Quinoa Salad with Berries and Watermelon

A summer quinoa salad studded with fresh, ripe fruit.

Summer Simplicity

I cook sparingly in the heat of summer. And only if I absolutely have to. It's one of the perks of being a grown up- and post empty nest. We cook if we feel like it. And if we don't? We grab some baby spinach and chard, frisee and herbs and make a salad. We like to keep things simple.

That's no surprise to you, I'm sure.

I don't exactly do elaborate. We don't go for complicated around here. And goddess knows, we don't do formal. If we can toss together a bowl of fresh salad greens and herbs, and add some quickly cooked protein to make a meal of it, we're content. We might add strips of organic free-range chicken grilled with lemon and black pepper. Or a piece of wild salmon broiled with a touch of agave and lime. Perhaps an organic boiled egg. Or two. If we're lucky, some leftover cooked quinoa.

Dinner in a flash.

Quintessential summer.

So today's post (and recipe) is a nod to the natural marriage of summer and simplicity. Get out of the house. Step away from the screen.

Disconnect.

Reconnect.

This coming Independence Day, celebrate your independence from gluten!

Happy July Fourth!



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Quinoa Taco Salad

Taco Salad Days

Looking for a fresh idea for a summer picnic or backyard get-together? This cool and breezy quinoa taco salad might be just what you're craving. Laced with lime juice and sea salt, the combo of fluffy quinoa and ripe avocado, spiked with red onion and sunny sweet pepper, served on a crisp bed of romaine lettuce, is a light and healthy twist on the salsa drenched bean and cheese heavy taco salads so ubiquitous years ago.

It's a total win for gluten-free vegans and vegetarians.

And let's face it.

Quinoa is much more hip than canned re-fried beans.

The inspiration for a quinoa taco salad was sparked over on the Gluten-Free Goddess Facebook page. Reader (and long distance friend) Patsy commented on a thread about Memorial Day picnic salads, mentioning her current fave, quinoa taco salad.

We all perked up. 

Quinoa? As a taco salad? Brilliant. 

Patsy generously shared her recipe with me. It called for diced tomatoes, black beans and cheese, so I revamped the flavors to create a FODMAPs-friendly dairy-free vegan version. Quinoa is a complete vegetarian protein, so you really don't need the black beans (as a complementary protein), unless, of course, you're fond of those fiber rich little beauties in your quinoa salad.

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Kale + Quinoa Salad with Tangerines

Kale salad with tangerines, quinoa, and almonds.

My Kale Crush

Something has frozen over. Or maybe pigs are flying. I actually, um, like kale. After all my mocking, my nose crinkling, my eye rolling. After tweeting disparagingly about the taste of this dark leafy green (I believe the word I used was swampy). Behold. I am converted. I have seen the light.

The turning point? Lacinato kale (also called Tuscan black kale, or dinosaur kale). The long, slender leaves are delightfully un-swamp like. And unlike many good-for-you greens, there is little bitterness to harsh your mellow. Lacinato (like its curly kale cousin) does benefit from massage- especially in silky extra virgin olive oil.

But then Darling- what doesn't?

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Roasted Banana Squash and New Potato Salad

Lovely new potato salad- gluten-free and vegan.

Warm roasted potato salad with fresh greens. Happiness.

Karina's Roasted Butternut Squash and New Potato Salad Recipe

Recipe posted by Karina February 2010.

We found these tiny potatoes at the local organic market. Gold, red and purple bites of root vegetable goodness. If you cannot find such petite potatoes, use the smallest gold, blue and red potatoes you can find and cut them into halves or quarters to make them bite size. As for the squash, I used banana squash (see more on banana squash here), but butternut or even acorn squash would also be delicious.

First: Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

In a roasting pan combine:

Stir the winter squash and potatoes together and coat the squash with the olive oil and seasonings. Place the roasting pan back into the hot oven and roast until the potatoes and squash are fork tender and the squash is caramelized- about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir half way through to help brown all sides, and keep the squash from sticking.

