honey lemon quinoa with corn and zucchini

a couple weekends ago, chris and i went to the beach.  i love going to the beach.  definitely prefer hawaii beaches over the beaches here on the east coast.  but really any beach with sand, water, and sun will do.  it was an amazing day relaxing on the beach, reading and just soaking in the sun.

as we drove back to virginia we passed by a few farmer’s stands and we stopped by one and picked up some sweet corn, zucchini, and watermelon.  nothing is better than fresh produce straight from the farm.

i used the corn and zucchini to make this bright and fresh honey lemon quinoa with corn and zucchini.  i found the recipe for the honey lemon vinaigrette on a super awesome blog, iowa girl eats.  i used her honey lemon quinoa recipe and adapted it just a little bit adding some extra vegetables and herbs – just some zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and cilantro.  it worked beautifully and chris and i had a couple delicious, healthy lunches ready for the week.

the vinaigrette comes together quickly, just mix up some lemon juice and zest, honey, chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

then chop up the zucchini and cut the corn kernels off the ears of the corn.  we grilled the corn before hand, but you don’t need to.

saute the zucchini in a little bit of butter.

once it’s almost tender add the corn.

now add some chopped sun dried tomatoes.

once everything is mixed together, add the cooked quinoa and honey lemon vinaigrette.

mix well and add some chopped green onion.  you can probably see some ice crystals on the green onion.  this is because i keep a ziplock of chopped green onion in the freezer that way i always have some on hand.  this makes it so much easier since a lot of recipes only call for a couple stalks at a time.

once the green onion is mixed in, the honey lemon quinoa with corn and zucchini is done. oh wait, you can also add some cilantro if you want.  i like it but chris doesn’t so i added it to my portions later.  also, you can serve this quinoa warm, but chris and i preferred it cold.

hope you enjoy this super summery quinoa soon!

Honey Lemon Quinoa with Corn and Zucchini

adapted slightly from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 3 ears sweet corn
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• handful of sundried tomatoes, chopped
• salt & pepper

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, microplaned or finely minced
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly under running water in a fine mesh sieve. Combine with water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then place a lid on top and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the Honey Lemon Vinaigrette in a mason jar or small bowl, then shake or whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and sweet corn, season with salt & pepper, then saute until the corn and zucchini are tender, about 3 minutes.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and mix to combine.
4. Add in cooked quinoa and Honey Lemon Vinaigrette, then toss thoroughly to combine.
5. Taste, add more salt & pepper if necessary, then serve.

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Posted by miki on August 13, 2012

http://heymikiheymiki.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/honey-lemon-quinoa-with-corn-and-zucchini/