Quinoa Salad

When I first had the baby, my neighbor brought this salad over for us to have for dinner.  I stalked her for the recipe.  I was a sleep deprived mama who needed the recipe for this salad I loved it so much.  So I called her, texted her & emailed her.  I may have even yelled at her on the street.  Poor thing.  So imagine my delight when I found that she had taped the recipe to my front door. (She was probably too scared to knock for fear of: 1. waking a sleeping baby & 2. that she would come face to face with a crazy person if I opened the door.)

What can I say- lack of sleep does weird things to people.

|Red Quinoa Salad|

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup dried cranberries; coarsely chopped

2 english cucumbers; peeled, seeded & cut into 1/4 inch pieces

4 ounces feta; cut into 1/4" cubes

2/3 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Put quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer & rinse for 1 minute. (Do not skip this step or you will have gritty quinoa.)

Cook according to directions.  Fluff with a fork.  Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl & let cool.

When the quinoa is cool, add the pine nuts, cranberries, cucumbers, feta & parsley & mix well.

Put the lemon juice & olive oil in a jar.  Close the lid & shake until the oil & lemon have emulsified.  Season with salt & pepper.  Pour the dressing over the salad & mix well until coated.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

And let me leave you with my 6am.  Super hero & his ardvark super hero side-kick:

love this babe.