We were first introduced to quinoa while on a hiking trip in Peru back in 2002. Our guide would pack all of the ingredients and when we stopped for lunch, he'd throw all of the ingredients into a bowl and prepare the hiking group with a salad similar to this one. It was a nice, light lunch salad that we'd enjoy along with some cheese and bread and other local snack foods. Quinoa was available in the US, but it was still relatively new at the time. 

This salad is pretty easy to make but it will still be a crowd pleaser. It's light and healthy yet the quinoa and roasted garbanzo beans give it some satisfying toothiness. It's a good dish to bring to a pot luck. Also perfect for a picnic or concert food. It's a ready-made side salad for weeknight meals. You can also use it as a base for your main protein (I think this would make a nice base for cooked fish or shrimp). You could also make this on a Sunday and then you've got your work week lunch pretty much done. 

Most of the quinoa you find in the store is plain light brown in color. That's called white quinoa. That will work for this recipe but there is also black and red quinoa. Using the red or a mix of all three gives this salad creates a lot visual interest and makes it more colorful. 

You can think of this recipe as a starting point. There are many ingredients that could be used instead of or in addition to. You can create your own personal favorite. Scallions, edamame, chopped olives, pimentos, roasted red bell pepper, and much more could be used. 

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients:

• Quinoa - 1 cup uncooked, tri-colored preferred
• Water - 2 cups
• Lemon juice - 1/4 cup (about 1 large lemon)
• Olive oil - 1/4 cup
• Red wine vinegar - 1 tablespoon
• Garlic - 2-3 cloves, minced
• Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
• Black pepper - freshly ground to taste
• Garbanzo beans - 1 15 oz. can, drained
• Cucumber - 1 medium, seeded
• Red onion - 1 medium
• Red bell pepper - 1 medium
• Parsley - finely chopped leaves, about 1 cup
• Feta - crumbles, about 1 cup
• Finishing salt - to taste (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Drain garbanzo beans in a colander. When drained place on some double thick paper towels. Cover to the top with paper towels. Gently roll beans around to get as dry as possible.
• In a bowl, add lemon juice, oil, salt, red wine vinegar, and minced garlic. Add in fresh black pepper to taste. Whisk the dressing to mix and set aside.
• Add beans to a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper (you can add any other herb or herb mix as well). Stir to mix. 
• 
  Line a cookie sheet or sheet pan with parchment paper. Pour the beans onto the paper and spread  to a single layer. Place in the oven for 11 minutes. At 11 minutes, take beans out and with a spoon, move the beans around. Return to the oven for another 11 minutes. 
• Finely chop red onion and place in a large bowl.
  
• Seed and chop cucumber into small bite-sized chunks and add to bowl.
• Seed and chop red bell pepper into small bite-sized chunks and add to bowl.
• Finely chop the parsley leaves and add to the bowl.
• Rinse the quinoa in a colander and let it drain for a bit. Combine the quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and, with high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat once boiling but maintain a gentle boil. Keep reducing the as the quinoa absorbs the water. Once all of the water is absorbed, about 7-10  minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Remove cover and let quinoa cool.
• 
• Add the feta crumbles.
• Once the quinoa is cool, add it to the large bowl and begin gently mixing all of the ingredients together. Add half of the dressing and mix well. Add the rest of the dressing and continue to mix. Let the salad rest for 10 minutes before serving. 
• Once plated, add a few pinches of finishing salt (Maldon or other fine salt flakes).
• Serves about 4 dinner-sized portions or 8 smaller side salads. It will last in the fridge for about four days.
• Pairs well with a Roreo Arneis bottle of wine.
  
  
  

Instant Pot Homemade Hummus

I think I may be the last person in this country to purchase an Instant Pot. About two years ago, I finally got one. I haven't really used it extensively but, I've started experimenting with it as a rice cooker (Not convinced it's better than traditional stove top rice). I read an article on using it for hard boiled eggs which I did and it turned out well. But this will be my first post that incorporates the use of my 3 quart Instant Pot Lux Mini!

After I got it, I checked out a few Instant Pot books from the library and decided to start with some homemade hummus. I started with Helen Schlueter "Cooking with Your Instant Pot." The hummus was a good starting point but as I looked online I realized some additional ingredients were needed. Lessons were learned. I looked at some online recipes and patched together a recipe that I tweaked each time I made it. 

But first a word about tahini. Tahini is pureed sesame seeds and oil. Supermarket tahini (Joya is the most common brand) can difficult to deal with because the oil rises to the top and the puree is a sticky, gooey glob. There are some ideas here for dealing with tahini. But traditionally, I keep tahini in the back of the refrigerator and if I needed to use it, I would let it sit out for an hour or two. But then I read this article online that says you can keep the tahini in the pantry. There will still be separation but it will be easier to stir and mix. 

