Monday, August 3, 2015

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad for SRC

I may have posted about this once or twice before, well, OK, about 31 times so far, sheesh, can't  believe I've made over 30 posts about the great recipes I've found because I'm a member of the Secret Recipe Club.

There are four groups, A, B, C, and D.  Once a month we are assigned a blog to make a recipe from, and then we share our efforts on our assigned day.  I'm a member of group A now, which means my 'reveal day' is the first Monday of the month.   And you can't tell anyone who your assigned blog is until 'REVEAL DAY', which can be really hard. sigh.  Cause when I make something I really like I want to shout it out to the world, or at least blog about it.
I used to be in Group B, and had the same problem with it as I do now.  That Monday keeps sneaking up on me.
But I was prepared.   I had it under control, I'd actually picked out a few recipes, and made a couple.

My assigned blog this month was  Food Ramblings.   Elizabeth has a bunch of great recipes on her blog and not only cooks, she also knits.  Hey, I have a couple of things in common with her, I cook and knit as well.  But I don't do patterns, just scarves, lots and lots of scarves.   And she's expecting a baby in a few months as well.  She's busy.   And will be getting even busier.

I was torn this month.   I've been trying to eat cleaner, or at least trying to incorporate more good food into my diet. So this recipe really appealed to me.  I love Black Beans and Quinoa is a fun grain to play with and um, putting both of them together in a dish, sheer bliss.  And I happen to like the other ingredients as well.    Onions and peppers and tomatoes, what's not to like?  I did switch it up a little.  I didn't use a fresh red pepper, the price for it was too outrageous, $4.99/lb, I mean really?  But I did have one in the freezer which I'd bought and frozen a few weeks ago.   And I used a couple of fresh tomatoes chopped up instead of the canned ones, but that was for convenience sake and because I forgot I used up the last canned tomatoes in the spaghetti sauce I just made.

I also made the Sausage Pinwheels, but I'll blog about them later on.

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

Recipe:
2 cups cooked quinoa (either the red or white, cooked according to the package directions)
1/4 cup Coconut Oil (the original recipe called for vegetable oil)
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Chili Powder
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1 tsp. Sea Salt (I cut the salt in half, and then added the full amount after tasting the salad)
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper ( or a little more if you like the heat)
1/2 cup frozen peppers and onions, thawed
1 15 oz. can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Red Bell Pepper, roughly chopped (I used a frozen one I had in the freezer)
1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained  (I used 3 tomatoes I had sitting on the counter)
1/3 cup Cilantro, chopped (I ended up using some dried Cilantro cause the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars had eaten mine, darn bugs).

Cook Quinoa according to package directions.  While it is cooking, whisk together the oil, spices and lime juice.

Set aside.
  When the Quinoa is done,
fold in the peppers and tomatoes and pour the dressing over it all.  Mix well, and either serve warm or refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve.
This goes very well with Beef or Chicken or just by itself.
I will say, I like a little heat, so I would add a chopped jalapeno next time I make it. And maybe a slightly different profile of spices because the coconut oil was rather pronounced.
I also wanted to give a shout out to Quinoa here.  This is such a great 'grain', it cooks up so easily and multiplies in size before your eyes.
Uncooked on the left and cooked on the right.   I love this stuff.


Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

8 comments:

  1. That looks delicious! I'm starting to gear up for lunch recipes for work, and the salad looks perfect! Great SRC choice!

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    1. It was delicious, and I could totally for it as a lunch as well. Oh wait a minute, I did have it for lunch.

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  2. What a great pick- such an easy but still delicious recipe!

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    1. It was totally easy, but I have to say, it tasted better after I let it rest for awhile. And it was even better the next day for lunch.

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  3. Love quinoa - what a brilliant little grain! This looks so fresh and inviting.

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    1. It is a brilliant little grain. I love Quinoa and really, I think I need to cook with it more often. BTW, this salad is lovely, and even better the next day.

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  4. I've only tried quinoa once before but I'm looking for new recipes ... this looks delicious and I cant wait to try it out. Yum!

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    Replies
    1. I try to keep it on hand. I even used it in some vegetarian potstickers once. This is so versatile.

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