aa--ptthhhhhewt!

. . . the sound of the sneezes in this house.

I missed swimming last night, and have been enjoying today's day off. But I'm not liking this nasty headcold! Both Mike & I are out with them. In the interest of upping our garlic quotas, and due to a few requests for my favourite salad recipe, here is my quinoa lentil salad. It's based on the lentil-bulgur salad from the Moosewood cookbook. I get big cravings for this one.

Lori's Big Cravings Quinoa Lentil Salad

Ingredients
1 cup dry lentils (I like French green lentils, but regular green lentils are good too)
2 cups water

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3-4 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. freshly minced mint (or 2 tsp. dried)
2-3 Tbsp. freshly minced dill (or 2-3 tsp. dried)
1/4 cup freshly minced parsley
half a finely minced red onion (I have used white or yellow before, and just have a tangier salad)
1 stalk celery, finely minced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup kalamata olives (or any black olive)

ground black pepper to taste
wedges of lemon for garnish and squeezing on salad

Method
1. Add water to lentils in a medium-sized pot and bring just to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer without agitation (important for regular lentils; not so important for French) until tender but not mushy~~about 20-25 minutes. Drain well, transfer to large bowl.
2. While lentils are cooking, prepare quinoa. Rinse quinoa well, either in a strainer under the tap or with water in a bowl or pot. If you have a rice cooker, cook quinoa using regular rice proportions. If you don't have a rice cooker, bring quinoa and water to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Add to lentils in large bowl.
3. Add everything else, except lemon wedges. Cover and refrigerate.
4. When ready to serve, remove from fridge and plate with lemon wedge garnish.

You can also top the salad with toasted nuts or fresh tomatoes. Other add-ables: diced bell pepper, seeded chopped cucumber, chick peas, chopped scallions or anything else you might like. We eat this all summer long, when the mint and parsley and dill are taking over the garden. I've tried it with dried dill and mint, and it's okay, but without fresh parsley, you've got a completely different (less tasty) salad. Also, leaving out the feta and olives makes a more tabouli-like salad--also quite good, and vegan too.