1 bag (1 1/2 to 2 lbs.) tiny young potatoes or small fingerlings

Olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Note: Slice the potatoes in half if they are larger than bite size.

Stir the potatoes to distribute the olive oil and seasonings. Roast for 15-20 minutes or so- till tender but not quite done- you're going to add in the squash and cook them longer.

Add in:

Half a banana or butternut squash, peeled and cubed

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

A drizzle of real balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

Note: Size matters. Larger potatoes and cubes of squash will take longer to cook than their petite cousins, so test with a fork and keep an eye on them.

When the potatoes and squash are tender, remove the pan from the oven and cool it on a rack while you wash and dry the salad greens.

Plate a mix of fresh, crisp baby spinach and spring greens.

Spoon the warm roasted squash and potatoes onto the greens. Dress lightly with a dab of your best extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top with fresh ground pepper.

Note: For those enjoying cheese, add a sprinkle of fresh organic goat cheese or a shaving of Parmesan.

Serves 4.

Tiny potatoes are a favorite addition to fresh greens.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach

Vegan Gluten-Free Bliss

If you're looking for a fresh idea to liven up your ho-hum salad plate, Babycakes, have I got a recipe for you. Light, vegan, and packed with protein, this is no ordinary bunny food. It's got teeth- er, I mean, quinoa. Studded with nutty, buttery chick peas and crunchy toasted pecans and succulent jewels of ripe, juicy pears. And did I mention, in a bowl licking maple vinaigrette?

In fact, this is a salad even salad haters would eat. You know, those stalwart gotta have my meat and potatoes aficionados who eschew anything leafy. Who snicker at fiber. And mock carrot sticks. The sort of individual who gets misty eyed for melted butter and bacon martinis. To said individuals, salad could never be anything but rabbit chow. But this lovely mélange of flavors just might pique their interest. The sheer luxurious deliciousness of these autumnal flavors might coax them into flirting with bunny food goodness. Just this once. Then- who knows what could happen? They might settle in, fork poised, all dubious and dreaming of rib eye. They might take a bite. And then another. And another. And before you can say blueberry pancakes on a stick- they might actually smack their lips and grin and hold out their empty plate for more.

And you.

You could smile back, sly and slow, as you reach for the serving spoon to comply with their new found desire.

And feed their craving.


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5 Gluten-Free Potato Salad Recipes

Gluten-Free Vegan Potato Salad - Simplicity

Potato Salad Love

I am thinking of you. As I pack. Folding linens into squares (next to impossible with fitted sheets). Wrestling with rebellious hangers. Cradling white soup plates in sheets of recycled paper. Boxing and taping and labeling our material life once again. Our seven year journey westward now migrating east. Back to the Cape.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Where we first met.

Where we first touched, shaking hands goodbye at the end of a six week painting class (it would take you two and a half years to call me and invite me for coffee).

Where I raked up a post-hurricane marriage and as I sorted through tree limbs and debris saw the biggest rainbow curve high above the destruction.

Where I set up my freedom cottage as a single mother, living in 350 square feet by wits and faith.

Where I learned to trust my instincts. And snip free the soft lies agreed upon.

Where you finally did call.

Where we began our marriage. Our life as parents. Best friends. Lovers. Painters.

Where I most feel at home. By the New England sea.

Returning. With sand in my shoes that I never shook free.

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Quinoa Salad with Baby Spinach and Grape Tomatoes

Quinoa salad with baby spinach and tomatoes.

Quinoa + Spinach = Salad Days

Here is a wonderful year-round salad that is inviting, fresh and vibrant. The sort of salad a certain individual needs on a damp, late winter day when the sky is paper white and the clouds are thick with snow. On a day such as this it is tempting to head straight for comfort food. That leftover Kicked Up Baked Mac 'n Cheese in the fridge. That wedge of Roasted Vegetable Kugel. But what the body craves may- or may not be- what the body needs.

I'm just saying.

