Quinoa Salad

I first tried the ancient gluten-free grain, quinoa, a couple months ago when considering going vegetarian. Because quinoa (keen-wah) is so high in protein and fiber, I try to prepare it as a rice substitution for my family at least a couple times a week. I buy red, organic quinoa that's pre-rinsed from our local health food store. One of the dishes we really like is quinoa salad. I adapted this recipe from Cooking Quinoa.  

Salad Ingredients:
4 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups quinoa (You could use wild rice instead of quinoa.)
An assortment of chopped vegetables (I don't measure them...just throw in whatever fresh organic vegetables you have on hand:

• purple cabbage
• fresh mushrooms
• zucchini
• carrots
• halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• green onion
• cauliflower
• parsley
• celery
• frozen green peas
• red bell peppers
• sliced black olives
• canned artichokes

Dressing Ingredients: 
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup red wine (or raw apple cider) vinegar
4-5 cloves minced fresh garlic
3 T. olive oil
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:
1. Cook quinoa in vegetable broth (instead of water) according to package directions.
2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing. Add dressing ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse.
3. Combine chopped vegetables and cooled quinoa in a large bowl.
4. Drizzle in dressing and toss.
5. Serve chilled.