aunty m's quinoa salad

After posting about quinoa, my Aunty M sent me her favorite quinoa salad recipe.

She subbed some ingredients which are noted in the parentheses.

QUINOA – PARSLEY SALAD

3 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup craisins
2 cups edamame (peas, instead)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 cups chopped parsley
1/4 large red onion

Dressing:
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon (Used 2 lemons)
garlic (couple cloves, finely chopped)
1/2 tsp red pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 salt to taste

1. Rinse quinoa until the water is clear. Add water, bring to boil, reduce to a low simmer for 10 -15 minutes*. (If you want cranberries soft and plump cook with quinoa.) When done, fluff with fork and cool. (I put the cranberries while cooling the quinoa.)

2. Finely chop the parsley, onion, and garlic (couple cloves- finely chopped) and zest the lemon. Make sure edamame is not frozen. (cook peas as usual)

3. In a separate bowl, mix the garlic, lemon juice and zest, pepper, salt and olive oil. Add to cooled quinoa. Mix well.

4. When cooled completely, mix in cranberries, edamame, almonds, and onions. Lastly, add parsley and mix it all together.

*Pkg directions said 2 c. water to 1 c. quinoa

NOTES: I cooked 1/4 cup of quinoa and added a handful of dried cherries. Since I had leftover cooked edamame, I took off the shells and put the beans into the salad. I also added 1 carrot and 3 okra.
Instead of a red onion, I used part of a yellow one.
The nuts, I added just before eating. I didn't have parsley, so I left it out.
I used the zest and juice of 1 lemon but found it too puckery, so I added 1 teaspoon of honey.
I also left out the salt.

Super refreshing salad, I hope to make this one again! Thanks for sharing your recipe Aunty.

p.s. Satoshi wanted to know what we were eating and I told him "keen-wah" and he says..."gold ring"...in Japanese "kin" means gold and "wa" means ring...sigh.