excellent food while we were there. Swordfish and quinoa salad with roasted vegetables one night and baked salmon, couscous, lentil mini burgers, and more veggies the next. Friday night even ended in a delicious lemon meringue type pie. Which reminds me...I need to get that recipe. The quinoa salad was my contribution and with the help of my aunt and her serious chopping skills, was super easy to make. I made it once before and it's so easy and delicious. We doubled the recipe this time around but unfortunately didn't have enough limes to double the dressing. It was needed but still ended up alright. Light, summery, and super colorful. Play with the colors of peppers like we did for a really beautiful result. It's great for large and small gatherings and keeps well for 1-2 days in a sealed container.
My sister came to tell me how good it was and I had to admit it was a recipe I found in my email that she sent me in 2011!
Quinoa Black Bean Summer Salad
Yield: ~5 cups
For the salad:
1 cup uncooked quinoa (recipe calls for red...I use regular white)
1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
1 cup fresh corn (optional) (frozen is fine, or sub frozen peas)
1 small avocado, chopped into 1 inch pieces
For the dressing:
4-5 tbsp of fresh lime juice (Juice from 2 small limes)
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste
Directions:
1. Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package directions.
2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.
3. Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the beans and vegetables and toss well.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Bring salad to room
temperature before serving.
We had some excellent food while we were there. Swordfish and quinoa salad with roasted vegetables one night and baked salmon, couscous, lentil mini burgers, and more veggies the next. Friday night even ended in a delicious lemon meringue type pie. Which reminds me...I need to get that recipe. The quinoa salad was my contribution and with the help of my aunt and her serious chopping skills, was super easy to make. I made it once before and it's so easy and delicious. We doubled the recipe this time around but unfortunately didn't have enough limes to double the dressing. It was needed but still ended up alright. Light, summery, and super colorful. Play with the colors of peppers like we did for a really beautiful result. It's great for large and small gatherings and keeps well for 1-2 days in a sealed container.
My sister came to tell me how good it was and I had to admit it was a recipe I found in my email that she sent me in 2011!
Quinoa Black Bean Summer Salad
Yield: ~5 cups
For the salad:
1 cup uncooked quinoa (recipe calls for red...I use regular white)
1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
1 cup fresh corn (optional) (frozen is fine, or sub frozen peas)
1 small avocado, chopped into 1 inch pieces
For the dressing:
4-5 tbsp of fresh lime juice (Juice from 2 small limes)
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste
Directions:
1. Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package directions.
2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.
3. Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the beans and vegetables and toss well.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Bring salad to room
temperature before serving.
