I’ve had this broccoli salad recipe for years, and I’m not sure how it’s never made it on the blog before now.  I’m not even sure where I got the recipe from at this point, but I do remember making it over and over when I first found it. It was my first year out of college and I was just learning to like cooking. This was one of my favorite recipes to make for get togethers. It’s very easy to make, takes relatively few ingredients, and it’s perfect for potlucks and picnics.  Everyone always loved this recipe, and I felt like a gourmet cook, when really all I’d done was chop and mix – perfect! If I was on top of things, I would have shared this recipe before Labor Day so you could make it for your cook-out, sorry for the bad timing!  According to my CSA, however, broccoli is still in season around here, so there’s still time to give this recipe a try! 🙂

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli - chopped into small florets
1/2 red onion - diced
8 pieces of bacon, fried crisp and broken into pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cups mayonaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the broccoli, red onion, bacon and cheese. In a separate bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar until well blended. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the broccoli mixture and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I have been wanting to try quinoa for awhile, but to be honest, it made me a little nervous. I’d heard that it’s healthy, and I’ve had friends tell me they thought I would like it, but still…it just sounded so “out there.” I mean, I didn’t even know how to pronounce it correctly! (keen-wa for anyone else out there who is as clueless as me).

Quinoa is a protein-rich seed that has a fluffy, chewy texture and slightly nutty flavor when cooked. I tried it for the first time at blogHer Food when the Bob’s Red Mill people were kind enough to offer up a sampling of this quiona salad. I loved it so much I made the same salad at home the very next week! (with quinoa samples Bob’s Red Mill sent home with me – thanks!!)  I made a few substitutions based on what I could find, and the salad was just as good as I remembered. I don’t think Mike liked it quite as much as I did (he wasn’t quite sure what he was eating), but he did happily eat a few servings of it. This salad would be perfect paired with freshly grilled meat or fish, or even by itself as a light lunch. Give this simple salad a try and let me know what you think of quinoa!

Simple Quinoa Salad

Yield: Makes 10 Servings

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup craisins
~1/4 cup red wine vinegar
~1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Boil 4 cups of water; add quinoa and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain the water and spread the quinoa on a cookie sheet and let cool to room temperature. Do not rinse. After the quinoa is cool, place in a bowl, add the hazelnuts, green onions, craisins, and mix together. Add the red wine vinegar and olive oil to taste (I didn't use the full 1/4 cup) and season with salt and pepper.

adapted from Bob's Red Mill