Quinoa, Chickpea & Garden Harvest Vegetable Salad

Hello. I'm w-a-a-y overdue to share a recipe with you, faithful readers. And it would be so tempting to continue working on this post and include all the wonderful resources I've found on quinoa and chickpeas.

But, I will force myself to keep this one short and sweet savoury because I have tomatoes to preserve, a garden plot to tidy and prepare for radishes and garlic, AND a seasonal, delectable recipe to make for our potluck community garden party this Sunday. So for now, just the recipe. I'll save the story behind it and the facts, tips & recipes I've uncovered for a later time.

Have a great weekend everyone. From the talk on Twitter, I think a lot of people will be spending time in their kitchens with juicy tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa seeds
1 1/2 cups cold water
Optional: 1/4 tsp salt
1-15 oz (425 g) can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
Assorted chopped, fresh vegetables, about 2 to 3 cups
Dressing:
3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grainy mustard
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Soak and cook the quinoa according to the savvy vegetarian's method.

2. Combine the cooked quinoa and drained chickpeas in a large mixing bowl.

3. To the bowl add assorted chopped, fresh vegetables from the garden. (In this version I used only tomatoes and sweet peppers. Persian baby cucumbers are also a lovely addition.)

4. Prepare the dressing. Combine lemon juice, sugar & mustard in a bowl. Whisk to blend. Whisk in olive oil until emulsified.

5. Toss the salad with just enough of this dressing to lightly coat the ingredients. Refrigerate the unused portion of the dressing to use on your next salad.

6. Eat and enjoy.

Yield: about 6 servings.

summer is waning but the flowering, fruiting and ripening continue

From the good earth

Simple abundance ...

...sufficient for one. Actually, one-and-a-half because my Westie decided he likes roasted beetroot, too.

Selfish me, I'd rather not share.

Mystery peppers, 'Alma Paprika' according to the seed package, but an unexpected colour.

Balcony garden progress report

Growing and/or blooming this past week:

The tulips have peaked and are waning but white Lewisia (seen in background) is still blooming strongly with many buds yet to open.

Lettuce is getting lush. I nibble on a few leaves every time I water it.

'Sungold', 'Sweetgold' and 'Supersweet' cherry tomatoes have been soaking up the sun.

And Piper has been keeping watch over all.

So what's up in your garden? Please share surprises, successes, disappointments and/or lessons learned.  Like sharing a meal with family and friends, sowing and growing together is more fun than gardening alone.