Curried Quinoa Salad

John and I have been searching the internet for lunch ideas that don't involve lunch meat sandwiches. Salad is great, but it's easier over the summer and takes a few minutes to toss together. Roasted veggie sandwiches were a hit around here for a little while, but they take too long to prepare for the average school day. Hummus is another great lunch, but you know, I'd like to have a few ideas on hand.

The kitchn.com did a week of special posts on lunch a while back, so I'll share a few links that have been helpful:

Five lunches under 400 calories.

14 Great ideas for weekday lunches.

10 Vegan Lunch Ideas (I'm definitely making the "chickpea of the sea" recipe listed there).

After searching through those posts I finally just googled "curry quinoa salad" and this recipe came up. It's easy and delicious. If you make it with veggie stock then it's totally vegan.





















Quinoa takes about 15 minutes to cook, so it's something I could potentially do in the morning before going to school. Realistically, I'll probably make a double batch of this on a Sunday evening and John and I can portion it out during the week. It can be served hot or cold, so it'll be easy to transport to school.



















My only comment is to hold off on salting it until after tasting it. I'll probably halve the bullion cube next time (the cubes from Bulk Barn are rather large), since this batch was pretty salty.

Curried Quinoa Salad
adapted from Vegetarian.about.com

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  
• 1 vegetable or chicken bullion cube
  
• 2 cups water
  
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup cashew pieces
• dash salt (to taste)

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add bullion cube and stir until dissolved, without reducing the heat. Stir in quinoa and spices. Stir and cover, reduce heat to medium low; let simmer for 12-15 minutes. When quinoa is fluffy and water is absorbed, add raisins and cashews. Stir for 2-3 minutes over medium low heat, until raisins and cashews are heated through. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro (optional).