Avocado Quinoa Salad

I'd like to devote this next post to a very dear (and very missed!) friend, Erin Long. Erin is such a lovely, caring and all around wonderful wife, mother and friend. When I was pregnant, Erin had me over a couple of times to show me her ropes - how she cared for her 3 year old daughter and couple months old son. I was so freaked out awaiting the birth of my baby and she did such a good job alleviating my fears. We would have tea and lunch and eat delicious things like fresh, homemade biscotti bread with hot drizzling chocolate and, one of my new staples, the Oprah Quinoa Salad. Erin showed me that you can have tons of stuff loaded up on your life plate and still eat good, wholesome food on your dinner plate.

This is a great salad to make up for lunches during the week. If you have any left over chicken, toss it in. It tastes GREAT. Other great add ons would be: cranberries, oranges, cilantro... anything really. Enjoy & bon appétit!

Ingredients:
Dressing
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup finely diced dried apricots

1/2 an orange, chopped
Warm water

2 ripe avocados
2 green onions, sliced diagonally
1/4 cup toasted slivered or sliced almonds

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, coriander, cumin and paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, combine quinoa, salt and cold water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Fluff with a fork, spread on a large baking sheet and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, place apricots in a small bowl. Cover with warm water and let stand for about 5 minutes or until plump. Drain and set aside.

Peel avocados and cut into bite-sized chunks. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp. of the dressing to prevent discoloration. Place cooled quinoa in a large salad bowl. Add apricot/orange mixture, avocados, green onions and almonds. Add the remaining dressing and toss to combine.

- recipe cred to Oprah