Showing posts with label Tilly. Show all posts

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  When I was a little girl I would beg my parents to tell me "spoooky stories" at bedtime, and I love dressing up for any reason!  In fact, I think I usually have more fun putting a costume together and getting ready than actually going to Halloween parties.

Now let me flash back, Halloween 2010, Jason and I's first Halloween married, I can't even remember what we did, boring! Halloween 2011, we played games and passed out candy at my parent's house, and announced to friends that we were pregnant with Hudson!  Still pretty uneventful (Besides the prego part)!  Halloween 2012 we had Hudson to dress up and show off, which turned out to be my favorite Halloween yet!

While I waited for Jason to get home from class, I carved three pumpkins in a row, all by myself.  THREE!  Who does that!?  Someone excited for Halloween!

I have made versions of this salad several times, and tonight it was so yummy I decided to share it.
Mangoes are one of my favorite fruits, and they are especially delicious this time of year.
Ever since we got married and Jason was gluten-free, (I have meaning to post more on that 'was'),  I have loved experimenting with different grains other than rice since other carbs were out of the question, and Quinoa remains my favorite.

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of my salad, but it looked like this minus the black beans, but only because we had none available.



Mango & Quinoa Salad
1 cup Quinoa
13/4 cups Vegetable Stock
Mango, diced
Red Bell Pepper, diced
Fresh Cilantro
Cumin
Half a Lemon
Olive Oil

1. Cook Quinoa according to directions, (or google it like me)
    For best taste substitute vegetable stock in place of water.
2. While Quinoa is simmering, Prepare the mango by dicing it.  If you are anything like me cutting a mango is confusing, so go ahead and laugh,  but i watched this video on youtube and now I feel like a pro.  Dice the red bell pepper (I used about half), and chop the fresh cilantro.
3.  Once the quinoa is done cooking, fluff with a fork and mix in the mango, pepper, and cilantro.
4.  Squeeze the lemon over salad and pour a dash of olive oil in and mix as a dressing.
5.  Season with Cumin, Salt & Pepper to taste.

I love this easy summer salad, it tastes fresh and is so healthy too!

In honor of the fact that Valentines Day is going to be here so soon, please download and listen to this song a million times, because I can't stop listening to it.  And didn't you know Alex Ebert is the lead singer from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, who sing this song, which is also awesome, no matter how many times I hear it.