Summer salads

Summer's officially here, and since I'm still without a/c, I need to find meal options that don't involve turning on the oven.

Salads are a natural choice, and I decided to take advantage of the strawberries in season for this first one.

There's no recipe per se, but first I washed and dried a handful of spinach leaves and piled them on a plate. Next I cut up a cucumber and some strawberries, while I quickly toasted some pecans on the stove. I crumbed some goat cheese over, and drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the whole thing. Tasty!

This quinoa recipe was adapted from an LCBO flyer I got in the paper a couple of weeks ago. I adapted it slightly from the original version, throwing in some asparagus and leftover tomoatoes (I didn't have a full pint), and didn't bother to toast the sunflower seeds -- but they're a great, crunchy addition anyway. I at this as is, without the spinach leaves. It makes a great lunch seved cold.

Quintissential Quinoa Salad

Prepare quinoa first

1 1/2 c uncooked quinoa (I had only one cup)
2 1/2 c salted boiling water

Bring water to boil, then add in quinoa. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Salad ingredients

1, 398ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 oz Feta cheese, crumbled
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 orange pepper diced
6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 c toasted sunflower seeds

Dressing (I halved the amount)

2 big cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 c extra virgin olive oil
pinch salt
crackled black pepper

Combine all ingredients, except oil, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously, then add oil in two batches, shaking between each addition.

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, and drizzle with dressing to taste.