Quinoa Salad with Red Pepper and Dried Apricots

Another quinoa salad? I think the answer is always YES.

I always cook up a bunch of quinoa and stick in the fridge to use as I like through the week. It comes in handy when I’m on short on time, but big on hunger.

It’s easy enough to scan the fridge and see what’s there to toss into the salad. The other day, there wasn’t much. I hadn’t been out to get groceries for a few days. A little leftover red pepper and parsley was all I had that was fresh. I was thinking of golden raisins. Out of those. Dried apricots instead. Nuts. I always have nuts in the cupboard.  Sliced almonds.

I wanted a creamy dressing, so I added some coconut milk. Not unlike the strawberry-pear salad. (I needed to use up the rest of the can.)

And there you go. That’s my brain works and then I end up with lunch.  Do you do that too?

Quinoa Salad with Red Pepper and Dried Apricots
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa*
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
4-5 dried apricots, diced
2 Tablespoons sliced raw almonds
1 Tablespoon finely minced onion or shallot
1 Tablespoon finely minced parsley
1 Tbsp. coconut milk
2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Mix the quinoa, red pepper, apricots almonds, onion and parsley together in a small bowl.  Drizzle the coconut milk and lemon juice over the top.  Toss well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Eat as is or over leafy greens.

*To make quinoa–rinse the uncooked quinoa under cool water in a fine mesh sieve.  Use 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water.  For 1 cup quinoa, use 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt or cook in veggie or chicken broth instead of water.