Carefree in the Kitchen: Quinoa Salad

(Yes, why NOT blog about the things I cook. I am a lazy chef and a picky eater. If I can make and eat these things, anyone can)Quick description: it's like salad I guess, but instead of lettuce you have quinoa (which is like rice but has super high amounts of protein and fibre).

Level of effort: You can do it while watching Gossip Girl
Level of health: High, especially if you don't skimp out on vegetables
Level of tastiness: It's no ice cream sandwich, but then again its not made with ice cream

First things first: it's pronounced keen-wa. You're going to have trouble finding it so when you're asking at your grocery store you don't want to sound like a moron. Quinoa=keenwa. Don't ask me why. Make sure to get the pre-rinsed stuff, because rinsing the stuff yourself is a hassle and I never do it well enough (it tastes bitter if its not rinsed). Most quinoa is white, but I'm using red today because it's higher in fibre.

Cooking directions call for a 1:2 quinoa:water ratio. Some people I know use vegetable broth instead of water but what do I look like, Martha Stewart? What even is vegetable broth? Who cares.

Oh great, are we going to need a measuring cup? NO. Measuring cups are for babies. We're going to use the old "finger line" trick. Put some quinoa in a mug and put your finger at the fill line. Dump that in a pot, keeping your finger on the fill line. Then get lazy, forget the finger idea, and just approximate what double looks like. Works every time.

Quinoa expands when cooked to around 4 times its original volume. In this mug I've got enough for my dinner tonight and my lunch for tomorrow, if you'll believe it! Which you will because I've never done anything to abuse your trust.Okay so put your 1:2 in the pot, put a lid on it, and turn the stove top onto a mid-high heat. While that heats up, start cutting vegetables. Here, I'm using: peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas, cucumber, celery, and most importantly, cilantro.Once the quinoa starts boiling, turn it down a lower level but keep the lid on. Check a clock because in 15 minutes those bad boys are going to be ready. Actually, forget clocks. Clocks are for babies, too. Here's what not ready quinoa looks like:Here's what ready quinoa looks like:See the white rim? And slightly translucent visible innards? Also, it shouldn't be too crunchy. I've never overcooked quinoa but I'm sure it's possible. It would probably get mushy. Just keep an eye on it, okay?

So finish chopping your vegetables and then mix up some dressing. Just 50/50 on olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well because check out how heterogenous these 2 pals are:
What? A tupperware? Yeah, not all of us have cups with lids or whatever the food network is telling you to use. So put your stuff in a tupperware that doesn't leak, shake it up, and voila, you are a dressing maker! We're later going to use this tupperware to store our leftovers for lunch because putting things in the dishwasher is more effort than we're willing to exert.

Okay so your quinoa is ready, your dressing is made, and your vegetables are chopped. Either let the quinoa cool to room temperature or get lazy and put it in the freezer because this salad isn't meant to be hot. Alright, take it out before it freezes. Now mix everything together and enjoy!

Wait, no meat? No quinoa is proteinlicious. Shake it off, you t-rex.