Red Quinoa Salad

I may have inadvertently ruined the idea of quinoa for my family or…maybe just picky kid #2. When I first heard about it, I bought the plain ‘white’ quinoa and just decided to use it in place of rice under curries, stirfries, etc. They all complained about the ‘cardboard’ taste and decided right then and there to hate quinoa. I know from experience that it usually takes them a long time (and some mighty fine recipes) to give ‘hated’ foods even a second glance. The rest of the family is a little quicker to forgive than kid #2. I KNOW, however, that there are some great tasting quinoa dishes out there just waiting to be found and tried out. I’ve always loved the chewy texture of the grains and since quinoa has such a low GI, it is worth it to give this superfood another go.  There’s a vendor at the Calgary Farmer’s Market that makes a really delicious quinoa salad with sweet potatoes and feta cheese so I decided to use this idea and create my own salad.  It’s not fancy, but I really like the look of the dark red quinoa with colourful cubes of sweet potato, roasted beet, green onion and feta.  Even so, it was with much disgust that kid #2 spied the salad before dinner and rudely exclaimed, ‘Ewwww is that quinoa? I’m not eating that!’. To which I replied, ‘yes, you are!’ I have never been the sort to make a separate meal for the picky eater in my house. She eats what we eat, or doesn’t eat at all.

And, wouldn’t you know it? Despite the initial devastation the salad was eaten in relative silence.

Red Quinoa Salad

1 roasted sweet potato cubed <1cm

2 med. roasted beets cubed <1cm

feta chunks (I used sheep feta)

spring onions

1 cup red quinoa, cooked to package directions.

Balsamic dressing: 1part good balsamic vinegar to 2 parts EVOO, 1tbsp oregano, salt and pepper to taste.