I'm no expert on cravings. But I do know that if I make a habit of indulging every gnawing whim and urge that wiggles its way into my sun deprived brain I'd munch Blueberry Crumb Cake for breakfast and eat Horseradish Spiked Red Potato Salad every noon hour from now till the Vernal Equinox (a serotonin-boosting strategy not recommended, by the way, for those of us past a certain age where you can pack on voluptuous pounds faster that you can say blueberry pancakes on a stick).

It also doesn't help that yours truly sports three honkin' titanium screws in the left hip joint, curtailing one's enthusiasm for certain popular aerobic routines. Maybe if I Zumbaed I'd still fit into my summer winter jeans. As of last week there's not a pair of jeans in the house I can riggle into. [And by the way, why do doctors insist on referring to hip screws as pins, embroidering knitting group safe visions of a petite and delicate procedure that in no way involved a couple of workbench sized clamps and a battery operated power drill?]

All I can say is thank goddess for black leggings. Paired with a tunic top they hide a multitude of muffins.

And cake.

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How to Make Raw Cashew Cream and Ranch Dressing

Cashew cream makes a divine dairy-free ranch dressing.

Here in La La Land it's been too hot to cook. So I've been going raw. Numero uno- it's easy. Numero dos- it's tasty. And as an added bonus (if you need another nudge) cooking raw keeps the kitchen cool as a cucumber- which, by all accounts, is chilly by default, and, well. Cool. As in hip. At least around these hipster parts (it's right up there with gluten-free lately).

I am way past the hipster stage of life, I confess. But I admit I've been flirting with raw cuisine on and off ever since the monkey gut incident. Eating vegan and raw seems to help heal inflammation and tame my irritable, punishing digestion. Unless it's broccoli. Or onion. Or too much raw fruit. I still need to be careful. But eating mostly vegan soothes my pesky symptoms and revitalizes my cranky, creaky body. I am amazed at how much better I feel. Maybe it's all those perky little enzymes.

Now if I could only quell the stress factor.

Good thing I have an iPhone. Iphoneography keeps me sane. It's a way I can paint. Create. Stay engaged. Hopeful. It keeps my spirit fed. And my visually dominant brain happy.

Meanwhile, an iphoneoraphy girl's gotta eat. 

So I'll be soaking almonds and cashews for raw recipes. Freezing bananas. And stocking up on lettuce.

Why not try a little un-cooking yourself these last hot days of summer? This recipe for cashew cream is the perfect place to start. It's versatile and voluptuous. It's vegan and dairy-free.

You'll love it.

So go.

Start soaking.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Berry Dressing

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Berry Dressing

Don't cook. Go RAW. Go FRESH.

The older I get the more I crave simple. The sweet, relaxed comfort of home cooking. An impromptu picnic on the patio with family-style classics like horseradish spiked potato salad and strawberry rhubarb crumble. Instead of growing worldly and sophisticated and dabbling with truffle oil, each new gray silver hair spins my taste hula hooping into simplicity faster than Lady Gaga can waggle. Well, maybe not that fast. She is pretty nimble. But you get my drift. I'm whipping up ten-minute rice stir-fries, not Coq au Vin. I’m blending up pomegranate smoothies, not roasting Duck a l'Orange.

And lucky me, the summer season is all about simplicity. Who needs complicated and fussy when the farmers’ markets are abundant with glorious, fresh ingredients? Vegetables in every color. Ripe and voluptuous fruits. And every one of them gluten-free. And dairy-free. That’s the beauty of it. No imitation here. No game of let’s pretend. This is nature’s bounty, pure and raw and beautiful. No deprivation. Zero. None.

When folks with celiac disease first learn they need to live gluten-free (for life!) a throat tightening panic strikes. In a sudden, blinding flash they begin to mentally catalog every favorite food they must now avoid like the plague. The list begins with sandwich bread for many, and often ends with pizza, bagels, spaghetti or cupcakes (by this point, imagined in all their lustrous glory through an unexpected blur of angry tears). Our wheat-based food culture is insidious, ubiquitous, and gluten saturated. Our nemesis- the grain protein gluten- is infused in or added to too many foods to count (soy sauce, really?).

This is why I gently suggest going naturally gluten-free. At least for starters.

