Quinoa & Black Bean Salad with Orange-Lime Vinaigrette

I'm crazy for quinoa these days. Mom bought a monster-sized bag so I've been looking for good uses - and this refreshing salad with a fruity twist is definitely one of them. The sweetness of the mangoes, the brightness of the mint, the kick of the jalapeno and the crunch of the jicama make it a groovy little party in your mouth. Woohoooooo!!!

I've also been obsessed with Clean Food - one of my favorite cookbooks that I left for mom in the hopes that she might divine some inspiration. Alas, she enjoys eating food more than making it so I have reclaimed this little baby for myself. There's something about eating clean that seems to replace cravings for "comfort food" with a ravenous desire to eat loads of fruit and veggies, drink gallons of water and tea, and do insane amounts of yoga - a state of being that I sorely need to get back in touch with.

So far, so good!


Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Orange-Lime Vinaigrette
Adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters
Serves 8

3/4 cup quinoa
1-1/4 cups water
pinch of sea salt
3 cups cooked black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1 cup jicama, peeled and diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds (optional)
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Orange Lime Vinaigrette
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Bring water to a boil and add the quinoa and salt. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until all water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Combine beans, onion, mango and jicama in a large bowl. Fluff the cooled quinoa with a fork, add to bowl and fold gently to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Fold in the tomatoes and seeds just before serving. Deeeee-lishhhhhh!

Strawberry-Lime Fried Bananas

After a disastrous attempt at making a flan for our last dinner party, I needed to come up with an emergency substitute. Luckily I've been on a smoothie kick lately and had some bananas and berries on hand. This was not only a life-saver, but super quick and easy to make while the Bear cleared the dinner plates.

Strawberry-Lime Fried Bananas
Serves 4

4 fresh, firm bananas
2 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter
5 tablespoons cane sugar
2 cups strawberries, quartered and then halved
Juice of 1 lime
5-6 large basil leaves, sliced in ribbons (optional)

Hull the strawberries and quarter them lengthwise. If you want them smaller, cross-cut the quarters.

To prepare the basil chiffonade, stack the leaves and roll them lengthwise into a tight bundle. Then cut the roll cross-wise into thin ribbons.

Combine the strawberries and basil in a bowl with the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Refrigerate while you prepare the bananas. If, unlike me, you happen to have the foresight to plan ahead, you can prepare this up to 2-3 hours earlier.

Peel bananas. Slice lengthwise, then cross-cut in half.

Heat the butter in a wok or frying pan until the butter bubbles. Add the banana slices and fry them on both sides over medium heat until they are golden and soft. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the bananas. You can stir everything together until the sugar dissolves (making a thick-ish syrup) or just let it caramelize on the bananas. They're done whenever they look like you want to eat them.

Transfer to serving plates, spoon the strawberries (which should be deliciously gooey by now) over the bananas and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

So delicious the Bear literally lapped up every last drop of berry juice.
Sneaky Vegan dessert - 1, Flan - 0.
Hoo-rah.