Salads I Have Known and Loved: Quinoa Crazy Salad

Why do I call this salad crazy? For two reasons: firstly, it’s a combo of whatever happens to be in your fridge at the time (sort of a salad version of my kitchen sink soup), and secondly, it’s a combination of sweet and savoury that somehow just…works, despite the crazy mix of ingredients.  There’s dried fruit and fresh fruit for the sweetness, and then onion, walnuts, cucumber, and carrot for a savoury crunch. There’s honey in the dressing, but balanced out with red wine vinegar. And the magical ingredient that pulls it all together? Sesame oil! Not sure why, but somehow it melds the sweet and savoury into one mouth-puckeringly good salad.

By the way, I promised in my last post to talk about January Food Blogging. I watch food trends on twitter and pinterest (follow me, yes? @approachingfood), as well as other sites, and it’s interesting to see what pops up. January brings a LOT of recipes for salad, including a lot of quinoa salad. But I’m not jumping on the bandwagon with this recipe, I’m not, really! I actually happened to have some quinoa leftover, and as I’ve mentioned before, I eat a lot of salad…plus, I need to balance out my Christmas indulgences. (Oh, that rum-soaked fruitcake! So good!) So salad it is!

Want to experience the protein-rich, fruit- and veggie-packed magic that is Quinoa Crazy Salad? Let’s get mixing!

Quinoa Crazy Salad

• 1 c. cooked quinoa
• 1/4 c. walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries, chopped
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped green onion
• 1/4 c. carrot, grated
• 1/4 c. cucumber, chopped
• 1/4 c. celery, chopped
• 1/2 Red Delicious apple, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 c. sliced or chopped tomato (I used baby ones)

Dressing

• 1 tbsp. honey
• scant 1/4 c. olive oil
• scant 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• sprinkle of garlic powder

Mix all ingredients (except for the dressing) together in a bowl. Mix up the remaining ingredients together and drizzle over salad. Will keep in fridge for several days. Eat and enjoy being healthy!

I served this salad on top of lettuce for myself, because of my IBS issues, but just packed a serving for the DH to eat as is. He texted me to tell me how good the salad was; I was gratified! It’s definitely going to be a repeat salad in our house!

Next Post: Inspired by several recipes posted by well-known cooks, I make my own potato dish. Did it turn out? Tune in next time!