Quintessential Quinoa Salad

Now that I have cut most  dairy out of my life (at least temporarily), I have been having to come up with some new recipes for me and my family. So far I do miss the dairy, but my asthma has seemed to improve a little bit, and this whole no-cheese thing has motivated me to branch out from my normal eating routine. In fact, I just checked two vegan cookbooks out of the library today... maybe there will be some winners in there!
Tuesday night's dinner was baked salmon, collard greens, and a delicious quinoa salad that I adapted from a couscous salad recipe that I found online. It was super easy and turned out fabulous (even the husband was impressed). I am definitely going to make this again.. it will be a great one to bring to summer barbecues and picnics. Plus quinoa is high protein and oh-so good for you!

What You Need:

• 1.5 cups raw red quinoa
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/2 small red cabbage (about 1.5 cups), grated
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste

What You Do:

• Cook quinoa. In a bowl, mix together onions, pepper, carrot, cabbage and parsley. When quinoa has finished cooking, add it to the vegetables and mix together.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients for the dressing. Pour over salad and mix thoroughly.
• Enjoy either warm or cold! Yum!