Shaved Asparagus and Quinoa Salad

This is more of a summer salad idea than a full-on recipe. A few simple ingredients, no exact amounts to follow, something that can be casually put together in minutes! I brought this dish to a potluck barbecue and it instantly became a big hit!

SALAD INGREDIENTS: 

• Asparagus, shaved into ribbons
• Quinoa, white or red or mixed, cooked and cooled off.
• Scallions, chopped
• Fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces
• Avocado, chopped into small chunks

SALAD DRESSING:

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Salt & pepper

HOW TO SHAVE ASPARAGUS:

First, trim or snap off the ends of each spear. Then, holding the spear by the cut end with one hand, use a peeler to slice away from your hand with steady, even pressure. When the stalk starts to flatten, flip it around so the flat side is down, continue slicing until it's done. If the tips fall off, simply add them to the pile of shaved ribbons.

Simple quinoa tabouli

This is so....simply delicious and light! Think lemon and parsley....

Ingredients:

• cooked quinoa
• tomatoes
• red bell peppers
• cucumbers ( which I ran out of that day, but it was still delicious)
• parsley

Dressing:

• olive oil
• squeeze of lemon juice
• salt to taste

Mix and serve. You can't go wrong with this recipe.

Quinoa fiesta with mango curry dressing

This recipe reminds me of the "sweet curry" U.K. style I used to love when I was a university student in London. It is slightly fruity and not at all spicy. I had something like that at a Whole Foods salad bar and had been trying to replicate it ever since.

Ingredients:

• cooked quinoa
• quartered grapes
• chopped mangoes
• chopped red bell peppers
• chopped cashews
• cilantro
• scallion (or coriander as they call it in the UK)

Dressing:

• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 1/3 inch cube of fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp of curry powder
• pinch of cumin
• pinch of paprika
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• salt to taste

Mix everything together. Go easy with the dressing, you might not need all of it. If grapes and mangoes are not ripe or sweet enough, add dried cranberries for extra sweetness.

How to cook the perfect quinoa

Quinoa is a low glycemic grain (or technically a seed) that doesn't spike up your blood sugar level like white rice or potatoes do. It is also protein-dense, so eat away.......white, red, even rainbow. It is also a perfect last minute thing you can whip up because brown rice just takes too darn long to cook.

Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in a mesh strainer under tap water, it washes away the saponins that make quinoa otherwise bitter.

Here is where I disagree with most folks out there. I like my quinoa kind of crisp and bouncy. My quinoa:water ratio is 1:1 1/4, radically less then the 1:2 ratio most recipes call for. I never know why. Maybe after the quinoa has been washed, it already retains some of the water.

So I repeat, add 1 1/4 cup of water to 1 cup of rinsed quinoa, a sprinkle of salt, bring it to boil, cover, turn the heat down to low, simmer for about 15 minutes. When cooked, let it sit in the pan for another 10 minutes or so. Fluff and serve.