Diving into the complexity of gluten-free baking (with multiple flours and starches), or spending hard earned cash on packaged gluten-free foods full of odd ingredients such as tapioca starch, quinoa flakes and xanthan gum, can pinch not only the budget, but the soul. Taste buds need time to adjust. Your palate was raised on wheat and dairy foods. And trust me- both are acquired tastes. I know this is true, because after years of living gluten-free and dairy-free, I can honestly report that I hold my breath walking past the bread shelves and the gourmet cheese displays at our favorite local market. Baked goods made with wheat flour exude an odd, sickly- sweet aroma that does not smell appetizing. And cheese? When you haven’t eaten dairy in years, it smells exactly like spit up- no offense to babies. And milk? Cow's milk smells like a creepy combo of cheese curds and animal hair.

I am sorry to tell you.

So if you are newly diagnosed, or an old pro celiac who's been tempted by the news of a Domino's gluten-free pizza (just say no!), step back and take a breath. Visit your local farmer’s market this weekend instead. Drink in the gorgeous, gluten-free abundance of the fledgling summer season. Go vegetal. Toss together cool and tangy salads. Grill zucchini, asparagus, and peppers in a rainbow of colors. Blend creamy smoothies with fresh strawberries and coconut milk. Take advantage of juicy, local fruit and make a quick and elegant salad that will lift your spirits and nourish your body. Grab someone you love and dine al fresco

You won’t miss the gluten. I promise.

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Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Chick Peas and Orange

Fresh, bright quinoa salad with oranges and roasted beets.

Roasted Beets + Quinoa

February second. We survived January, Darling. Happy Groundhog Day to you. Happy Imbolc. The dwindling of winter is at last within reach- no matter what Punxatawny Phil predicts. Six weeks is doable. After all, there is chocolate. Downton Abbey 2. And soup. And our hope-fueled New Year betterments are still on track (right?). If not, the year is young. Tomorrow is a fresh start. To celebrate, let's throw a party. My contribution? A gluten-free vegan salad that is perfect for parties.

Because throwing a party is a tad more complicated than it used to be.

There are vegans to accommodate. And newly gluten-free friends and neighbors to feed. And let's face it. Everyone is a wee bit bored by those layered taco bean dips and pork sliders. Gooey meat and cheese is so predictable. Pizza dips are so frat house.

Why not go fresh and breezy instead?

Be good to your body.


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Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Fresh summer salad ingredients: basil, red and yellow tomatoes.

Summer Love

We have a wedding to go to. And not just any wedding. My first born son's wedding. I am mother of the groom. For the first time. Twenty-nine summers ago I cradled this soulful, musical being with new mother innocence and awe, lost in the ocean of this newborn's eyes, starting a journey called motherhood with few tools beyond my willing heart and a deep rooted conviction that I would create for him a childhood unlike my own.

And in many ways I did. I listened with curiosity. I valued his opinion. I gave him paper and paint and books and music. I gave him the time and space and respect to create. We hung together as true companions.

He was always good company.

And still is.

He inspires me daily. We connect through Instagram and iChat. He lives his life as an artist. Creatively. He improvises and honors his intuition. He composes music. Takes killer iphone photographs.

And he cooks.

In fact, he inspired this recipe.

Because he loves to grill vegetables.

His lovely bride is a vegetarian.

So the next time I cook for them- as husband and wife- I think I'll make this vegan pasta salad with smoky grilled vegetables.

Tomorrow we are off to New Hampshire for the wedding. We are staying in the picturesque town of Portsmouth. See you next week! I'll be posting as a newly minted mother-in-law.

I like the sound of that.


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Quinoa Salad with Pineapple, Broccoli, Mint

Pineapple quinoa salad with broccoli. Fresh and healthy.

Quinoa Salad Recipe for Spring


Spring is beckoning. I can feel it. And my winter-stiff body is aching to stretch and move and shed the yearly inertia that descends like a bear with the shrinking daylight. My brain is flickering awake. My taste buds are tiring of the heavy, creamy comfort foods that sustained me (thank you, lovely spuds, lasagna, and mac and cheese, I love you with all my heart).

