• ¾ cup black quinoa 1 ½ cups vegetable broth

Salad stir-ins: diced cucumber halved cherry tomatoes diced red onion crumbled feta cheese kalamata olives roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

Vinaigrette: ¼ cup olive oil ½ tbsp red wine vinegar ½ tbsp lemon juice 2 large garlic cloves, chopped freshly cracked black pepper dash of salt

Bring vegetable broth to a boil. Pour in quinoa. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. (In my experience, the quinoa isn’t finicky and doesn’t get gummy—after 20 minutes, there was a bit of broth left, so I kept cooking it until the liquid was absorbed). Pour cooked quinoa into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in vegetables, cheese, and basil (and whatever else tickles your palate). Pour vinaigrette over and stir salad. Taste and tweak. Serve cold or room temp.