Quinoa?

I had a weird Sunday. I started out sleeping in later than usual (after 9:00 - that never happens!!). Then I needed to get my act together to meet my older brother for the Ohio State/Northwestern basketball game. It started at noon, which is a really annoying time food-wise. I had a pretty filling breakfast of scrambled eggs with Laughing Cow Light cheese mixed in. I always mix one egg with three egg whites and the dogs get the left over yolks. I think they can tell when it is the weekend and expect this little treat. After the game, I was starving and just grabbed some leftovers from the fridge.

Apparently watching basketball wore me out (or maybe it was J calling me at nearly 2:00 AM last night!), and I crashed after I ate. I took a solid 3 hour nap. It felt really good and I could have stayed on my comfy chair for another 3 hours I think. But I dragged myself out of the chair so I could make some food to take for lunch this week at work.

Since I made the taco meat yesterday, I knew I was having tacos tonight for dinner. So I started an assembly line to make two somewhat similar dishes. The first, which I mentioned yesterday, is my taco topper- slaw. The next dish came from the CLBB- Quinoa Corn Salad with Cilantro, Chives, and Lemon-Lime Dressing from the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook. I figured the flavors in the two dishes were very similar, so I could kill two birds with one stone and make them at the same time.

The quinoa salad is divine. It will be a perfect picnic salad in the summer. I can also see many easy variations to this dish. You can learn more about quinoa here. I used an heirloom variety that I had in my cupboard - Inca Red. I like the pretty red color. Honestly, I can't remember if there is a significant taste difference between the common quinoa and Inca Red quinoa. Anyone have an opinion? Anyhoo, I am happy I made this salad. It will be a cinch to grab it for lunch during the week.

Quinoa Corn Salad with Cilantro, Chives, and Lemon-Lime Dressing
Rebar Modern Food Cookbook

Grains are often overlooked in the salad department. This cool, south-of-the-border salad is an excellent alternative to rice in a Mexican spread. Quinoa was one of the acient staple foods of the Inca civilization and is now being cultivated in the U.S. It has the highest protein content of all the grains and is also a very good source of calcium, iron, phosphorus, B vitamins, and vitamin E. Quinoa is quick and easy to cook. The only fussy part involves an initial rinsing to rid the grain of bitterness. One of the many endearing qualities of quinoa is the cute little spiral impressed upon each individual grain when it's cooked...you have to see it to believe it!

Serves 6

1 cup (240 ml) quinoa
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
2 1/2 cups (600 ml) corn, fresh or frozen (I used frozen organic)
1 small red onion, minced (I used a sweet yellow onion I had on hand)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (I used 3)
1/2 red pepper, finely diced (I used yellow)
3 tbsp (45 ml) lemon juice
3 tbsp (45 ml) lime juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped cilantro
3 scallions, minced
2 tbsp (30 ml) finely minced chives (omitted)
1 tsp (5 ml ) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Tobasco sauce, or to taste (omitted)
(I added some chopped cherry tomato at the end for extra veggies)

Step 1:
Place quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold, running water. Bring water to boil in a small pot, add the quinoa and salt and bring to a boil again. Cover and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep the pot covered for an additional 5 minutes. Strain off any excess liquid and spread the quinoa out to cool on a tray while preparing the remaining ingredients.

Step 2:
Steam or lightly saute corn until just tender and cool to room temperature. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss. Season with additional salt, pepper or hot sauce to taste. Serve with fresh lime wedges.