Recipe By Donna Fountain

This is a versatile recipe that can swap out a variety of healthy ingredients to the quinoa base. Fountain likes to use seared salmon in place of the beans but you could try grilled skinless chicken, tofu and a variety of beans. Another tip is to saute your vegetables just to point that they are still crisp.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1 15 ounce can of aduki beans
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• ½ medium red bell pepper diced
• ½ green bell pepper diced
• ½ medium red onion diced
• 3-4 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon of Todd's Crabby Dirt seasoning (or any seafood seasoning or rub)
• 1½ cups of vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon of paprika
• ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon of turmeric
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Soak Quinoa in cold water for 1 hour. Pour off water and rinse, pour off rinse water.

2. Place quinoa in medium saucepan. Add 1½ cups of vegetable broth and 1 bay leaf. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook 15-17 minutes.

3. Prepare beans by rinsing and draining, set aside.

4. In saucepan, put 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, sauté spices, peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro until peppers are slightly crunchy. Add beans to sautéed vegetables until blended.

5. Remove bay leaf from quinoa. Stir desired amount of quinoa (approximately half of cooked quinoa). Garnish with additional cilantro or parsley.