Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Birdseed Salad




I am sure this title has caught your attention. Today was a clean out the fridge leftovers day . I had cooked some plain quinoa the other day ( you all know my obsession with that) then we had some birdseed rice monday with bbq pork tenderloin. I also enjoyed a beautiful Ina Garten inspired luncheon with a wonderful group of ladies , so dinner had to be light.

Birdseed rice is mix of brown rice, white rice, black beluga lentils , barley, wild rice , dehydrated carrots and peas along with some dried herbs ..... I am sure there are more grains in there I cannot fully identify . I purchase this deliciousness at Costco , at this moment the correct name escapes me, but it is always a hit with the family .

So, with leftover quinoa and this birdseed , I imagined making veggie burgers along with a baby kale leaf salad and some yoghurt. However , as I started putting the mixture together it started to evolve into this beautiful salad , a little bit of this , a little bit if that and lots of love :-)) .



How can you resist this and not dive in head first, it makes all carnivores jealous with envy. It was light , flavourful and every ingredient could be identified and enjoyed. I also had some red curly kale ( another new and latest obsession) which I sliced very finely , along with fresh chives and chive flowers from my spring garden . I dressed it very simply with the juice of one fresh lemon , a couple of dashes of curry powder - I always find this to be the perfect pick me up with any salad that has lentils. Of course, if you have an aversion to curry powder - omit , the salad will taste just as good.




By the time we sat down to enjoy this salad I sprinkled some fresh chive flowers on the salad , and this made it so much more festive and spring like. The highlight for me is that it appealed to my little gourmets ..... they devoured it.

Enjoy this salad year round with whatever is seasonal and appeals to your family .


Birdseed Salad
a gg original recipe



quinoa - cooked according to instructions
mutligrain mix or combination of cooked whole grains
red onion - finely diced
red bell pepper - small dice
flat leaf parsley - finely diced
small handful of garlic chives and flowers ( if in season)
grated carrot
red curly kale - fine chiffonade
fresh lemon juice
curry powder to taste
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss , taste and adjust accordingly - allow to sit for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to marry.

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