Red Quinoa Salad with Corn and Mint

A couple days after we moved into this house, we were sitting on the swing set outside and had a visit from one of our neighbors. Greta was especially excited about this visit, because it was a 9 year old girl (Greta loooooooves other kids). Eleanor (the girl) was very friendly and excited to meet us. She gave us the lowdown on the neighborhood and even told us a few things about our house. She was so excited that she spoke very quickly and I didn't catch all of her words. One of the words I did catch? "Mint." "Wait, what was that? Can you repeat what you just said?" "Which part? The mint?" "Yes, the mint, we have mint growing?" "Yeah, right over here." We walked over behind one of the shrubs and, sure enough, there was a 3 square foot area teaming with fresh mint. There were also chives and gooseberries, but that's another post.

Oh the possibilities! I've never had herbs growing in my yard, and to find out this was there and I didn't even have to do anything to make it so?! I was ecstatic! Still am a bit. But with summer drawing to an end, I realized that I need to get crackin' on the mint recipes (I'll probably dry what I can't use, but it's just so good fresh).

This recipe was inspired by a quinoa salad I saw on Pinterest. Funny thing is, the only three ingredients that were the same were quinoa, lemon and oil, but the other things I ended up using just felt like such a great fit. Check it:

- 1.5 cups Uncooked Red Quinoa (you can use regular)
- 1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- 2 ears of corn, cooked and the kernels cut off the cob
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp honey

First thing, cook the quinoa. Quinoa is like rice - 1 part of the grain, 2 parts water. For red or black quinoa, add an extra couple tablespoons. I just cooked mine in a rice cooker and it worked great - add 2 tsp salt to the water before cooking. Lay the quinoa on a baking sheet and let it cool completely. Mix the bulleted ingredients together to make the dressing. Combine the other ingredients together and mix well, then add the dressing and toss to coat.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you saw me eating the leftovers for lunch yesterday. What does that mean? I thought it was good enough to eat twice. And I'll eat it again. It's light and fresh, but also substantial enough to help you feel full when eaten with lighter meats like chicken and fish.

So that's it for today. What would you pair this with? Any changes you'd make? Let's hear it! Cheers all, check ya later.