Thursday, May 26, 2011

Quinoa Asparagus Salad

I love quinoa but my boys don't.  Like really don't.  They're not picky eaters at all so when they tell me they really don't like something I know they mean it!  But I can't help thinking that I just haven't found a way to prepare it yet that they like.  The other day I made a quinoa salad using up some leftover quinoa and some things from the veg drawer. 
I sauteed some onion and a bit of garlic.  I added some cubed sweet potato and let that cook for a bit until it softened.  Then I added some chopped asparagus and cooked it for just a few minutes longer.  I mixed these veg with the cooked quinoa and then poured some of our favourite dressing over it all (although this time I used balsamic vinegar when I made the dressing).  And what did my boys think?  Not much!  I loved it though.  And had to put it away so that there would be some left for our guests - I found it hard to stop "testing" it as it was delicious to eat while it was still warm. ;-)
So, that  leaves me on the lookout for another way to try quinoa and yesterday I found this recipe in a magazine.  I feel pretty confident that they will like these quinoa cakes but if anyone has any links to favourite quinoa recipes I'd sure appreciate them.

7 comments:

donna!ee said...

yumm...i'll be giving this a try. is that wild asparagus? it is so much more tasty than the store bought. thank you much for sharing :)

daisy g said...

That looks delectable.

Laeli said...

That looks really good! I love quinoa, it's most excellent with walnuts,spinach and sun dried tomatoes too.

Hannah said...

I never thought about using sweet potato in quinoa salad - that looks amazing.

Heidi over at 101 Cookbooks has quite a few recipes using quinoa, many of which I have tried and can vouch for their deliciousness :)
http://www.101cookbooks.com/ingredient/quinoa

Elizabeth said...

I am going to give you a 101 cookbook recipe link too, Her latest one:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/quinoa-with-currants-dill-and-zucchini-recipe.html

This is similar to one we do in the food shop where I work, which I can't give out under pain of death:)

Hazel said...

Try serving quinoa to your boys at breakfast. Add their favourite berries or fruit, nuts, milk (or alternative 'milks') and cinnamon. Bet they love it! ;-)

Heather said...

Hi Donnalee - no, this isn't wild asparagus. It is from a farm a few towns north where there is a big asparagus farm My mom likes to tell me about all the wild asparagus that used to grow all over around this town but there isn't much left now, I've only seen it in one spot.

LaelShine - thanks! I'll try that. I have some sundried tomatoes left from last year's harvest as well as some walnuts from our old trees and spinach from the farm market. Sounds good.

Hannah - thanks, I will bookmark that link. I see there is one for quinoa skillet bread that sounds good.

Elizabeth - thank you too. We can NEVER have enough zucchini recipes around here. Never! I've planted quite a few (which probably means far too many) again this year. ;-)

Hazel - thanks for that idea. That sounds delicious and like something they will like. I've told my Dad (a die-hard oatmeal eater) about that idea too.