peanut ginger quinoa salad :)

Ginger Peanut Quinoa Salad.

                Today I would love to share this awesome vegan salad with you, my very first vegan food post! It’s absolutely delicious and turned out wayyyy better than I thought it would. I feel so fortunate to be able to walk into my backyard in my skimpy little summer clothes and be able to pick some fresh cucumbers and carrots from my mom’s beautiful gardens. I just realized how much I’m going to miss all this fresh organic produce when I move out. L I know I should spend more time helping my mother weed and tend the vegetables but you know how it is, you get so caught up in your own affairs you forget to partake in such activities. Anywaysssssss………. I made enough of this salad for my mother so I hope she takes it as a sign that I truly appreciate all that she does and that I love using the fresh vegetables to nourish my mind and soul.

I would recommend making some quinoa the night before you make this salad and chill it in the fridge. To make quinoa simply combine half a cup of dry quinoa with a cup of water and cook it like you would rice. Also, if you you’re not a fan of ginger, by all means use less, I simply adore it. I ate this on the porch with a nice glass of lemonade and loved every bite. Enjoy!!

Ginger Peanut Quinoa Salad.

1 cup cooked, chilled quinoa

1 small cucumber, chopped into bite size pieces

1 small carrot, grated

1/3 onion, diced.

3 leaves of basil, sliced thin

*optional additions

½ avocado

1/3 cabbage, chopped thin

1 tbsp. roasted cashews

DRESSING:

1 tsp. organic peanut butter

Sprinkle of salt

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

Just a little bit of soy sauce if you so desire

2 tbsp. grated ginger

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Mix the dressing and simply pour over the quinoa and vegetable and stir. I prefer it chilled but you can also eat this hot if you would like.