Vegetable list for July 18 and Quinoa Salad Recipe

These are cubanelle peppers, many of you received them in your box last week. They are NOT spicy. They are an Italian frying pepper, and they can be used in many (all?) places a 'green bell pepper' is called for. But: they aren't bitter like the green bell peppers that are common in grocery stores. You can chop them up in a salad (I made a quinoa salad yesterday, recipe below.) you can saute them alone or with summer squash to make a bit of a succotash...

The List for July 18th, as Steve and Andy recited to me on Friday night, they reserve the right to change this list: (if you have time: email me (julia at mariquita dot com) one recipe that the following list inspires you to prepare, and or 'what you'd do with the box'. be sure to tell me how you want to be credited: Your Full Name; Anonymous CSA member from X Town; First Name Only, etc. )

peppers (not spicy ones!)

onions

spinach

celery

strawberries

lettuce

cilantro

mystery herb

collards OR kale

beets OR carrots

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Julia's Quinoa Salad: an All Purpose Recipe

(a quinoa plug: it's a whole grain that's fairly high in protein. My family is always a bit lacking in protein, so I often look for places I can add more. -julia)

I start by taking one package (or one pound) of quinoa from Trader Joes: I dump it in the rice cooker, and add water (1 part quinoa to two parts water.) Cook as you would rice. In my rice cooker, the quinoa acts a little differently and spouts wildly so I drape a tea towel over it so the counter doesn't get so messy. this may not be a problem in your kitchen with your rice cooker. you can of course also cook the quinoa as the package directs with other methods.

I let the cooked quinoa cool off and then put it in a big bowl. Now the sky is the limit for what to add to it to make it into a 'salad'. What I put in last night: olive oil and lemon juice, diced avocado, sliced kalamata (pitted of course) olives, chopped onions, chopped basil, grated parmesan cheese, diced cooked beets, grated raw carrots. And S & P.

I now have a healthy, high fiber, decent protein lunch/dinner/breakfast (I like savory breakfasts!) that's filled with vegetables. I also used up some odds and ends in the fridge: 1/3 jar olives, 3 carrots, half a bunch of basil (Ok, that was on the counter), 3 small onions, etc.

Other addtions? any leftover cooked meat, chopped, smoked salmon, other herbs, pesto, just look in YOUR fridge! oh: you can use brown rice, white rice, couscous, etc. instead of the quinoa.