Lemony Quinoa Salad

 Quinoa has become one of our favorite grains to use- my daughters especially love it.  I keep a jar full in my cabinet at all times for lunchtime salads, casseroles, and quick side dishes. I've even started taking this salad on camping trips because it's a great source of protein and energy. It keeps well in a cooler, and a little goes a long way.  Needless to say I get a lot of questions whenever I break out the container of this "funny looking" food!  I also keep a bowl of this in the fridge during the week for quick lunches or a snack.  It's really good as a dip with tortilla chips, or in a wrap with baby spinach. The possibilities are endless with this simple salad.
 I change around the veggies each time I make it depending on what I have on hand, but the dressing remains the same. It has a summery, lemony flavor that goes with just about any veggies. So we'll call it Lemony Quinoa Salad

 Quinoa Salad:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• handful tomatoes, chopped ( I use grape tomatoes, cut in quarters)
• Pepper (your choice of color), chopped
• 1/4 of a red onion finely diced
• 1 cup white corn
• handful Cilantro, chopped finely

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Rice Vinegar- add to the oil in the measuring cup - enough to get to the 1/3 line.
• Juice from 1 lemon
• teaspoon Sriracha

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.  1 cup of quinoa cooks in 2 cups of water. Bring to a light boil and simmer until done.  Once cooked set aside to let cool.
2.Measure your olive oil in a measuring cup, then add the rice vinegar to that to get to the 1/3 line.  Add the juice from 1 lemon ( I microwave it first for 10 seconds to get the juice flowing), and add the teaspoon of Sriracha.  Whisk it all together so it is well mixed.
3. Once the Quinoa is cooled, add the veggies,  pour the dressing mix over it and mix well.  The dressing won't make it wet or oily- just give it a nice flavor.  If you can, make this ahead and let the flavors mingle for at least a couple hours in the fridge before eating.

This past weekend I made this same salad for a camping trip, but with diced carrots, English cucumber, corn, and tomatoes.  (Since I was camping I didn't want the onions to smell in the cooler).  I've also done shallots, corn, black beans, red peppers, and tomatoes.  

This has definitely become our go-to summer salad. What is one of your go-to summer salads?