Lemony Quinoa Salad

This quinoa was such a fresh and flavorful side dish. It was originally meant to be a type of tabbouleh, but I utterly forgot the 3/4 cup chopped parsley! I really liked it with just the mint. I served it with Tessa's Vietnamese Grilled Chicken. So good!

Half eaten...yum.

Lemony Quinoa Salad

Time to make: 30 min.

Serves 4

• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed and drained
• 1.5 cups water
•  1/4 cup diced sweet onion or sliced green onion. I used vidalia.
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh mint
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice I used from concentrate
• 1 large clove of garlic, pressed
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, Pepper and Cayenne pepper to taste

-In a saucepan, bring water and quinoa to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Transfer to a plate to cool.

-Combine onions tomatoes and mint in a medium bowl then stir in cooled quinoa.

-In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne. I used about 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and a pinch cayenne.

I served it immediately, but it can be refrigerated for a few hours as well.

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Roasted Rosemary Potatoes Recipe

I threw this recipe together to roast in the oven with a chicken. I'm getting better at cooking like Grandma (no measuring spoons :-) but it makes it hard to share the recipe! Season to taste, I guess. My preference is lots of olive oil and salt!

-6 medium red potatoes, washed and cut in 2 inch cubes
-a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil (2 T?)
-1 t. dried rosemary
-3/4 t. sea salt
-1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

Toss together and spread in one layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes--until cooked through and crispy. The smell of rosemary and roasting chicken was mouth-watering. So good!

Next time I would turn them after 20 or 30 minutes so that they are crispy on more that one side! Also, because the pan was on the rack below the chicken, it was closer to the heat, which added to the crispiness. They may cook differently if they are alone in the oven on the center rack.