{"id":36240,"date":"2013-10-28T07:49:53","date_gmt":"2013-10-28T14:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ecurry.com\/blog\/?p=36240"},"modified":"2013-10-28T07:49:53","modified_gmt":"2013-10-28T14:49:53","slug":"quinoa-and-garden-caprese-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ecurry.com\/blog\/soups-and-salads\/salad\/quinoa-and-garden-caprese-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"Quinoa and Garden Caprese Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Texas heat has mellowed down to what I call the best time of the year. The skies are blue. We have had a few good splashes of rain, all of which should have happened in spring and we have now what the pretty summer should be like.<\/p>\n

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\"blue<\/p>\n

\"Quinoa<\/p>\n

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My garden in faring much better. The green is lush and there are tomatoes!! Small, sweet ones. The kind you could not stop popping in your mouth. So I decided to make a “Garden Caprese”<\/strong><\/em> for lunch one day. A brimming fistful of sweet basil was brought in. I love feta, so I used marinated feta<\/a><\/strong><\/em> instead of mozarella. It had to be the best caprese ever.<\/p>\n

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\"tomatoes<\/p>\n

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The next day I added some quinoa to the salad for a meal. \u00a0There is not much of \u00a0a recipe here. \u00a0I have just combined the caprese salad I make with the quinoa. If you have basil pesto at hand, it adds a chockful of flavor. But if you do not, just whisk extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and chopped fresh basil to make a dressing. Or you may use any kind you want.<\/p>\n

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\"Caprese<\/p>\n

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\u00a0On the note of lunch… <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I have been getting requests to post more To Go Lunches<\/span>. The blog already have a Healthy To Go Lunch<\/em><\/span> category. Check out the Recipe Index<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/span> I have also started an Album<\/span><\/a><\/em> <\/span>in the Facebook Page. I will post photos and brief the recipe there. We usually live with quick easy to make lunch, mostly healthy and low carbohydrate content. \u00a0It is going to be our everyday lunch. I cannot promise that I will post everyday, but it will be more frequent than a blog post. I will also link the Facebook Album<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span> to the home page of the blog (See the sidebar<\/strong>s)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Quinoa and Garden Caprese Salad<\/h5>\n

(I will not be giving exact quantities today. This is a free style salad, so use whatever you want and however much based on this frame work)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ingredients:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. quinoa <\/strong>(I used red quinoa)<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. cherry\/grape\/any small tomatoes – <\/strong>halved or quartered, depending in the size (I have used tiny cherry tomatoes from my garden)<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. mozarella or feta cheese <\/strong>(I have used marinated feta<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>)<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. plenty of fresh basil leaves<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. salt and pepper to taste<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. crushed red pepper (optional)<\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. basil pesto<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/em> or olive oil, lemon juice dressing<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Method:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    Rinse and cook the quinoa. ( How to cook quinoa<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>?).<\/p>\n

    Combine sliced or whole tomatoes, cheese, plenty of fresh basil and crushed red pepper. Combine the salad with the cooked quinoa. Drizzle over basil pesto or whisked olive oil, lemon juice or any dressing you want. Toss well to combine.<\/p>\n

    It keeps well of lunch and tastes good cold.<\/p>\n

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    Preparation Time: 15 minutes<\/em>
    \n Cooking Time: 20 – 30 minutes<\/em>
    \n Difficulty Level: Easy<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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    \nRelated Posts<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n