I'm craving lighter, cleaner tastes.

Not to mention, missing my warm weather jeans. You know the ones. That stack in the back of the closet you haven't fit into since December, when you began wondering if the laundromat medium heat setting was shrinking your favorite Levi's. The jeans you have to lay down to zip, doing your best imitation of Jane Fonda's pelvic tilt, sucking in your breath and praying to the zipper gods. Your skinny jeans. You know what I'm talking about. You have two sets of jeans, right? Winter. And summer.

So here's what I'm thinking. Quinoa to the rescue.

Vegan. Versatile. Easy. Fresh. Light. This new quinoa salad with pineapple and broccoli and fresh mint is all of the above. And maybe, just maybe, it'll be the first step to fitting into those skinny jeans.


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Coleslaw with Chili-Lime Dressing

Winter coleslaw recipe kicked up with chili, lime + mint.


Need a little kick to warm your chilled winter bones? How about a warm and slightly spicy coleslaw with crunchy cabbage, chili, lime and ginger? It's a healthy vegan side dish your body will love. And the best part is, it's easy to throw together. You can do it in no time flat. Which is why I always keep a cabbage in the fridge (don't you, Darling?). You never know when hunger pangs will strike, what with all this detoxing and sugar shunning and working out with Jane Fonda's Prime Time DVD -- which I must confess, I love to pieces. Jane is gentle and warm and encouraging (I don't respond well to bullying and drill sergeant meanies, do you?).

The workout is perfect for me (I'm a woman of a certain age, with three titanium screws in her hip and a cranky duodenum, after all). I thought I'd talk about it today because I also think it's a great little workout for those of any age who sit at a computer desk all day and forget to get up and boogie now and then (that would also be moi). You could even do it at work, as many of the exercises use a chair (who doesn't like exercise you can do sitting down?). And you could sneak in stretches when your boss isn't looking. I'm finding her body awareness technique is already helping my posture. Which always gets slouchy in winter. Even in L.A. It just does. I think it's the narrow daylight thing. Or the carb craving thing. Which is related to the daylight thing. Which is why I'm shredding cabbage and whipping up slaw. Because a girl's gotta eat.

And Babycakes, this slaw makes a darn tasty gluten-free snack.


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Heirloom Potato Salad with Vegenaise®

A super easy potato salad with tasty heirloom spuds. Vegan and egg-free.

I snatched up a bag of those cute little potatoes at the market yesterday. You know the ones I'm talking about. Those baby sized spuds as cute as a button. In Easter egg colors like custard and purple and pink. So sweet and adorable you want to cradle the bag and speak in your talking-to-kittens voice. Heirloom root vegetable deliciousness. Yeah, you shell out a little extra cabbage for these pretty babies, true. But I say, live a little.

Indulge in excellent ingredients.

You only got one life. 

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Sweet Potato Salad

Potato salad with no mayo- and sweet potatoes!

 A recipe winner from the archives you may have missed. Because I haven't been cooking. I've been packing. We're moving from our Santa Monica apartment to a sweet place in West Hollywood. Like, tomorrow. If it seems as if we live gypsy lives, it's true. We do (if packing up and moving six times in fourteen months counts). We're signing a lease today. Ostensibly for a year. I hope to settle in fast and start whipping up gluten-free recipes in the new kitchen- which is, I'm happy to report, new as in brand new. New everything. Hence, a gluten-free stove. Fridge. Dishwasher. The landlord remodeled, bless her generous heart. I'll post pics as soon as the dust settles. xox Karina PS: And yes, there's a window over the kitchen sink.

This is a colorful and lower carb potato salad recipe, a welcome change from the ordinary white spud con mayo and boiled egg offerings so ubiquitous at backyard get-togethers. Why? Beyond the no Hellman's and huevos part, it features sweet potatoes, Dude. Sweet potatoes.

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Karina's Vegan Coleslaw with Peanut Dressing

Crunchy cool vegan slaw with a light peanut dressing.

