I have to admit that I am not usually a recipe person. Well, that’s not totally true; I look at recipes to get a feel for what I’m making, but when it comes to exact amounts of ingredients I am much more tempted to wing it. So turning a salad that I can make with my eyes closed into an actual recipe was a bit of an experience… but a good one! I made it earlier in the week so I could take pictures, but ended up making a second one yesterday to take along to a dinner party. Needless to say it was a hit.

Now for the description…

This is a just as good of a summer salad as it is for fall. The black beans give it a heartier feel, while the cilantro and mango liven it up. Originally I made it with all white quinoa, but it’s fun to throw in a little red to give the salad even more color and a crunchier feel. When I do mix white and red quinoa, I cook them both together, but add about 2 tablespoons more water.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash of salt
• 1 can organic black beans
• 1 can organic corn
• 1/2 red pepper, cubed
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1/2 mango, cubed
• 1/4 of a cup chopped cilantro (add more if you’re a cilantro freek like myself!)
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Bring 2 cups of water, olive oil, salt and quinoa to a boil, turn down and simmer for about 15 minutes or until quinoa has fluffed up and all water has cooked off. Let cool.
2. Combine rest of ingredients in large bowl
3. Mix lime juice with cayenne pepper and pour into bowl
4. Add quinoa to rest of ingredients

Serves 6-8.