Since arriving at the cabin in May, we have had a string of guests–some just for a meal, others for a few days–and we’ve been a bit sporadic with our commitment to healthy plant-based eating. We have (mostly) stuck with the veganism, but there’s been a bit too much white bread and far too much of the vino and vodka. As a result, my pot belly has reappeared, so we’re back on the plan with a vengeance today.

As I may have mentioned, I’ve never been much of a fan of the quinoa. However, White Spot has a delicious Tandoori Quinoa Salad and I’ve always wanted to do something similar: a savoury quinoa on a fresh salad, so that’s what I did today!

Here’s the recipe:

Savoury Asian Quinoa

Ingredients:

1/2 white onion, chopped very fine

4 garlic cloves, chopped very fine

1 TBS finely chopped fresh ginger

2 cups of vegetable-scrap broth

1 TBS Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base

1 cup red quinoa (red is best for salads because it retains its shape more than the others)

2 TBS soy sauce

Directions:

Pour a few tablespoon of the broth in a pan and use that to saute the onions, garlic and ginger for a few minutes until soft. Rinse the quinoa and place in the saucepan with the onions, etc. Mix the BTB base into the broth and and pour into the saucepan. Stir until the mixture comes to a boil, then simmer until all the water is absorbed (20 – 30 minutes).

I let the quinoa cool and used it to top a hearty salad: fresh butter lettuce and romaine from the garden, tossed with Yellow Goddess Dressing, then topped with chopped tomatoes (from Hornby Island), mushrooms, cucumbers, shredded carrots, fresh broccoli sprouts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds.

The salad was fresh, delicious, and super filling, and served with freshly baked vegan cornbread:

And it seems my mother survived her fiasco of yesterday (i.e., having to be pulled out of the shallow end of a walk-in bathtub by two burly fire fighters!). I called to see if she was stiff from her contortions, and she said she felt marvelous!!

Must’ve been the attention of those firemen!