Quinoa Salad

I woke up yesterday morning to the following text from my dad (time stamped 4:55 am): “Kosta Jay was born at 11:56. He weighed 5 lbs 13 oz. Tiny little guy looks just like his dad,” followed by a flurry of texts from everyone else in my family, including the happy new parents. As many of you already know, my cousin Daryl and his beautiful wife Jessica are two of my favorite people. Daryl is like a brother to me (and always has been the brother-I-never-had) and Jessica became part of our family instantly (sorry, Daryl, you didn’t really have a choice, we would have kept her around no matter what. Lol). Anyway, the happy couple welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world late late Tuesday night. I went to work, but couldn’t stand it any longer. I put in leave for the rest of the day and headed home to cook a quick lunch to bring with me to the hospital. Jess has always loved my quinoa dishes so that is what I made (with fresh veggies from Terra-Organic AND from our garden).

I was lucky enough to spend a long time with just Daryl, Jess, and the new baby before more people came in (I feel like I totally invaded their day, sorry guys!). I can’t get over how beautiful that little guy is. He sure is lucky to have those two as his parents! They are going to do a wonderful job (they already are!).

A little note to my friends and family:

This is, in no way my way of saying that I’m baby crazy, or that I even want kids at all. I was there for 3 diaper changes, that’s enough birth control for me for awhile.

Quinoa Salad

• 3/4 cup quinoa (I used blonde because it’s a little lighter, but this would work with red or black too for a heartier taste)
• a couple good handfuls of stemmed kale
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3-4 T. EVOO
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 8-10 white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to the package. Then set aside. Boil water and prepare an ice bath to blanch the kale. Just boil it for about 3 minutes, then dunk it in ice bath. After kale is cool, squeeze out water, and dice it. Heat EVOO over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and onion until the onions are transluecent, careful not to burn the garlic (or the onions). Add in diced red pepper and sliced mushrooms, as well as a few tablespoons of water and reduce heat to medium. Add seasonings. Saute for 3-5 minutes longer. You want the veggies to still have a bit of a crunch to them, not too soft. Remove from heat Add in the blanched kale and quinoa. Toss to mix. Add a little more EVOO if it seems to dry (mine didn’t need it). Can be served immediately, at room temperature, or cold (which is how I ate some later that day).

This is a great dish to play with. You could add in diced chicken, different veggies, add a little lime or lemon juice and cut out the sage. The possibilities are endless. Quinoa is great for a clean-out-the fridge base, although that’s not what this dish was this time. When I went home before heading to the hospital I stopped to get some mushrooms, my veggie delivery was sitting on the front step when I pulled up to our house, and the kale came out of out garden the evening before. Can’t get much fresher than that!