Saturday, June 11, 2011

Weekend Cooking: Another Summer Salad

Wegmans has done it again. Another Menu magazine, loaded with ideas, recipes, and new products to try, appeared in our mailbox a few weeks ago. The large section devoted to fresh summer salads is especially appealing. We've tried several and have an early favorite to share.

Quinoa has long been something of a mystery to me. Even its pronunciation posed a problem (the consensus seems to be keen-wah). This recipe for Red Quinoa-Avocado Salad contains many of our favorite summer ingredients and seemed a promising place to begin.


Red Quinoa-Avocado Salad

Ingredients:
1 pkg (7 oz) Food You Feel Good About Red Quinoa, cooked per pkg directions, chilled 
1 pkg (12 oz) Food You Feel Good About Frozen Super-Sweet Corn, thawed 
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced on the bias 
2 plum tomatoes, 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup) 
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, cubed small 
1/2 cup Food You Feel Good About Lemon Vinaigrette 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Add cooked quinoa, corn, cilantro, green onions, and tomatoes to mixing bowl. Fold in avocados and dressing; mix until well-combined. Season with salt and pepper; serve

Nutrition Info: Each serving (1 cup) contains 210 calories, 27 g carbohydrate, (4 g fiber), 5 g protein, 9 g fat, (1 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, and 240 mg sodium.
Calories: 210

It was delicious! The nutty flavor of the quinoa was an unexpected treat. Are you a quinoa fan?  How do you prepare it? Any ideas would be welcome.


Weekend Cooking is open to anyone with a food-related post to share: Book reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button, head over to Beth Fish Reads, and link up anytime over the weekend.






18 comments:

  1. Ooooooh. You just solved dinner for me. THANKS! I have half those ingredients here and the other half I'll pick up this afternoon. I didn't have time to go through the last Wegman's Menu magazine -- I'm so happy you did it for me.

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  2. I will confess to never having tasted quinoa. Is it a grain similar to rice in texture and taste? Is this a protein substitute for meat? Your salad picture is very attractive. Usually when food looks good, it tastes good.

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  3. Oh, what a wonderful change from the dull and ordinary!!! My mother, recovering from a long spring of digestive issues, has been advised to eat quinoa. She has it every morning for breakfast, but I'm going to share this salad with her, too. We'll all be eating it in our family; it has everything we like! Thanks, JoAnn.

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  4. I was first introduced to quinoa several years ago, and I love it. My favorite variety is the Ancient Red, but I make all kinds; there is even a quinoa "flake" that I use like oatmeal.
    I like it best mixed with different diced veggies :)

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  5. Red quinoa is new to me. I was at a potluck on monday and one lady brought a quinoa salad with avocado. It was yummy.

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  6. I'm a newbie at quinoa! I do a salad with quinoa, spinach and rocket, avocado, green beans, and a creamy mint dressing (I'm not much of a creamy dressing person, but a little goes a long way and the mint really brightens it up.) The huge chunks of avocado are admittedly the best part for me. It makes a good lunch salad, hearty but healthy.

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  7. You know, I don't think I've ever had Quinoa! Even now that you've told us how to pronounce it I still say it wrong in my head. ;) Since Scott is allergic to fresh fruits and veggies I don't do a lot of salads but this does look yummy!!

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  8. This sounds and looks terrific! I've not yet tried red quinoa...will have to try this ASAP! Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Beth F - Hope you enjoy it! We also loved the Cedar-Plank Salmon with brown sugar and cracked pepper blend... had to decrease the proportion of pepper just a little though.

    Margot - It is similar in texture to rice, but has a nuttier taste. It's referred to as a super-food because it's so high in protein. I may post some further quinoa adventures.

    Bellezza - I hope she likes this - full of protein and simply delicious!

    TheBookGirl - I'll have to look for the flakes. Love the idea of mixing it with diced vegies, too. Thanks!

    Heather - It was the avocado that sold me on trying this recipe... I love them!

    Kate - Your salad combination sounds delicious, too. Quinoa is actually pretty versatile.

    Trish - Oh, poor Scott! We've been so lucky with food allergies in my family...

    Lee - Hope you like it...let me know how it turns out.

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  10. That looks totally delicious!! A friend of ours just bought a smoker and he's loving it. This sounds like a great side dish to make!!

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  11. I discovered quinoa last summer, and found it wonderful. Crunchier than couscous and almost as easy.
    This is one I will add to the files for sure. Thank you!

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  12. This looks delicious. I've been making quinoa for a year or so now. Definitely not an expert, but not afraid of it anymore either. The only time it was ever disappointing was when I tried a sweet porridge- it was a disaster, that I ended up feeding to the dogs -they loved it and didn't complain. It's nice made in specific dishes, but I also just make it as a side dish sometimes, you can use it instead of couscous or rice. My 10 year old even likes it! I've got a couple of quinoa recipes on my blog- one of my favourites was this amazing Japanese salad that I made last year

    http://adventuresinalowgiworld.blogspot.com/2010/11/japanese-quinoa-salad.html

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  13. This recipe sounds wonderful. I've never cooked anything with quinoa before.

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  14. I love quinoa. I love the name, I love the taste, I love those little half circles that appear when it cooks. :<) I have three recipes on the blog.

    http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/quinoa-with-corn-and-onion.html

    http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/02/muffin-mondayapple-muffins.html

    (scroll down a bit on the above to get to a quinoa stew)

    http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2007/11/joy-of-baking-wild-rice-and-quinoa.html

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  15. Staci - My brother-in-law has a smoker and loves it, too. I brought this salad to his last BBQ.

    DS - Can't believe it's taken me this long to discover quinoa for myself. Hope you like this salad!

    Louise - That Japanese Salad sounds delicious! Thanks so much for the link.

    Kathleen - Let me know if you decide to experiment with quinoa. We'll compare notes.

    Nan - Oh, these look wonderful! Thanks for the links... looking forward to trying more quinoa dishes.

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  16. Oh,my. I loved Wegmans and their magazine when we lived on the east coast. Hmm, wonder if there is some way to subscribe? But, then, what about their exclusive products (such as the vinaigrette they include in this recipe). I'll have to do some research on whether they do mail order...

    I have food allergies which include avocadoes, but in general I find quinoa salads to be delicious. I'm ashamed to say I still haven't cooked with quinoa yet. I need to change that!

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  17. Valerie - I always joke that one day Wegmans will rule the world! What a great store. If you'd like the magazine, I'd be very happy to mail it to you... but there's still the problem of their specialty products.

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  18. JoAnn -- thank you but that's ok, I went over to their website and there are plenty of recipes there for browsing -- including ones from their magazine (current and past issues). That will be good enough for now; but life would be even better if Wegmans came out west :-) . Or at least offered mailorder of their non-perishable signature items....

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