This is my 10th post on Butter Is My Jam – and we’ve been live for 2 weeks.  In those weeks I’ve had more than 600 visitors from 7 countries!  Thank you so much for reading and sharing – I so appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read, perhaps try a recipe, or pin something you like.

Every time I cook with quinoa I think of the Budweiser commercial where there’s a guy tailgaiting and having a tormented inner dialogue about grilling a pathetic looking quinoa burger.  Fortunately, quinoa tastes much better than the ad would lead you to believe.  It has a really nice texture and gives you a great protein boost.  After making this, I ate it for lunch every day for a week – it was really filling and my toddler loved it, too!   It’s also vegan and paleo (according to some – apparently quinoa is up for debate).

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

1lb. cherry tomatoes (I used a mixture of yellow and red)

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 green onions

1/2 of a red onion

1 cucumber

for the dressing:

3T lemon juice

1T red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1. Whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, and olive oil together in a small jar.  Mince or press the garlic and add.  I put them in a mason jar so I can shake it up.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Rinse the quinoa and place it in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, and a little salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, put a lid on the pan, and cook until the quinoa is tender (12-15 minutes).

3.  Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters, halve the olives, and thinly slice the red and green onion.  Slice the cucumber into bite-sized pieces.  Place the quinoa into a bowl and stir in the tomatoes, olives, onions, and cucumber.  Drizzle the dressing over the top and season with salt and pepper as needed.   Chill before serving, the longer the better!

Source: adapted from Bobby Flay for Food Network