Recipe: Quinoa Salad and Summer Vegetable Medley

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
• Leaf lettuce

Dressing:

• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp snipped fresh chives)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint (or 1 tsp dried mint)
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 small chopped tomato (optional)
• 1 small cucumber, chopped or cut into rounds (optional)
• 1 small chopped red pepper (optional)

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Add the quinoa and green onions and mix thoroughly; chill for 1 hour.
3. Line a salad bowl with leaf lettuce, and spoon in the quinoa salad. Or serve it on cucumber rounds as an appetizer.

Summer Vegetable Medley

Ingredients:

• 6 Roma tomatoes
• 5 small summer squash
• 3 petite eggplant (Japanese or other variety
• 1 red onion
• 1 large garlic clove (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 2 tbsp crushed thyme leaves
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2-3 tbsp olive or canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse the vegetables and cut them diagonally into 1-inch slices.
3. Oil (or use spray) a baking dish and sprinkle the bottom with half of the garlic and thyme. Layer the vegetables in the dish (tomato slices on top of the eggplant). Tuck the lemon slices and the remaining garlic and thyme among the vegetables.
4. Drizzle with oil and cover dish with foil; bake for 15 minutes.
5. Remove foil and baste vegetables with their own juices; bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.
6. Serve at room temperature.

*** Experiment with different vegetables found at your local farmer's market.