Friday, July 27, 2012

Salad with Quinoa and Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette



When the farmer's market is bursting with gorgeous produce, the question becomes, "What should we get this time?"

Luckily, I had my two sons along this past week to help choose what goodies would make the trip home with us.

We settled on blueberries, corn on the cob, zucchini, melon, tomatoes and kale and a beautiful jar of handmade blueberry spread.

The tough choices start the minute you get home, though.   What to eat first?

After munching on melon, I threw together a salad that didn't feature my salad standbys -- tomatoes, avocado and onion.  Instead, I went for the crunchy and sweet pairing of fresh corn cut right off the cob and super-sweet blueberries.

Where I usually turn to beans to provide some protein in my main-dish salads, this time I went with quinoa and toasted pepitas.

To top it all off, I made a quick dressing that combined blueberry spread and balsamic vinegar to perfection.


Blueberry Quinoa Salad
Makes 2 good-sized salads

Ingredients: (Measurements are approximate.)
Mixed lettuces
3-4 basil leaves, chiffonade (roll the leaves together and thinly slice)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 -1/2 cup blueberries
Corn cut from one cob
3 tablespoons toasted pepitas (heat them for a minute or two in a dry skillet over medium heat)
1 tablespoon all-fruit blueberry spread
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
In a small bowl, whisk together blueberry spread and vinegar.
In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.
Toss with dressing.


Happy Cooking!
Kim

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6 comments:

  1. Sounds really delicious. Loved the adding of blueberry spread. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Minnie, It really was delicious! I hope there are more blueberries at the market this week :)

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  3. Looks yummy! I tend to have trouble deciding what to do with blueberries. Next time I am going to try this salad.

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  4. Rogene,
    We are huge blueberry fans at my house -- blueberry muffins, smoothies, on top of ice cream, on waffles, in a quick syrup. My problem is keeping them without eating them up before we use them!

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  5. This sounds great. I love anything involving quinoa :)

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