Quinoa, courgette and feta Salad

Annabel was only with us in Brussels for a few short months, but she really made an impact and impression on all of us (to the extent that we created a coat hanger with her photo on, just so that she could still come to our get togethers!) and we miss her.

I am not going to lie, she tested my levels of creativity in the kitchen, not just because she was a vegetarian but also because she (like HIM) is a bit of a dessert (especially chocolate) fan… and we all have vivid memories of the chocolate raspberry squares that I made, and how the leftovers were frozen and days later consumed straight from the freezer.

But one thing that she did leave behind with me when she moved back to Canada was a packet of *Quinoa* (trio coloured)… which I had NEVER cooked before!

Did you know that Quinoa (pronounced Ki-nwa) is actually closely related to spinach, beets and tumbleweeds??? Grown as a grain-like crop, mainly for its seeds – it is mainly farmed in Peru, Bolivia & Ecuador (and is one of the crops that the Inca’s considered to be *sacred*), and has good quantities of calcium, phosphorus and iron! Cha-ching!

So I was tasked with finding an appropriate recipe that would use this left-over quinoa.

Quinoa, courgette and feta salad

75g quinoa

1 courgette, sliced

100g feta

handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Olive oil

lemon juice

Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions (essentially, double the amount of water versus quinoa and bring to the boil for 10min)
Drain and rinse…. repeat
Fry sliced corugette in olive oil
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a few drops of lemon juice