Quinoa Quest

So with summer moving a zillion miles an hour by, I decided to slow things down with a nice quinoa salad. There's something about summer corn and crisp cucumber tossed in lemon and mint that bring my mind to the beach. With the forecast promising sunshine that's exactly where we are headed. Of course its the ocean that beckons me, but Elle prefers to stay local. Since we found the perfect lake-beach (somewhere in northwest CT) we have become as regular as Friendly, the lonesome duck who accepts Maddie's protection from the rest of the (kind of tough) bunch.

Watching the boats cruise while hanging on the swing set is pretty much a perfect way to follow up a swim.
Of course we always get hungry and snacks are a must. The cooler is most likely packed with cut up watermelon, apples and oranges. And when there's cold cuts and bread in the house at the same time we pack sandwiches, extra pickles on the side :) Apparently we did that too much because I am all sandwiched out. Enter quinoa. Lemon zest. Mint and Basil. Corn. Butter and honey. Drooling yet?

So first I called Mom (aka. Nana) because she is our local panty (don't tell Papa). We picked up a cup of quinoa, and hit the market for lemons, cucumber, and that apple we have to cut up. Fresh mint and basil from Mom's planter are abundant in mid August. Did I mention that she has fresh summer corn frozen in perfect portions?
So here's what it looks like when I combine the dressing and chop the herbs:

That red onion came from an amazing farmer's market (where we also bought a bundle of kale, purple beans, and a long hot pepper which waits to be grilled in the smoker!) I only used a small piece of the onion since red onion can overpower everything. I think I'll look for scallions next time for this salad. I mixed the lemon juice and zest of one lemon. Chopped five leaves of basil, five leaves of mint. And the butter, just a tablespoon of melted butter, which I melted with about half a tablespoon of honey :) Pinch of black pepper and salt.

After a few rinses in the sink (washes bitter taste away), the quinoa gets added to boiling water.  And the kitchen smells of corn as it defrosts in a pan. 

So following the instructions in this recipe from Epicurious I mixed dressing into bottom of a large salad bowl. When quinoa was tender, after about 14 minutes, I drained and combined with dressing tossing until all liquid is absorbed. I topped with the corn, cucumber, onion, and some more chopped mint and basil.  

Upon tasting I realized that I could eat this hot, and I even compared the dressing taste to savory lemon icing  What wonders just a tablespoon of butter and honey can do! :)

So before chilling the rest for our beach trip, I quickly gobbled up a few satisfying mouthfuls.

Check out Epicurious for full recipe. Enjoy :)