Quinoa Salad

Quick lunch or side dish that can be served hot or cold. Keeps well in the fridge :) This is a super basic recipe that is very forgiving to all sorts of tasty ad-ins: kalamata olives, chopped walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, etc.

1.5 cups quinoa
2 cups Kitchen Basics veggie stock
2 roughly chopped ribs celery
1 can of Trader Joe's Tongol tuna
Handful of golden raisins
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1 TBP olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of balsalmic vinegar
Healthy grinds of sea salt + pepper to taste

Pour your stock into a saucepan, add the quinoa, raisins, herbs, onion/garlic, vinegar, oil, salt/pepper to taste. Give it a quick stir, turn the burner on medium until it barely reaches a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and wait 10-15 minutes or until almost all of the liquid has soaked in.

After the elapsed time, chuck in your celery, turn off the heat and put the cover back on. Keep covered until all the liquid has been absorbed and the celery is fork tender (don't over cook!! its better to have very crunchy celery than mushy!)

At this point you can either throw the tuna in and serve warm or take the pot off the stove, transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cold. Once cold, throw the tuna in.

Garnish with fresh basil.

Vegetable Stew With Quinoa

2 cans tomatoes (I used Italian-style with herbs, doesn't matter though)
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can white beans (Navy beans will work, but Northern White or "White Beans" are the best because they're a little bigger and hold up to cooking)
1 zucchini
1 cup celery root (or regular celery)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced baby carrots (cut them on a bias if you want big thin pieces)
1 1/2 cups of quinoa (rinse it to be safe... most boxed will be fine, but definitely rinse bulk quinoa with cold water in a mesh strainer)
2 cloves garlic
1 box (16 oz?) vegetable or chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of oregano and basil

• Sautee the onions, garlic, celery root, and carrots for 2-3 minutes in some olive oil (with a crock pot, you could just throw them in there, but I really like the onions sauteed because it imparts more flavor)
• Add the tomatoes, broth, quinoa, and spices -- let it come to a boil and then reduce the heat
• Add the rest of the veggies, let cook for 30 mins or so (basically just to make the zucchini tender)
• Remove the bay leaves, and serve with some crusty bread

You could add chicken to this easily (buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it up, or just use diced cooked chicken breast). You could also sub the veggie/chicken stock with beef, throw it in a crock pot on low, and add cubed steak or a roast (sear it in the pan first for more flavor and better texture). Of course, you could use fresh or frozen veggies, I just happened to have everything in cans this time.

Here's the late-arriving pic of the finished product, complete with some shaved Parmesan on top: