My love of quinoa is official. At first, I admit, I was a skeptic. What’s all the fuss about this grain anyway? I would think after hearing a friend go through the list of praises. My first taste of it left me less than impressed–it was dull, mushy, and a little bit sad. There was no flavor! But in retrospect, any whole grain just cooked up, without some jazz added to it, is exactley that–dull, kinda chewy and not to it’s full potential awesomeness, that’s for sure. Earlier this summer, I made this Basil, Corn Quinoa Salad and it rocked my socks right off. Whoa! Now this is more like it! I think I even yelled that out loud upon my first bite of it, ha.

I was content, happy even, with my small victory with the quinoa basil salad. So when I came across this recipe I thought that it could be just as good. I was wrong. It is BETTER. If you are a skeptic, go ahead and try it. If you can’t find red quinoa around, just use the regular good stuff, it’ll do the same trick. The ginger and coconut flavors just hint at an Indian influence, but the apples and peas make it classic. Yes, that’s right, this is a classy quinoa salad. When you taste it, you’ll know what I mean. Cheers!

Red Quinoa Salad with Apples, Coconut, Peas, and Ginger recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times *Vegetable juice gives this grain salad a gorgeous color, a hint of flavor, and a hefty boost of vitamin C and beta-carotene. However, I’ve used vegetable broth with great success too–the flavor is still incredible. 1/3 cup chopped almonds (1 1/2 oz.) 2 tsp. olive oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger 1 cup red quinoa 1 1/2 cups beet-carrot or carrot juice OR vegetable broth 1 cup frozen peas 1 medium apple, diced 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Toast almonds in saucepan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to brown, stirring often. Cool.

2. Wipe out saucepan; add oil and onion. Sauté onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in ginger, quinoa, and juice, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.

4. Remove from heat, and scatter peas over cooked quinoa. Cover, and let stand 10 minutes, until peas are thawed.

5. Stir apple, coconut, and almonds into salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.