Quinoa & gazpacho.. yum!!

It's feeling like summer!!!   Here is the board stating what we receive at the CSA!!!

We've had quite the heat-wave here in the Northeast... This kind of unbearable heat calls for some chilled foods, in my opinion..

with all of the yummy veggies & herbs, I set out to create!!

The first recipe that I made was Quinoa Tabboouleh.
Quinoa is an ancient grain that is an excellent source of protein. Click here to learn more about quinoa. If you haven't had quinoa before, I urge you to give it a try.

Here is the recipe ;)

1 cup quinoa
leaves from 1 or 2 bunches of parsley; minced
4-5 scallions; minced
1/4 cup mint leaves; minced
zest & juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 cucumber; seeded & minced
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Rinse quinoa well under cold water. Bring water to boil in a saucepan & add salt. Add quinoa. boil for about 15 minutes then drain & cool.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl & chill.

enjoy!

My mom came over for the 4th of July &  brought gazpacho that she had made. It was delicious! This is the recipe that she used.

I went to make it later in the week & was missing some ingredients. Since I still can't drive, I had to improvise, so here is what I used.

1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes with their juices
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 red bell pepper; roughly chopped
1/2 cup celery; roughly chopped
2 small cucumbers, roughly chopped ( these were the first of the season form Plato's Harvest... so)
delicious!!)
1/2 red onion; roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped
2 garlic cloves ( fresh from the farm they were amazing!)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Fresh basil & parsley.

I put everything except the basil & parsley in the blender & blended until it was almost pureed ( I like mine a little bit chunky, if you prefer it smooth then completely puree.

I added the basil & parsley & pulsed just to chop it up a bit.
I chilled it for a few hours.
It came out great. Both recipes were very tasty.

I had it with a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt, a squeeze of lemon juice & some fresh cilantro. I ate this for lunch all week. It was a great way to stay cool... and of course, eat my veggies!!

I have many more recipes that I  will be posting soon... stayed tuned!

I'm still a week behind, but I'm about to catch up ;)