2 blessed beyond belief

oh kim ... your porch is such a dream ...

no wonder those robins come back year after year to make their home at your home and raise their babies ...

such a beautiful story you shared today ... such beautiful images ~ heart be still ...

i get such a kick out of the third image down ... mr. robin ... if looks could kill!

what a delightful time you had ... what a gift and blessing indeed ... xo

***

quite a while back i bought a bag of red quinoa {keen-wah} at the health food store, but had never done anything with it ...

this morning, i came across a posting of a quinoa recipe at debra's lifescapes and it inspired me to think about doing something with my quinoa ...

then, i slipped over to my friend's simply mel at reverie where she was talking food earlier this week ... a tomato tart to be exact ... drool and slurp ...

between the two i was ready to head to the kitchen!

and then! a friend of hb's who hasn't been here in years contacted us to say he would be in our neck of the woods late afternoon ...

so, what better time to open that bag of quinoa and get cooking ... :)

after taking a bit of what debra put in hers and a few varieties on the web, here is what i came up with ...

prairiegirl red quinoa salad for eric

2 cups red quinoa (uncooked)
3 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
coarse or sea salt
1 large english cucumber, sliced and diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
a couple of green onions ~ white and green parts, diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
ground pepper

dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 talbespoons red wine vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

rinse quinoa well.
put quinoa, chicken stock, water and a dash of salt into pan with lid.
bring to a quiet boil and simmer for approximatley 15 minutes or until quinoa is soft, yet a light crunch.

rinse with cold water to cool.

combine chopped vegetables and cilantro in bowl.
add well drained quinoa and dressing.
toss and serve at room temperature.

one of the original recipes offered crumbled feta cheese, but i had fully intended to add goat cheese, but totally forgot! it was very tasty as is, but tomorrow i think i will try a bit of crumbled goat cheese to my salad ... :)

i have to say it was a complete hit! love it when recipes work so well ... :)

***

sure hoping the rest of your day was as delightful as the beginning, my dear!

love to you ~
prairiegirl
xoxo