Fruity Cool Quinoa Salad With Lemon Basil Dressing And Grilled Asparagus

This is an easy recipe for a delicious kid-approved vegan dinner that is so awesome, no one will miss the meat or dairy!

No photos this time, as the kids broke my camera while we were on vacation in Glenwood Springs.  )-:  But this one is yummy and pretty, and someday maybe I'll come back and add a pic.  In the mean time, I didn't want you to have to go without making some of your own!

This recipe was inspired by a Blueberry Mango Quinoa recipe I found at Veggie Belly.  My salad is pretty different, as I didn't have some of the stuff the recipe called for, so I kind of winged it (no mango, so I subbed strawberries).  And then I remembered, when I was a teenager and cooked for a catering company, we used to make a lovely asparagus and strawberry pasta salad.  So I'm adding grilled asparagus over the top of the quinoa salad.    I LOVED the results!  The best part is you can probably fiddle away with this recipe, and every batch will turn out even more amazing than the one before.

For the quinoa:

1 cup of quinoa plus 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan.  Cook on med-high until boiling then reduce to med-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature.  Meanwhile...

For the additions:

1 cup of blueberries
1 cup of strawberries, cubed
1 cup of cucumber, cubed
1/3 cup unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
2 T. dried cranberries

For the dressing:

3 T. extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of one lemon
sea salt to taste
ground pepper to taste

To be added at the end:

10 leaves of basil, chiffonade
10 mint leaves, chopped

For the asparagus:

One bunch of asparagus (fresh from the farmer's market this morning!), trimmed (just break the stems where they will, and the tough ends will just snap off)
Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper

Assembly:

As the quinoa is cooling, chop the fruits/veggies/nuts and prepare the dressing.  Grill the asparagus over a hot grill (preferably in a grill pan, so you don't lose your tiny tasty shoots).  I love my asparagus slightly charred and crispy.  YUM!  As good as the quinoa is, the asparagus is really the star of the show!

When the quinoa is room temperature, and the asparagus is done, toss the veggies and dressing in with the quinoa.  Serve a mound of quinoa on each plate, topped with grilled asparagus.

Enjoy!