Southwest Quinoa Salad

Every time my littlest sister and I go to the movies we witness some random incident.  Usually it involves teenage girls being really obnoxious, and then sometimes it doesn't.  A few weeks ago we were exiting the movie theater via a long stair case.  In front of us was a group of three teenage girls, and directly in front of them were three elderly women.  The three teenage girls were giggling and rushing the old ladies, getting really close to them, and getting really annoyed with the fact that they were walking so slowly.  Then they decided to rush past them and almost knock them down.  Oh how I wanted the old lady to stick her cane out and trip those young girls.  I wanted to call the kids out on their bad behavior, and I also wanted to congratulate the old women on their patience.  Of course I did neither, and we just left with a bad taste in my mouth.

A few weeks later we went to the movies again...and yes, going to the movies is the thing to do here in Houston. This time we were able to witness a complete 360 in how people treat their elders.  An elderly couple arrived late to the movie and entered on the opposite side of where we were sitting.  The theater was packed and they were trying to find a seat, but really there weren't any.  They were standing there trying to figure out what to do when a young couple, probably in their 20's, offered up their seats for them.  It was pretty much awesome, and I smiled as my faith in humanity grew.  Way to go awesome people!

Not too sure why I wanted to share those two stories with you, but I did. : )

Now look at these lovely ingredients that go into this scrumptious salad, and tell me it doesn't look amazing!

Now onto the recipe...Southwest Quinoa Salad.  This is a great summer recipe!  Perfect for all those BBQ's you get invited to, or perfect for eating by yourself because you didn't get invited to any BBQ's. It also makes a great week day lunch.  I made this salad last summer, and have been thinking about it for some time now since the weather has turned into summer all of a sudden.  Since I have resorted to talking about the weather I think that is a good sign that I should stop writing since that is all I can comment on at this point in the day. : ) 

Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend, be thankful for those who give their lives defending ours, and make this salad to bring to your holiday festivities!

Eat your heart out,

Dagny

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Mix together in medium bowl:

2 cups dry quinoa cooked (this ends up being 4.5-5 cups cooked)*

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn, defrosted, or fresh cooked corn

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/8 cup diced red onion

2 cloves diced garlic

1/2 jalapeno diced

1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Mix dressing ingredients below in small bowl and pour over the above ingredients:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp oregano

juice of one lime

 Mix together and serve room temperature or cold.  Store in fridge.  Should last about a week in the fridge...and yes, a "fridge" is a "refrigerator" for all those people who make fun of us for calling it that.

* If you don't have quinoa you can also use a variety of cooked grains instead : rice, farro, millet, Bulgar, amaranth, etc...