Quinoa Salad with Red Bell Pepper and Cilantro

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I want to start the summer season off with an absolutely delicious salad.  Recall the word 'salad'. The base of this salad is quinoa, the ancient grain or "mother of all grains".  I wrote about it before when sharing the recipe for Apricot-Curry Chicken Salad. This quinoa salad is flavored with red bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, red onion, cilantro and a lovely cumin-lime dressing.  Can you taste it already??

The original recipe called for just half of each pepper, but I like my veggies, so I use the whole peppers (I included cup amounts in the recipe below).  Speaking of whole peppers, jalapeños can be as mild as a green pepper or as hot as blazes, so give the flesh a little taste first.  If you need more heat, use the seeds as well.  This is a delicious vegetarian salad on its own for lunch or dinner on those hot summer days/nights.  If you are looking to make it a bit heartier, you can add black beans (drained and rinsed), diced avocado, charred/roasted corn, and/or even mango for a tropical twist on the taste buds (you'll just have to adjust the seasoning if you do). If you are looking to serve it with a meat protein, it is a welcome side dish to any grilled meat this time of year.I like to serve it with shrimp, chicken or Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce.  

As always, make it for you; make it your own! Happy cooking!

Wheat Berry Salad with Blood Oranges, Feta, and Red Onion Vinaigrette

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Sometimes the stars align just so, and you wind up with a healthy and delicious salad in front of you. What, never happened to you?  Ok, well, stars align for all kinds of reasons.  Two things happened in weirdly close proximity to get me to make this dish.  First--my junior high schoolers made recipes with wheat berries in their Health and Nutrition classes.  Then---Wouldn't you know it, a recipe featuring wheat berries popped up in the Good Eating section of the Chicago Tribune.  After not really thinking about these little gems much at all, I was awash in wheat berry tasting and discussion.

I like to use hard Red Spring wheat berries for their nutty taste and chewy texture, but you can use the soft variety as well.  I also added some pomegranate seeds for an additional taste and texture that pairs well with the blood oranges and feta cheese.  The vinaigrette makes more than you will need, but trust me and make the whole batch.  You'll find yourself dipping a piece of crusty bread into it-- it's that good. It is an excellent side salad to serve with roast chicken or fish and it is also very tasty on its own for a light lunch or dinner over a bed of baby arugula.