Summer Side Dish: Sweet Chili Quinoa Salad

A light, tasty accompaniment for all those yummy grilled summer proteins! Feel free to add avocado for creaminess, or some cucumbers or shaved radish for more crunch.

Sweet Chili Quinoa Salad
(serves 2)

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup chicken or veggie broth
1 small zucchini, sliced thin (I use a vegetable peeler)
1/2 - 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 lime
Handful of chopped cilantro
1 tbspn sweet Thai chili sauce (start out with this much, then increase the amount gradually to taste -- a little goes a long way)

Rinse and drain the quinoa. Place the quinoa with the broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Place the zucchini, tomatoes, and lime juice at the bottom of a serving bowl. Add the cooked quinoa and toss -- the warm quinoa will gently cook the zucchini. Add the chili sauce and cilantro. Enjoy!

Roasted Pepper & Calamari Salad With Cilantro Dressing

The dressing for this salad is so tasty I just want to smother everything in it. Yum.

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

8 pieces of calamari/squid, with tentacles (you may adjust this depending on how big the calamari are)

1 bunch of cilantro

1 lime, juiced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 cup of olive oil, plus more for grilling 

Salt + pepper

Grill the peppers on a grill pan (rotate it on the pan until the sides are nice and black and blistered). When all sides of the pepper are nicely charred, place the peppers in a large bowl and cover with a kitchen towel for about 10 minutes. Most of the skin should rub off with gentle nudging at this point. Slice the peppers and set aside. 

Throw the cilantro, lime juice, garlic, salt + pepper, and olive oil in a food processor and blend until it's as smooth or as chunky as you want it. Set aside.

Toss the calamari in some olive oil. Grill for a few minutes per side. Slice, then toss with the peppers and cilantro dressing. Salt to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.