Edamame Quinoa Salad

Before we get to the recipe...

This past weekend was the first weekend of summer, and I got some much needed R&R. Matt was traveling through South America for work, so Avery and I had a date on Friday with the vet. We had been wanting to get her microchipped, even though she is an inside dog. But, inside dogs get out, too-- you really never know what could happen. And as you can probably tell from reading any one of my posts, Avery is a very important part of our little family of three. Anyway, since it was time for another round of shots/check-up for her, I added 'getting microchipped' to the list of things that we wanted to have done at that appointment. We have been to the vet's office a lot--I mean, as much as any other two and half year-old dog needs to have been to the vet, and every time, she has loved it! Except for this time. For some reason, she hated it! At one point, she literally jumped on my chair and tried to hide behind me. Poor thing!

         

         

Finally, though, she was microchipped. Officially! Now, if anything were to ever happen to her and she is lost/found by someone else, any vet's office or shelter will be able to contact us. Money VERY well spent if you ask me! She was still pretty apprehensive about the whole scenario, however. She hid and barked the whole time until we were out the door. 

Once all of that was over, I decided to pack up with Aves and head to the bay. It was the perfect recover-from-the-last-week-of-middle-school-before-summer weekend and the perfect start to summer. Saturday night was Galveston's monthly "Art Walk," where various galleries feature artists and stay open to the public later than normal. There were a few restaurants with live entertainment and some other fun things going on. We had never been, so we decided to check out a local restaurant (called Press Box) that we had never been to and then explored the Art Walk.

On our way back to Houston, my mom and I decided we wanted to try some new recipes that we had seen in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, one of the many read while laying on the beach. Edamame Quinoa Salad. Is your mouth watering yet? It is the perfect mixture of a light side dish, but that is filling at the same time. It also screams summer because of the lime juice. Definitely a must-try! Here is the original recipe that I altered only slightly. I actually do not like cilantro. I realized it when I was in high school and ordered the BBQ Chicken Salad from CPK, which is delicious, but had a strange after taste that I could not stand... cilantro. So, there ya have it. Therefore, I opted out when making mine...

Edamame Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 T EVOO
- About 1/4 tsp Salt (or to taste)
- About 1/4 tsp Pepper (or to taste)
*Optional- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:
-Cook quinoa according to package, and set aside.
-In a large bowl, combine edamame, corn, and tomatoes.
-Add in the cooled quinoa.
- Mix in lime juice and olive oil.
-Season to taste with salt and pepper.

**The only reason we used red quinoa was because they were out of white. While maybe not quite as easy on the eyes, it still tasted delicious!

Let me know if you have a chance to try it and what you think!