 I make this recipe and freeze large cubes using these silicone ice cube trays. Freeze overnight or for a few days and then pop them out and transfer them to a freezer bag. This way, you can have some hummus whenever you want or need it. When needed, pop a cube or two in the microwave. Add a drizzle of olive oil and stir to mix. 

As an example, I use this frozen hummus whenever I have this as a side dish for dinner. If you are not freezing, then transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle some paprika, za'atar, or aleppo pepper on top.

Instant Pot Hummus

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. dried garbanzo beans
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Olive oil

Directions:

• Place dried garbanzo beans into the Instant Pot. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups of water and let it soak for 10-12 hours. 
• When complete, drain the beans in a colander (but don't rinse them).
• Return the beans to the Instant Pot, add minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 4 cups water to the pot. Stir to mix.
• 
  Seal the Instant pot and set the venting valve to the Sealing position.
• Set it to pressure cooker for 25 minutes.
• Once complete, let it sit and vent naturally for 30 minutes before turning the valve to the release position.
• Carefully remove the lid and drain beans into a colander with a large bowl underneath to capture the water in order to reserve it. This will be used later to thin the hummus.
• Once drained, place the cooked chickpeas, the second 1/4 tsp. black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, tahini paste, and lemon juice into a food processor.
  
• Process until smooth. Scrape down sides.
• With the processor running, add reserved water (a little at a time--use a 1/8 measuring cup) until desired consistency is reached.
• Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste. 

Chicken and Cucumber Salad with Parsley Pesto

This is a quick, easy, healthy, and tasty weeknight salad that I recently adapted from a Cooking Light magazine and I've made this recipe a few times now. Use this as starting point and tweak it to your liking.

I made a number of changes to the original recipe. But we picked this recipe to try because of one ingredient: roasted garbanzo beans!

Now the concept of roasting garbanzo beans is a new to us. We like them and there are always a few cans in the pantry. But roasting these things turns them into something dangerously addictive (in a good way!). They are THAT good. Suddenly, they are tasty nuggets that are meaty and chewy. They are utterly transformed and vastly improved. It's an amazing transformation.

We got introduced to the concept through a Blue Apron recipe. The roasting of the garbanzo beans seemed like an unnecessary step but I thought I would just follow the recipe. Once they cooled enough to try one I was hooked. It was hard not to keep stealing a few as they cool. They could stand on their own as a healthy snack food.

The recipe also includes some parsley pesto. I have a go-to recipe for traditional pesto with basil. I make batches of it during the summer months and then freeze them in ice cube trays to use throughout the year. I've also made pesto with other ingredients including parsley, carrot top greens, arugula, and cilantro. Parsley pesto is a nice, mild pesto and it's great to have some on hand frozen. Defrost a cube to add to eggs, fish, or chicken if you eat meat. So I have multiple bags of various types of frozen pesto cubes in the freezer at the ready.

Finally, the original recipe called for some pulled chunks of rotisserie chicken. Since we don't eat meat, we substituted Tofurky's tasty "Slow Roasted Chick'n." This has been another revelation. This chicken substitute is pretty dead on and it has opened up some new recipes for us to try.

Chicken and Cucumber Salad with Parsley Pesto

Serves 2

• Parsley - 1 large flat leaf bunch cleaned and dried with leaves pulled off
• Pine nuts - 1/3 cup
• Parmesan cheese - 1 cup grated
• Garlic - 2-3 cloves minced
• salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

• Chicken - 1/2 - 3/4 of an 8 oz package of Tofurky Slow Roasted Chick'n or about 4 cups of  shredded rotisserie chicken
• Edamame - 2 cups, shelled and cooked
• Garbanzo beans - 1 15 oz. can drained
• English cucumber - 1, chopped
• Arugula - 4 handfuls

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Parsley Pesto

Combine first five ingredients in a food processor bowl. While processing, slowly add olive oil until you reach the desired consistency. To preserve for the future, spoon pesto into oiled ice cube trays and freeze overnight. The next day, set out for a few minutes and then separate the cubes from the trays. Place cubes in freezer bags and store in the freezer for future use. For this recipe, use 3-4 frozen cubes of parsley pesto.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Drain and rinse the beans then place them in a single layer on a doubled paper towel. Cover with paper towels and let them dry completely. Transfer beans to a large bowl and add olive oil, salt, and pepper and stir to mix. Place beans in a single layer on a (parchment paper lined) cookie sheet and place in pre-heated oven for 20-22 minutes. Roll beans over halfway through the cooking time. Watch the beans closely during the last few minutes. Remove when done and let cool. 

Chicken

Place the chicken (in whatever form) in a skillet with a little olive oil over medium high heat. Cook until there's a some browning on both sides.

Assemble salad

In a large mixing bowl, combine arugula, edamame, roasted garbanzo beans, and cucumber. Mix in parsley pesto and stir to coat the ingredients with the pesto (it's actually better to mix by hand to get a nice coating on everything). Drizzle with some olive oil if you think the mixture seems dry. Divide the mixture between serving plates or bowls and top with the cooked chicken.