Cool + Easy

It's almost the end of July. How has your summer been? Moonlit and sultry? All Popsicles and kiddie pool? Or just plain flat out busy as a bee? If it's been busy, Sugar, I can relate. Here in our tiny corner of the world we've been too crazy to cook much. We've been living on salads and smoothies. We're apartment hunting. Spending hours in the car navigating the neighborhoods of West Hollywood, searching for the perfect place. Or rather, the quasi-perfect place because perfection is unattainable. I know this. I do. But I still (naively) make a top ten priority list.

If I find a unit with a window over the kitchen sink (high on my list) there's inevitably no dishwasher. If I tour one with a dishwasher, there's no  window, and no patio (I'd love some outside access to put a small table and plant a few pots by the door). Washer and dryer? Ha.

You know that saying, If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans? Well, if you want to hear the gods laugh even harder, make a wish list.

For an apartment in West Hollywood.

Meanwhile... I thought I'd share this light and sexy coleslaw recipe. I whipped it up last night when all we had in the fridge was a head of green cabbage, a slim wedge of purple cabbage and a bunch of fresh cilantro. Out of all the nut butters I have on hand I chose peanut butter for the base of my salad dressing, but this would also be scrumptious with cashew, almond or sunflower seed butter.

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Vegan Almond Salad Recipe

Not Starkist Salad. Eat groovy. Save a tuna.

The older I get the more I crave simple. You know what I'm talking about. Home cooking. Childhood classics- like tuna salad. Instead of getting all worldly and sophisticated and dabbling with truffle oil, with each new gray hair my taste is hula hooping into kid-friendly food faster than Marisa Tomei can waggle. Well, maybe not that fast. She is pretty nimble. But you get my drift. I'm whipping up peanut butter and banana sandwiches, not oysters Rockefeller. Actually, I wouldn't know an oyster Rockefeller if it bit me in the tuchas. Filet Mignon (would you believe I've never had it?) doesn't even tempt me, Darling. And Chicken Cordon Bleu vs Chicken Kiev? 

Okay. It is here where I confess  that I'm no Betty Crocker and I've never attempted either recipe. Most likely because I was never what you'd call a big meat eater. I went vegetarian at age thirteen. If I've dabbled at all in the culinary arts it's been because of Anna Thomas and not Julia Child. The first cookbook I ever bought was The Vegetarian Epicure. That was 1972- the first time I ever made soup from scratch, thanks to Anna.

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Summer Quinoa Salad

Summer Magic = Quinoa Salad

I've written about quinoa more than once, so I doubt, Dear Reader, you need me to list all the pro-quinoa reasons why you should try this gluten-free faux grain. You already know it's high in protein. You know how easy it is to cook. You are well aware that quinoa works as a salad- warm or cold- or as stuffing for big juicy mushrooms or rather unconventional stuffed cabbage rolls that might cause your Bubbe to sit up straight in her chair and say, Oy, have I never heard of such a thing! Where do you get these ideas, Shayna Punim?

So I'm not going to wax all educational on ya.

I'd rather wax philosophical. I haven't felt practical. Or pragmatic. Truth is, I sold off furniture to be here. To get out. It's been a long, dry three years in the desert, and living here in Santa Monica is like living inside an intricate dream. The edges here are soft. The colors are gauzy with the salt air. We walk the winding path in Palisades Park at dusk and pass by strangers who meet our eyes and smile- ever so slightly.

As if we share a secret.

Splashes of conversations in Russian, Armenian and Polish float and disappear into the on-shore breeze, curling around the trill of a flute by the park's rose garden in full bloom. The flutist is a young woman with long chestnut hair. She sits on the same park bench every evening in her summer sweater, answering the colors of the petals with her music.

If heaven exists it lives by the sea.

Because the sea invades your bones with a tidal code, a code without words or sound other than the surf that tugs you toward its foamy edge in a way you can't explain. The ocean becomes a big unspoken pull in your life and her maternal grip is fierce. Jung likened the sea to the realm of the unconscious, and there is that, too. The deep. The blue-green dark. Thick with life. And dreams.

