Quinoa, Beetroot and Feta Salad

First, I did make the recipe from last week – the Cuban Marinated Steak. It was great, and a lot better than I expected. I thought with the orange juice, it may come off a little sweet, but the lime juice countered it. I used Delmonico steak, and poked holes in it with a fork for marinade to adhere to. It's a keeper in my books. I wonder if it would work with hamburgers. I substituted the cumin seeds with just a bit of cumin powder. I'll watch for the seeds so next time I can use them.

Quinoa: Pronounced "Keen-wah." Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.

It cooks much like rice but is more filling, because it contains protein. You can find it almost anywhere.

I posted another Quinoa salad recipe a while ago. This one caught my eye, as I do like beets. It was in the Costco connection magazine. I didn't get a chance to put it together in time for this week. When I googled it for a picture, there are quite a few recipes with that combination and, like most salads, it's whatever you like. This recipe has radishes, which I don't like, so I will substitute cucumbers. This calls for a simple dressing, others have suggestions for different dressings, but all are light and not heavy.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. cooked quinoa Extra-virgin olive oil

2 c. cooked beets, diced Good-quality balsamic vinegar

1 c. feta cheese, diced ½ c. flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

¼ c. walnut pieces Aleppo or red pepper flakes

8 radishes, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Toss together the quinoa, beets, feta, walnut pieces and radishes in a bowl.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste and toss again.

Garnish with the chopped parsley and a good pinch of pepper flakes. Makes 2 to 3 servings.

MY NOTES:

I think I will do two cups of quinoa to the two cups of beets, no radishes, and maybe some Asian seasoning that worked well on the other Quinoa salad. Salads are great, once made, because it's an easy lunch or dinner. This one would be a great side dish as well.

A funny note-a lady at church mentioned she saw that I had posted the same recipe as the Whitman Gazette. We laughed. I am an avid recipe reader and this article gives me a reason to try different ones and/or to borrow them from other publications.

ENJOY!