red quinoa & sun-dried tomato salad

one of our favorite things to do on the weekends is have picnics in our backyard- music, beers, good food, sunshine. it's the best way we relax. a few weeks ago we got a salad from lemonade that was so amazing that i had no choice but to recreate it and add it to our summer rotation. and in doing so i learned just how easy it is to make your own sundried tomatoes, and how insanely tasty they are compared to the store-bought kind. you must make this sald.  must.

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my perfect lunch, as of late

this meal became a fast favorite for us- it's simple, tasty and makes us feel just a little bit fancy for some reason. as lou put it: "i'd order this in a restaurant". that statement describing a salad and coming from my husband says it all, really.  i also give you the amounts below just as a guideline. when i make this i am chopping and tossing things into the bowl with abandon rather than measuring things out- it's not something i think you can mess up!  hope you enjoy!  

the what

2 cups of cooked quinoa at room temperature or chilled (how to cook quinoa here)

1/4 c. chickpeas, drained and rinsed if canned

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped 

1/3 cup tomato, chopped

1/4 cup rough chopped almonds (raw)

2 cups of wild arugula

rosemary sourdough toast

1/2 avocado, smashed

3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of EVOO

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

the how:

to make the dressing combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper in a small bowl and mix. taste to make sure you like and modify if it's too sour for your liking (add a little more olive oil if it is!)

in a large mixing bowl combine quinoa, chickpeas, red onion, tomato, almonds, and dressing. toss until everything is coated.  add arugula and mix thoroughly.

i prefer this to sit and chill in the fridge for a bit before serving. and then right before serving i squeeze a little more lemon juice and a little bit of sea salt on the individual bowls. mmmhhhmm. 

avocado toast is possibly the best thing to happen to me since these. all you need is rosemary sourdough toast, smashed avocado, chunky sea salt and black pepper. use all liberally.  

hearty & spicy winter salad

another day, another delicious salad for lunch!  this time with rye berries.  as it turns out, they're pretty stinking good- for berries that aren't filled with sweet juice. i like a lot of kick in a salad lately, so i went for the arugula and spicy balsamic combo. with the sweetness of the currants and roasted root veggies it was pretty much perfect! how-to below, if you're curious.  

INGREDIENTS

celery root

carrot

parsnip

red onion

dried currants

rye berries

arugula

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

red pepper flakes

sea salt 

HOW TO

soak 1 cup of rinsed rye berries overnight, then drain and cook in rice cooker with 1 3/4 cups of water.

chop the celery root, parsnips, carrots and red onion into bite size pieces.  lightly coat in olive oil, sprinkle on a couple shakes of sea salt and roast at 350 degrees until soft.

for the dressing: mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar,red pepper flakes and sea salt, to taste. i prefer mine of the tangy side, so lots of vinegar and a fair amount of red pepper flakes. spicy!

pile the arugula onto a plate, a healthy spoonful of rye berries and an equal amount of roasted veggies. add a spoonful (or two!) of currants, balsamic vinaigrette and if you're lucky, a hunk of crusty bread.

easy, delicious, satisfying even on a cold day. oh, and extra healthy to boot. hope you love! 

lunch with us, will you please

when i was recovering from this and eating the cleanest/healthiest way possible, my friends and family used to ask me "what are you eating?!". i could see the worry in their eyes. and when i gave them my answer (mostly whole grains and vegetables). I knew they pictured me with a boring plate of brown rice and steamed broccoli, plugging along through each meal and suffering like a modern martyr. and they were right, for a minute. preparing meals using only grains and veggies was a new thing for me- i ate a lot of boooorrring food at first. but then i started to play around with whatever seasonal veggies we brought home and imagining up the most delicious meals. like this one, our lunch today: a garlicky pile of sauteed collard greens topped with last nights roasted vegetables, some freshly cooked quinoa, heaps of avocado and dressed with our favorite homemade spicy balsamic vinaigrette. sweet, salty, spicy, WINNING!

i guess the cat's out of the bag, no boring plates 'round these parts! eating healthy, organic, local vegetables with lots of whole grains doesn't have to be a snoozefest, you just have to figure out how you love them most. and the possibilities seem endless: roasted, sauteed, raw, steamed, chopped, turned into soup, made into casserole, mixed into salad, piled into a bowl, baked into a patty, turned into a drink, inside outside upside down, wheeeeeeee!