Quinoa Salad

First off, it’s been a while. I’d say it’s the curse of a new blogger: you get wrapped up in the idea of it with the first couple of posts, and then you just stop because it’s actually a bit of work.
Anyway, I’m back. For how long? I don’t know…we’ll see how it goes.

I’m back in school in Vancouver living the city life and cooking all my meals (for the first time). It’s been about about 3 weeks, and I’ve learned a couple things:

1. My mom is a rockstar. This is not necessarily a new fact, but after having to plan, shop and cook all my meals, I’m very appreciative of how many years she did all that every night for the family…it’s a lot of work!

2. I really like cooking as a de-stressing activity. However, it is also the last thing I want to to after 9 hours at school.

3. Stir fry is you’re best friend…

4. And so is the freezer.

So with all those things kept in mind, you can probably guess that I’ve been cooking pretty basic things.

While all I wanted to do tonight after dinner was cuddle up in my bed with the season finale of one of my favourite TV shows, I stuck to my guns, put on my latest playlist, and cooked a big old bowl of food. I’ve discovered the advantage to cooking large quantities of one thing and then saving the extra leftovers for many fast meals throughout the week.

Without further ado, here’s my quinoa salad:

I know you’re supposed to keep these types of things simple, but while I was cooking I just felt like adding more things in, I had to restrain myself before I added more though, so I’m sure a reprise of this with other ingredients (I’m thinking dried fruit) will happen soon.

The goods:

** Warning: if you’re cooking for one be prepared to have a bit of fridge space open to store the leftovers, this recipe made about 8 cups!

2 Roma tomatos, diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/3 cup roasted almonds, diced (I roasted mine myself in a sautee pan with a little olive oil)
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup cucumber, diced
2 tablespoons diced green onion
2/3 cup chopped olives [I used the ones I had on hand (green stuffed with garlic and jalapeno, a favourite of my dad’s) but if I had my druthers I would’ve used kalamata]
1 1/2 cups kale, deveined, chopped finely and massaged with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (it cuts the bitterness and tenderizes the greens)
Salt and pepper to taste
(A chicken breast would be a great addition to this or to go alongside for a dose of protein)

1 cup dry quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups water

The dressing: (this is a Nychka classic)
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey

First, rinse the dry quinoa (this helps get rid of the bitterness). After rinsing, put the quinoa in a small saucepan with the oil and roast it on medium heat for a minute or two (this is also to get rid of the bitterness). Then, add the water, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer on medium low heat for 10-15 mins.

While the quinoa is cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients and combine in a large mixing bowl.

For the dressing, combine the vinegar, oil, mustard and honey in a bowl and whisk together (or if you’d like to do it with true Nychka style, put it in an bottle or jar and shake). If it’s too vinegary add a bit more honey, if it’s too sweet, add a bit more mustard or vinegar. The mustard is truly key in this dressing, it makes it emulsify really easily with hardly any mixing, and it gives it a bit of depth of flavour.

Add the quinoa to the large mixing bowl and pour dressing over top. Mix together and salt and pepper to taste.

Here’s to picking up where I left off!