After spending the weekend eating, drinking, and socializing in San Francisco, my to-do list was not looking very fun…
but I was REALLY excited to get back into the kitchen. Unfortunately for me, the cupboards were a little bare, so I knew a big shop was in order. I made my meal plan for the week, wrote up a grocery list, and grabbed tons of washed and ready-to-re-use jars and containers and headed to the co-op. I ADORE this place!
Bulk bins full of any grain, legume, and flour you could possibly want, an entire wall of different spices, and a great selection of soap and beauty products. Plus you can bring all your own containers and really cut down on your packaging consumption (Mike and I are obsessed with this concept right now).
The pantry staples I bought this week:
- Red Lentils
- Red Quinoa (for the first time ever!)
- Garbanzo beans
- Garbanzo flour
- Whole spelt flour
- Agave syrup
- Pumpkin seeds
- Nutritional yeast
- Millet
I was excited to try red quinoa for the very first time, and this recipe from Sassy Radish looked like a winner. I was a little dubious about the dried fruit, but it ended up being a subtle sweetness that played perfectly off the vinaigrette. I subbed pumpkin seeds for pine nuts and absolutely LOVED it. I think I’ll be buying a lot more red quinoa (which I probably couldn’t tell apart from regular quinoa in a blind taste test, but it’s really pretty!)
For a little extra protein, I heated up some black beans with onions, chipotle, and baby spinach and served it on the side.
Recipe:
(adapted from Sassy Radish)
1 1/2 cups red quinoa
3 cups water
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
3/4 cup dried fruit, diced (I used a mix of dried apricots and cherries)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 clove garlic, finely minced
zest of 2 limes
3 tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp finely minced shallot
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the quinoa and boil for about 15 minutes, or until the water is almost completely absorbed. Turn the heat off and cover with the lid for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl to cool.
Whisk together all the dressing ingredients.
Toss the quinoa, bell pepper, dried fruit, and pumpkin seeds together, then mix in the dressing.
Oh girl, this looks divine! Bookmarking NOW!
I’m so jealous of your co-op! I do have some red quinoa in the fridge right now, but I had to drive four hours and buy it in the bulk section of Whole Foods. Thanks for giving me some ideas of what to do with it!
What a deliciously healthy salad. It looks fantastic.
I’d love for you to submit one of your beautiful photos, and a link to your post, to my new vegetarian photo gallery showcasing the best vegetarian dishes and recipes on the web.
I’m eating some right now. Did not have red quinoa, so used regular white. No lime, so used lemon juice with a drop of lime flavoring oil. Toasted the pumpkin seeds. Delicious! If you can’t wait, it’s good warm too!
[...] I was in Whole Foods the other day and grabbed red quinoa on impulse and ended up using this recipe. [...]