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Saturday, July 30, 2011

Picnic food!

So, despite the weather, I had to fire up my stove last night.  We are having a lab picnic at our mentor's today.  The quinoa salad that I made for the division picnic seemed to be popular, so I decided to create another.  This time, I have split the salad in half to take care of another intolerance that is prevelant in our lab: lactose intolerance.  Also, if we didn't have nut allergies, I would probably add nuts or toasted seeds or pignolia to this salad as well as I like that nutty crunch.  Here's my "creation":

Basalmic Summer Quinoa Salad
  • 1/2 large cucumber*
  • 1/4 cup basalmic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried basil (may use fresh)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic and herbs (may use fresh)
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups kale*
  • 1 medium tomato*
  • 1/4 cup feta (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts, almonds or toasted pignolia (optional)
Wash cucumber, cut into a 1/4 inch dice.  In a small bowl, mix vinegar, oil, basil and garlic.  Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers and marinate overnight.

In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil.  Add quinoa and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook 10 minutes.  In the meantime, wash kale and remove stems.  Chop into bite-sized pieces.  After 10 minutes cooking, add kale to top of quinoa.  Cover and simmer another 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to steam an additional 5 minutes.

Wash and dice tomatoes.  In a large bowl, combine quinoa, cucumbers with marinade and tomatoes.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.  Salad may be served this way, or if you prefer, you may add crumbled feta cheese and/or nuts or pignolias.






Left: Quinoa salad without feta
Right: Qinoa salad with feta




*CSA ingredients

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