"What will we have for lunch?” I asked as I was standing in front of the open refrigerator, enjoying the cool breeze that it provided. “I really feel like salad” answered my better half as she sat right across from the air conditioner. “Salad? We eat salad every evening” i said. “Not that kind of salad” she replied, “you know what I mean”. “No, I have no clue what you mean” I mumbled under my breath. “Did you say something?” she asked, “nothing” I answered, opening the vegetable drawer and staring at the red and yellow bell peppers that laid there, looking for inspiration. I opened the dry ingredients cabinet and looked inside. At the back of the shelf I saw a bag of quinoa that we bought once after EVERYBODY was praising it. What can I tell you guys, the hype was real, quinoa really is great. “I really like how you manage to make exactly what I’m craving” said my wife as she took a bite of the salad.
Ingredients
1 cup red quinoa
4 carrots diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
2 scallions chopped
1 granny smith apple diced
1 cup parsley chopped
½ cup roasted roasted sunflower seeds for garnish
Dressing
4 TBS olive oil
2 TBS silan (or honey)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
Boil a large amount of water in a pot. Add the quinoa, lower heat and cook until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and let cool.
Heat oven to 400F/200C. Peel carrots and cut to ½ X ½ inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet cover with parchment paper, pour some olive oil and roast for 20 minutes until tender. Take out and let cool.
Mix all dressing ingredients in a mason jar or small bowl. Place all salad ingredients (besides sunflower seeds) in a big bowl, spread dressing and mix well. Garnish with sunflower seeds and Serve.