And here is the honest truth. If I have to leave in August, if the house in New Mexico has not sold by then after yet another price reduction (below what we paid for it) and we have to return to pragmatism, to another year of waiting it out, if we have to return to life in the desert, that brittle, fragile life in dry isolation, away from this garden of imagination and diversity, I will need every single speck of will power and resignation and zen surrender I can scratch up and muster to keep my heart from breaking.

In the meantime, here is a recipe for quinoa I dreamed up. 

To flute music.

Karina's Quinoa Salad Recipe with Yellow Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Basil and Mint

Recipe posted July 2009.

Summer is the time for picnics and salads that are easy as pie to toss together. Make this tabbouleh inspired quinoa early in the day, before the heat zaps your cooking mojo. It only gets better the longer it chills. The Mediterranean flavors co-mingle their little hearts out.

Amounts are approximations, a template to guide you. Salad making is more of an art than science.

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic, peeled

2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked quinoa *see How To Cook Quinoa the Super Easy Way

A handful of sweet grape tomatoes- yellow is low acid, and delicious

1 carrot, grated

4 scallions, sliced (white and light green sections)

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, whole or pitted and chopped

1/3 cup slivered nuts- pecans, almonds or walnuts

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice of 1-2 lemons or limes, depending upon size

Instructions:

Rub the clove of raw garlic inside a glass or ceramic salad bowl.

While the cooked quinoa is still a bit warm (but not steaming hot) scoop it into a bowl and fluff with a fork.

Halve or quarter the yellow tomatoes and add them to the bowl. Add in the grated carrot, sliced scallions, Kalamata olives, and slivered nuts. Toss lightly to combine.

Season with sea salt and ground pepper. Add the chopped fresh herbs. Drizzle the salad with extra virgin olive oil- enough to moisten. Toss to distribute. Squeeze a lemon or a lime all over the salad and toss.

Taste test (this is the fun part). Adjust the seasonings. Does it need more olive oil? Salt? More citrus? Is there a good balance of quinoa and add-ins?

When the seasoning tastes right, cover and chill until serving (at least one hour, but a few is even better).

Before serving, taste again and readjust seasonings if you need to. Chilling summer salads- such as quinoa, rice or potato- dulls certain flavors a bit.

Serve as a side dish. Your gluten-free peeps and vegan friends will thank you.

Makes roughly 4 to 6 servings.

Egg-Free Olive Oil Mayo

How to make an egg-free olive oil mayo.

One truth about myself that I'm learning- more and more- is it's the little things in life that stick.

It's the small moments I remember instead of the big ones, the quiet tender gesture rather than grandiose theatrics designed to make you swoon. Big and blown out- for me- simply fizzles and dissipates. There are gaps in my memory that reveal this proclivity to live off to the side, observing the small and overlooked, wondering what all the mainstream fuss is about. So much of what parades by as important strikes me as a lot of loud and self conscious whistling in the dark.

I prefer and savor the simple pleasures in life. Hot water and soap. Holding hands. Opening a new book. The unlauded bite of a new recipe that works- especially if you missed a certain taste- a condiment taken for granted, a spoonful most Americans plop onto their turkey sandwich, or stir into crab cakes, potato or tuna salad with no more thought or effort than simply reaching into the fridge and opening a jar.

Yes, I'm talking about mayo.

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Easy Champagne Vinegar Red Potato Salad

No mayo in this classic potato salad. Nope. Nada. Zip.

Easy Vegan Bliss

For those of you looking for a mayo-free potato salad recipe, here's an easy, tasty picnic style salad seasoned with Champagne vinegar and tarragon. I plan on making potato salad several times this week. Picnic food- that's perfect for packing. Sorry for the alliteration. I blame excitement. Life is getting interesting again. We're living sans furniture now- except for a bed, desk and rug. The casita feels empty in a good way. Clean and spacious.

Inviting possibility.

Let's hope potential buyers feel the same way.

As for me, I'll be at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market a week from Wednesday (expect pictures). We don't know where we're staying yet. But if Craig's List is any indication, choices will be numerous. Until then?

Dinner will be picnic style.

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