Quick and Easy Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

I expect that this recipe I tore out from Chatelaine magazine is going to keep me fueled for the upcoming CGTA show (our big wholesale show). I love quinoa, it is chock full of protein and I need something that will be easy to pack and nibble on to keep myself fortified during the long hours at the booth. The best part is that this tasty recipe is not only healthy, but quick and cost effective too...Enjoy!

Quinoa-Tabbouleh Salad
Cooking time: 10 minutes  Preparation time: 10 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 60 minutes  Makes:  8 cups

Image: Roberto Caruso

 Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups (425 mL) water
• 1 cup (250 mL) quinoa
• 1/4  English cucumber
• 2  tomatoes
• 1  green pepper
• 5  green onions
• 1  large bunch parsley
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) chili powder

Instructions

• Pour water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Rinse quinoa with cold water several times. Drain and stir into boiling water with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until all water is absorbed and quinoa grains are transparent.
• Meanwhile, dice cucumber, tomatoes and green pepper. Thinly slice green onions and finely chop parsley. In a bowl, whisk oil with lemon juice, salt and chili powder.
• Pour hot quinoa into oil mixture and toss well. Cool to room temperature. Toss with chopped vegetables and parsley. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Whirlwind Times Call for Kale!

Wowsers! It has been crazy around here with the CGTA show in Toronto. Now I have one day off before heading to New York for more show craziness at NYIGF. My head is spinning but in a good way. It is always great to meet people and hear feedback about our work. Sometimes it can feel like I am working in a little apron bubble and laughing at my own jokes. It can leave a girl wondering if her new pithy taglines on her aprons are actually amusing or if she is just descending into apron overload madness. From the postive feedback I think I am still sane. Phew!

To keep me sane I decided to make a pickled kale salad. I have been eager to make it for a while and today seemed like the right day to do it. It is chock full of nutrition, just what I need before I am back to the crazy trade show diet that always seems to slide towards too much sugar.

photo: blog.recreativeworks.com

Deep South Slaw

The long weekend is coming! Hopefully there are barbeques galore lined up. I made a delicious Deep South Coleslaw from Vegetarian Times the other day that was creamy, crunchy and had a little spicy kick. Perfect for any Canada Day barbeque this weekend.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

Here are a few of things I am absolutely certain about:

1. I love chickpeas.
2. I love chickpea salads and can never have enough variations of them.
3. I love Joy the Baker, she of the wonderful food blog and now author of a new cookbook that is on my wishlist.I really think that she and I should be friends.

Knowing these things it is a given that I had to make Joy the Baker's spicy chickpea salad. It is also a given that it was delicious. It would be nice to have a photo of the heavenly salad but I made it and packed it up to take with me to Hot Docs and managed to eat it all with my doc buddy.

Bit of Everything Salad

I am not usually a throw stuff together and wing it kind of cook. I may dabble a little bit but I tend to need a recipe. I am amazed when people just grab things from their cupboards and create something delicious. Well, today I threw caution to the wind and threw together a salad. It came about because I started to worry about the state of some of my veggies. I had a couple of sweet potatoes that were looking a little forlorn and two peppers that were starting to look like they were up to something. I also had a bag of frozen corn fall on my foot when I opened the freezer door. I decided it was a sign to throw them all toegther and see what happened. The result was a scrumptious bowl of deliciousness and some bragging rights on my part:

Bit of Everything Salad:
First, I diced and roasted my sweet potatoes. I tossed them in a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and roasted until they were soft.

Then I drained a can of black beans, defrosted some of my attacking frozen corn, diced up my red and green suspicious peppers, diced a bit of red onion and threw them in as well.

I made a dressing of olive oil, lemon, minced garlic and a bit of chili powder and voila! I am a wing it kind of salad gal, after all.

Not Your Typical Salad

I had an urge for something light and crunchy. It felt like a salad kind of day. I didn't feel like a run of the mill, head of romaine kind of salad, however. I was looking for something a little more inspiring. I saw a recipe for Martha Stewart's fennel, red onion and parsley salad and was intrigued. That didn't sound run of the mill at all and it certainly promised some crunch.

