Quinoa Tabbouleh

Being a vegan has kind of opened my world up to more possibilities for food.  I always have loved food and always tried new things, but now I find myself actually going out and buying some of the ingredients I’ve wanted to try for eons.  Maybe it’s because I don’t know if I will ever see them again in the Dominican Republic, or maybe it’s just that I am at a point where I fear boredom.

In any case, I purchased a small bag of red organic quinoa a few weeks back.  I finally decided to put it to use.  I found this recipe online at AllRecipes.com and will copy it below for your benefit.  I will also post pics when I’m ready to toss all the ingredients together.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tomatoes, diced (I used two large tomatoes and about 10 cherry tomatoes, halved from my own patio planter)
• 1 cucumber, diced (I had an extremely large cuke so I only used 1/2)
• 2 bunches green onions, diced (I only had 1 bunch and it seemed like plenty)
• 2 carrots, grated (I omitted this)
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I took some of the suggestions from commenters and substituted with cilantro, as that was what I had on hand.)

In a saucepan bring water to a boil.  Add quinoa and a pinch of salt.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temp.  Fluff with a fork.

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, salt, lemon juice, veggies and herbs.  Stir in cooled quinoa.  Mix gently.