Black Bean Citrus Salad

Corn is just overflowing at our farmer’s market.  This summer we’ve been trying to eat mostly fresh ingredients (lots and lots of tomatoes!), and corn is a summer-must-eat on my list.  So when I was browsing the Eat, Live, Run blog, I noticed Jenna posted a great lunch salad and it had corn- I was excited.

Naturally, I assumed you’d have to cook the corn, and then add it to the salad.  Boy, was I wrong!  Yes, you can eat raw corn- I never knew that.  And it’s so delicious, clearly I’ve been missing out.

If you’re like me, you might ask how this is possible.  What you have to do is peel of the corn husks, peel of the silks (the hairy stuff) and wash the corn.  Cut off an inch off of the pointy side of the corn, so you can set it down on a flat surface.  Grasp the stalk end holding it vertically over a cutting board, and carefully slice downward over the cob cutting off the kernels.

Great salad that incorporates the fresh vegetables available this month, and it’s very healthy!

Black Bean Citrus Salad with Quinoa
Adapted from: Eat, Live, Run

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 15oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, diced
1 large grapefruit, divided into segments & chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 ears of fresh corn, kernels chopped off
1 jalapeño, optional
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 limes
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 large avocado, diced

Cook quinoa per package directions.  Once cooked and cooled, add to a large bowl.

Into the bowl, add the: black beans, red onion, grapefruit segments, bell pepper, corn kernels, jalapeño and cilantro.  Toss well to combine.

In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, olive oil and salt.  Pour dressing into the bowl, and toss well to combine.

Once you divide the salad over bowls or plates to serve, top off with avocado pieces.

Broccoli with Sun-dried Tomatoes over Quinoa

It’s finally getting warm here, the weekend ended up being beautiful!  Although Saturday morning was gloomy and chilly, by the end of the day the sun was out.  We took a walk on the Mall, among all the tourists, and got a little sun.  For dinner we tried burgers at Good Stuff Eatery, which were delicious.  Spike Mandolhson is known from Top Chef, and he opened this burger join a couple of years back.  Both of us were very surprised how busy it was!  So if you’re in Capitol Hill, and enjoy a good burger- check this place out.

In order to counteract the (not so healthy) burger, I decided a quinoa salad would be much better for us.  So below is a great recipe, for a quick and easy salad.  As always with these, feel free to change the vegetables or keep these yummy one’s.

Broccoli with Sun-dried Tomatoes over Quinoa
Adapted from: Vegetarian Times

1 cup uncooked quinoa
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp grape seed oil (feel free to use another oil)
2 heads (about 1 lb) of fresh broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (feta can be a substitute)

Cook quinoa per package directions.  Once it’s cooked, add to a large bowl.  Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Transfer to the large bowl.

Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add broccoli and cook for 2 minutes, or until florets are coated with oil and begin to soften and brown.  Add water and cover tightly with lid.  Steam broccoli for 5-10 minutes, until the water has evaporated and the broccoli is tender.  Once cooked, add to the large bowl.

In a small bowl mix: sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Stir to mix all of the ingredients.  Pour over the salad in the large bowl.  Mix the ingredients, so the vinaigrette is covering the salad.  Top the salad with goat cheese.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Pepper Quinoa Salad

I absolutely love “salads” that don’t exactly look like the typical salad which many think of (lettuce, croutons, dressing, veggies).  I prefer using many of the grains that are out there (quinoa, barley, couscous, etc) to make a different type of salad to take for lunch.  I have found that quinoa is the easiest (especially cooking it!), and has a great taste.

So having goat cheese in our fridge, and coming across a recipe on one of the food blogs, I tried this one out.  I also grab any new ideas to put into my quinoa salads whenever I can.  But, anything goes!

Goat Cheese & Roasted Pepper Quinoa Salad
Adapted from: Cooking After Five

2 cups of cooked quinoa
8 cups (16 oz) of fresh spinach
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of red pepper flakes (or less/more)
1 cup of roasted red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
4 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz goat cheese, crumbled up

With 1 teaspoon of olive oil, saute the fresh spinach for about 3-5 minutes with the minced garlic.  Once the garlic begins to wilt, add the red pepper flakes and cook for another minute or two.

Then mix all ingredients in a large bowl, except for the basil and goat cheese.  Place the salad in a bowl (or tupperwear for lunch!) and sprinkle with some basil and goat cheese.  We had 6 servings out of this for lunch.