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| A summer quinoa salad studded with fresh, ripe fruit. |
I cook sparingly in the heat of summer. And only if I absolutely have to. It's one of the perks of being a grown up- and post empty nest. We cook if we feel like it. And if we don't? We grab some baby spinach and chard, frisee and herbs and make a salad. We like to keep things simple.
That's no surprise to you, I'm sure.
I don't exactly do elaborate. We don't go for complicated around here. And goddess knows, we don't do formal. If we can toss together a bowl of fresh salad greens and herbs, and add some quickly cooked protein to make a meal of it, we're content. We might add strips of organic free-range chicken grilled with lemon and black pepper. Or a piece of wild salmon broiled with a touch of agave and lime. Perhaps an organic hard boiled egg. Or two. If we're lucky, some leftover cooked quinoa.
Dinner in a flash.
Quintessential summer.
So today's post (and recipe) is a nod to the natural marriage of summer and simplicity. Get out of the house. Step away from the screen. Disconnect. Reconnect.
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| Redondo Beach just before sunset. |
May we just take a moment of appreciation to embrace the natural beauty and soul restoring power of a walk on the beach? There is nothing that soothes my heart quite like the thunder of ocean surf. The invigorating rush of water and salt air and foam.
Walks are a daily ritual. Morning and evening. Summer walks here in Southern California are cool and still.
At the beach, the air hangs in angles of yellow light that glance the pod of surfers rising and falling with each unpicked wave. Evening walks are cool, sometimes chilly and brisk, with a dampish steady on-shore wind that smells like Provincetown. When the western sky begins to turn pink it always startles me how much it resembles a Cape Cod sunset.
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| Hydrangea near our apartment. The word gorgeous comes to mind. |
Last night I discovered a garden voluptuously Victorian with vintage-toned hydrangea blossoms the size of dessert plates.
And speaking of dessert plates.
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| Watermelon wedges with blueberries, strawberry and mint. |
My favorite summer meals are picnics. Don't worry if it's too hot to bake dark chocolate brownies. Make a no-cook, sugar-free vegan dessert plate with wedges of fresh watermelon, blueberries and strawberries. Add a mint leaf. Summer fruit is simply glorious as dessert.
Light, refreshing, and fabulous.
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| A vegan quinoa salad to celebrate summer. |
Quinoa Salad Recipe with Blueberries, Strawberries and Watermelon
Make the quinoa in a rice cooker and you'll keep the kitchen the cool. This time I used Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking ratio of two cups uncooked quinoa with three cups water. It turned out fluffy and perfect, and made enough to create a generous quinoa salad.
First make the quinoa:
2 cups uncooked quinoa
3 cups fresh water
Pinch of sea salt, to taste
Place the quinoa, water, and sea salt in a large to medium rice cooker, and cover. Cook until all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is tender. Scoop the cooked quinoa into a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Let it cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the fruit and baby greens.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups fresh blueberries, washed, picked over
1.5 cups fresh strawberries, washed, sliced
1.5 cups diced watermelon
6 cups baby salad greens
A handful of fresh chopped herbs: cilantro, dill, parsley and mint
For the dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh squeezed lime juice from 1-2 limes
Cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions:
When the quinoa has cooled, drizzle it with the extra virgin olive oil and toss well to coat, fluffing with a fork to separate the grains. Add the fresh squeezed lime juice and toss again. Season with cracked pepper, to taste. Taste test. Add more olive oil or lime as needed.
Add the blueberries to the quinoa, and toss lightly.
Distribute the baby greens on six plates. Add the quinoa and blueberries. Add the sliced strawberries and diced watermelon, and the fresh chopped herbs.
And voila! A vegan gluten-free salad worthy of July Fourth.
Cook time: Maybe 30 minutes
Serves six.
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| Refreshing. Easy. Gluten-free. Vegan. |
This coming Independence Day, celebrate your independence from gluten!
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