Quinoa Creation!

I came across this blog, "Iowa Girl Eats", and she has some great recipes. One recently was for "Sweet Corn &Quinoa with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette" and it sounded good but not quite hardy enough for dinner. Plus, I only had red quinoa. So I added in some grilled chicken and avocados...SO GOOD! It was delish!

Here is my combination recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa

2 cups water

2 Tablespoons butter

2 green onions, sliced

2 ears sweet corn (or one can of sweet corn drained)

1 avocado diced

3 chicken breasts grilled and cubed

salt & pepper

Cook the one cup of quinoa in the two cups of water until the water evaporates. I toasts my red quinoa in a little olive oil before adding the water. Saute corn in the butter for a couple of minutes. Add the cooked quinoa, green onions and cooked/cubed chicken breasts. Pour the vinaigrette over the meal in the pan...toss.  After transferring the meal into a dish add the diced avocados...you don't want the warm.  

Vinaigrette:

1 Tablespoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 garlic clove, microplaned or finely minced

1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Fresh Corn Salad

My friend Nancy directed me to the Barefoot Contessa's Fresh Corn Salad and it changed my life.  It is soooo good and it's soooo cheap. The perfect Summer side dish.  But you HAVE TO  use fresh corn.  Don't bother making it with frozen corn.

I have a love/hate relationship with red onions so I always soak them in cold water before using them, just to get some of the bite out.

Ina Garten's Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 5 ears of corn, shucked
• 1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.


My note: Let the dish sit in the fridge for at least an hour or two, otherwise the cider vinegar is too strong.