Cooking For One: Lemon Cinnamon Quinoa Salad

this Recipe

This month I fell in love with cooking again. I have spent hours dreaming and creating in the kitchen. I am savoring the moments, the flavors, the smells that fill the house when I am done. Sometimes we just need a little break, a getaway from our everyday routines to appreciate the gifts we have been given. I have been thinking about starting an ongoing series of Cooking for One recipes. Married or single, we all find ourselves home for the evening along and hungry. Cooking a big meal seems like a waste or too much work. We will explore easy recipes to cook just enough for one, maybe two.
One of the little treasures from my hours in the kitchen was this Quinoa with Lemon Cinnamon dressing. I was inspired from an old cookbook, The 15 Minute Gourmet by Paulette Mitchell. Hungry one afternoon I looked at my container of leftover Quinoa and thought of that recipe.
This salad is light but I loved the flavors that came through in the Lemon Cinnamon Dressing. The celery gives it a little crunch. When I was shopping at Whole Foods I discovered Red Walnuts. I love the color they bring to a dish. I stirred in a few orange segments to add a little sweetness to the salad.
If you live locally here in Orange County I have a series of classes that are being offered through the City of Brea. This Monday is Knife Skills 101 and Winter Soups. We will be chopping and dicing lots of vegetables and turning them into three warm and comforting soups. Next week is Homemade Pasta. If you want to join us you can register here.

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