I was a little suspicious of the raw red onion. The recipe promised that if I soaked everything in an ice bath for 10 minutes it would calm down the onion and give it less of a bite. Martha didn't lie. The onion was mild and the salad was fresh and clean tasting. Just what I needed before I head off to eat popcorn while I watch a film at Doc Soup tonight.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Thanks Chatelaine! I expect that this recipe I tore out from Chatelaine magazine is going to keep me fueled and healthy for the upcoming One of a Kind Craft Show. I love quinoa, it is chock full of protein and I need something that will be easy to pack and nibble on to keep myself fortified during the long hours at my booth.

Quinoa-Tabbouleh Salad
Bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Rinse 1 cup of quinoa with cold water then add to the boiling water with a pinch of salt. Simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes.

Dice 1/4 English cucumber and 1 green pepper. Thinly slice 5 green onions and chop a bunch of parsley. Whisk 1/2 cup olive oil with a 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp chili powder.

Add the hot quinoa to the oil mixture and toss, then let cool. When cool, toss with the vegetables and parsley, refrigerate for 1 hour.

Healthy craft show snack here I come!

Frenzied Salad Day

It's one of those days where I feel like I am juggling a lot of plates and have too many fingers in too many pies, that kind of day. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately trying to prepare for upcoming shows and prepping new product, and although it is all positive, exciting stuff, sometimes it can leave a girl feeling a little frenzied. A frenzied girl still has to eat, however, and when things get extra crazy it is the time to eat extra well.

I made a salad from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, one of the best vegetarian tomes ever. It was just what the doctor ordered: sweet roasted red peppers, salty capers, hearty chickpeas, fresh lemon and parsley. It's a perfect salad for sitting back, taking a time out and having a calm moment.

Roasted Pepper and Chickpea Salad:
Roast two red peppers and slice into strips. Add a can of drained chickpeas to the peppers. Throw in 3 tbsp rinsed capers,1/4 cup chopped parsely, 2 tbsp chopped mint . Mix with a dressing made of 2 cloves chopped garlic, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 4 tbsp olive oil.

Eat and enjoy a wee bit of nourishment during a frantic day.

Improv Grilled Peach Salad

I saw a delicious looking grilled peach salad here and instantly wanted it. It is a last gasp of summer type of salad. The original recipe is here, and calls for grilled haloumi cheese, rocket, pine nuts and pomegranate balsamic vinegar. I didn't have any of these items, but I did have peaches, my indoor grill and little bit of inspiration. I threw together spinach, toasted some almonds, crumbled some feta over top, threw in a few olives for fun and drizzled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over it. The grilled peaches were delicious and everything else worked well together. It was a yummy last little bite of summer.

Asian Salad

I was watching The Food Network the other day (food porn at its best), and was taken with Giada de Laurentis's Asian Chicken salad recipe. She was working from home and decided to whip up a delicious and nutritious salad, since that is what food network superstars do. I too was working from home and feeling a little peckish so I decided to make my own variation of Giada's salad, sans chicken. How is it that I have never experienced the magic of sesame seeds on a salad before? Suddenly it felt like my salad was elevated to new heights, all with a simple sprinkle of sesame seeds. Delicious.

Not a Creamy Goopy Potato Salad

My picnic salad bonanza continues. Despite feeling swamped with wholesale shows, making product and feeling like the summer is on warp speed, I am still holding on to my picnic dreams.

It will happen.

I made Jamie Oliver's potato salad recipe and it is a welcome alternative to mayo laden potato salads. Who wants to worry about poisoning their picnic guests with spoilt potato salad? It is a fresh and light alternative.

Boil 2.5 to 3 pounds red skinned potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on their size, just until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain.

Throw in 10 tbsp of olive oil, 4 tbsp of lemon juice, salt and pepper and 1/2 cup of dill (Someone needs to invent a cologne or eau du dill. I love it's fresh delicious scent). Mix all of it together while the potatoes are still warm and there you have it.

Easy peasy as Jamie would say....

Lemon Quinoa Salad

I have found the answer to my hunger pangs when selling aprons at shows this summer. Trying to pack enough provisions is always a challenge when I am at craft shows. I am a nibbler and a grazer, so I need a steady supply of snacks. I found this perfect salad and it is delicious. The ingredients are beyond healthy: quinoa, the wonder grain that is full of protein, chickpeas, bright zesty lemon and tasty tahini dressing. I could gobble buckets of this.

It is perfect for craft shows because I don't have to worry about anything spoiling in the sun, which makes it perfect for picnics as well ( I have picnics on the brain...). This may be the perfect summer salad.

Found: here