Sunny Summer Quinoa Salad

Summertime in the wine business is busy. Busy in a way that is often gratifying and fun, but ultimately somewhat overwhelming.

Who could complain about going to several 2-3 day food and wine events in a summer, every summer? Three days of eating multi-course meals prepared by famous chefs, drinking glass after glass of glorious wines, engaging in interesting conversations with people from all over the world? Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it?  And in between each of these events, there is a steady stream of visitors who are coming all the way here to Oregon to taste our wine and get to know us. We’re flattered!

This is what passes for work in my world. I know, it’s a tough job….

But as an old friend of mine once said “fun is fun, but no girl wants to laugh all the time”.

Eventually I start to feel like the Very Hungry Caterpillar at the end of the week – all I want is a nice plain piece of lettuce (and a good book). So when we do get a couple of days of peace and quiet at home, I try to fill them with lots of water, yoga and clean eating – even if I have to resist the (sometimes powerful) urge to lie in bed and eat comfort food. Often, but not always, I’m successful.

This week is one of those little breaks in the action, and I happily turned to some SuperFoods to nourish my depleted self. I pulled out a cookbook I bought this spring, Quinoa 365, and flipped through until I found just the thing – Sunny Summer Salad. Because even though I want healthy, I’m certainly not in the mood for boring.

This salad lends itself well to interpretation, use whatever vegetables you have, but don’t skimp on the spices in the dressing – they’re what make it so yummy. Plus this a breeze to throw together, and it keeps well and travels well – all pluses in the summertime.