Summer Quinoa Salad

People seem to enjoy recipes and videos that have each detail laid out in the minutest specifications. I'm not one of those people. I make minimal plans and considerable adjustments as I go along. Having said that, if you like precision and detail you may be happier just enjoying the photos in this post since the lack of structure may dishearten you.

Summer Quinoa Salad

I want to share one of our favorite summer foods. It's a great picnic or potluck dish but we also enjoy it as a side dish or even the whole meal. People often ask me for the recipe, so today I'll deliver it.

My quinoa salad starts with cooked and cooled quinoa. One cup of uncooked quinoa yields enough for one salad. The quinoa is the only element in this recipe not subject to change. The ingredients I add to my cold quinoa varies although the elements I'll share in today's photos are what I typically include.

Onion, sweet peppers, jalapeño pepper, fresh garlic, cucumber, avocado, tomato and fresh cilantro are chopped, sliced, diced or hacked into varying shapes and sizes. While some like their food to appear uniform, my cooking always reflects the fact that creativity is at work rather than style.

Once the fresh ingredients have been properly dismembered I combine them with the quinoa. For dressing or seasoning I simply sprinkle with salt, black pepper and lemon juice. I typically add copious amounts of feta cheese since it's my husband's favorite element in the dish.

The great thing about this salad is you can experiment with any ingredients or seasonings. Some other additions could be chickpeas, mint, vinegar, olive oil, black beans, green onion, green or black olives, cranberries, parsley, corn, capers and a variety of cheese options.

If there are any other quinoa salad makers out there I'd love to hear your favorite combinations of ingredients!

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_{Thanks to my husband @justinmullet for taking the photos for me!}