Red Quinoa and Avocado Salad with Goldenberries, Edamame and a Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette

May 25, 2012 by lovelypantry

Some women buy shoes. Others buy clothes, or even make up. I use to be one of those women. I do get the occasional urge to indulge every now and again. But my real problem is visiting my health food store. Lets face it. Some of the things I use aren’t sold at the conventional grocery stores and if they are, I end up paying more than I would at the health food store. At least, that has been my personal experience. I no longer buy quinoa from the supermarket. No way! Another thing I like about my health food store is that I learn about a new ingredient upon every single visit. If I see something that peaks my interest, all I have to do is ask about it. I really enjoy going there.

Upon my last trip, I grabbed a few items, Red Quinoa was one of them. I’ve been using the regular Quinoa for a few years now but I really wanted to try the red, even just for the colourful appeal. I imagined its rich deep red colour against something green or yellow. I was flipping through Fine Cooking’s Magazine – CookFresh Spring 2012 edition, and saw a beautiful recipe using Red Quinoa. I didn’t have all the ingredients but it inspired me to get some things together. I picked up a pack of dried Goldenberries (also known as cape gooseberries) at an event a few weeks ago and I thought this was an awesome time to experiment with them.

 

 

 

I wish I could tell you that there was more to it than this, but just put the ingredients into a bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss. Plate and serve.

 

 

This is an excellent way to use up left over quinoa. Regular White Quinoa can be used if you don’t have the red. It will taste just as good and look just as lovely.

 

 

Happy Friday Friends!

 

~Lyn

 

 

 

 

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Hoisin Salmon with Quinoa & Zucchini

Jan 25, 2012 by lovelypantry

Salmon and Quinoa were first paired together by me about 4 years ago when I started to make serious changes to my diet. My chiropractor at the time, taught me about the benefits of whole grains and consuming less sugar. I was determined to learn more about how food can help heal the body. It took me a while to get used to eating certain vegetables that were fairly new to me. Zucchini was one of them. With benefits like – being a great source of vitamins A & C, folate, fibre and potassium, I had to find a way to LOVE this green goodness. Combining it with Quinoa, a grain I fell in love with immediately, seemed pretty practical 🙂

Simple. Healthy. Delicious.

 

 

 

 

I always say that eating healthy doesn’t have to be hard. Perhaps I say it often to remind myself. At the same time, I hope I am reminding others. I think this recipe is a perfect example. I started making this dish a few years ago and now I make so many variations of it, I can hardly keep track. Adding various vegetables in the quinoa mix is always a great idea. Diced Carrots, Sweet Peas, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash, to name a few. All these things go nicely with quinoa.

I hope everyone is having a great week so far. Take good care 🙂

 

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