Summer Quinoa Salad

Today I spent 6 hours outside at my daughters swim meet.  It was close to 95 degrees and humid.  When it's summer in Texas I stay hydrated by eating lots of juicy watermelon and fresh berries.  Today I needed something more substantial to get me and the kids through lunch so I whipped up my favorite  salad for a hot Texas summer lunch.  It's full of good summer veggies  and packs a big protein punch as well.   Summer Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is considered to be a whole grain but it's actually a seed that is prepared like rice.  You cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water or broth.  Bring it to a boil then cover and reduce the heat simmering for 15 minutes.  You will know it is finished when little white threads form on each seed. After you cook your quinoa set it aside to cool.

An interesting thing about quinoa is that it has 9 essential amino acids, has more protein than any other grain, it's gluten free and cholesterol free; it's a great vegan or vegetarian choice.  It tastes good by itself with a little salt and pepper or dressed up like with veggies or fruits.

A salad is not complete without fresh veggies.  I use 1/2 of a chopped purple onion, then a combination of frozen peas, corn, diced bell pepper,  diced cucumber, parsley and diced tomato.  You want a total of 4 cups of vegetables and you can use what ever you have on hand.  It's a great way to use up veggies at the end of the week.  Now if you are like me you and you don't like the strong raw onion flavor then you can saute the onion in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes to soften and sweeten them up.  After you cook the onion, mix everything together with 1 Tablespoon of white wine vinegar and the squeeze of 1/2 a lemon.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

When the quinoa has cooled mix everything together.  Refrigerate for about a 1/2 hour and serve chilled.  This salad is even better the second day!