It was quick and easy to make and very satisfying. The flavors were lovely. We did not have the pickled lemon, just used fresh. We’re looking forward to the spring when we  can have fresh favas from the garden and will be enjoying this recipe more often.

There are many variations of quiona with fruit, we particularly enjoyed this one in the summer. We added pecans and used fresh mint instead of the parsley. We hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did.

It made a lot, so we are looking forward to left overs for lunch tomorrow. It is easy to make, and the instructions are easy to follow. I hope you give this tasty recipe a try, you’re sure to enjoy!

They give very detailed information on how to prepare each step of the salad all the way to the final finishing details for serving. The recipe is vegan already, but I made one change and used walnut oil for the dressing rather than the olive oil. As the salad has walnuts in it, I thought the walnut oil would enhance the nuttiness. We will be enjoying this nice salad often over the next few months.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the salad:

• 4 beets
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 2 cups water
• 2 red onions
• olive oil
• handful fresh mint leaves

for the dressing:

• 1/4 cup miso
• 2 tablespoons mirin (or other sweetener)
• 1/8 cup water
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon tamari (Japanese soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Clean and cook the beets, allow them to cool, and cut them into small bite sized pieces.
2. Wash the quinoa well with cold water or allow it to soak for 15 minutes in warm water and then rinse well, to remove the bitter oil from the outside of the quinoa.
3. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water with the vegetable bouillon cube.
4. When the quinoa is cooked, remove from the heat, allow the quinoa to cool, with the lid on the pan, it will absorb the steam and excess water.
5. Mix the cooled quinoa and beets together well to make sure that the quinoa has become a pretty rosy pink color.
6. Mince the onions and add to the beats and quinoa.
7. Mix the salad dressing and pour over the salad.
8. Allow the salad to season well for at least 1/2 an hour.
9. Shortly before serving, mince the mint and mix into the salad.
10. Serve on a bed of salad leaves (shown here are fresh beet greens and baby field salad).

Notes:

Next time I make this I will add some sort of nut to give a crunchy aspect. I think it will be either pine nuts or chopped walnuts.

adapted from http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=24951.0

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2 beets raw peeled and grated
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon mild grainy mustard
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 packet dry yeast

Directions:

1. Wash the quinoa with cold water by placing it in a sieve and running the water through it. That will remove the bitter oils from storage.
2. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups vegetable bouillon.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 250 (F.).
4. Peel and grate the beets.
5. Cut the onion, and add to the beets.
6. Add the quinoa and seasoning, mix well.
7. Add the bread crumbs and yeast and once again mix well.
8. Put in an oiled bread pan and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Notes:

Let it cool for 5 minutes so that it will “harden” and is easier to serve.

adapted from Nicole’s beetloaf at
http://theveganathome.blogspot.com/…

Well, we can really highly recommend this tasty one pot meal from the Whole foods market. It is all you’d want in a meal, tasty, quick and easy, healthy, and attractive to look at. The directions are easy to follow, we really recommend you take a look at this tasty recipe.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/vegetarian/zestyquinoa.html

Ingredients:

• 0,5 cup brown lentils
• 0,5 cup quinoa
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 3 tomatoes, chopped and seeds removed
• A handful of fresh lemon balm

Dressing:

• 0,25 cup canola oil
• 1 tblsp lemon juice
• 1,5 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp lime pepper
• 0,5 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp fresh, grated ginger

Directions:

1. Cook the lentils and quinoa (if you like, cook them in vegetable bouillon to get more flavor)
2. Mix the dressing ingredients
3. Mix all ingredients to cooked quinoa and lentils.
4. Garnish with chopped lemon balm

Wow, what a tasty salad this was, and a great way to use some of my nice beets from the garden. The instructions are very detailed. How to roast the beets.
It has a very tasty marinade and the saffron quinoa really looked so lovely and tastes super. Do check this recipe out. It is yum!

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=220471

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups quinoa
• 1 cube vegetable bullion
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tbs. rice vinegar
• 1 pkg. Italian salad dressing herbs
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 2 cups spicy tofu, cut in small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups green grapes, cut in half

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa under cold running water and drain.
2. Bring 2 cups water to a boil.
3. Stir quinoa and a vegetable bouillon cube.
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until quinoa is tender and all the liquid is absorbed.
5. Uncover and let cool.
6. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over low heat for 3–5 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant.
7. For the vinaigrette, whisk vinegar and Italian salad dressing in a large bowl.
8. Slowly add the oil, whisking well.
9. Place the quinoa in a large serving bowl add tofu and grapes toss with a fork to mix well.
10. Pour the salad dressing over the mixture and once again. toss to mix.
11. Place in the refrigerator to chill and season for at least 4 hours.
12. Add toasted almonds just before serving and garnish with whole grapes if desired.
13. Serve at room temperature.

Notes:

It tastes even better on the second day when the salad has had time to soak up the flavors of the dressing.