Summer Corn and Quinoa Salad

What's better than the fresh summer bounty? It's been blazing hot and humid these past couple of weeks, so I've been craving something light. I immediately settled on a salad, but I didn't want one filled with greens (although sometimes I do crave that).

Over the past year, I've prepared quinoa bowls and quinoa salads that I took with me to school. They were excellent sources of nutrients and kept me full.

Today I'm sharing my summer corn and quinoa salad with a lime and shallot dressing. It's light and tastes like summer in a bowl!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup quinoa

- 5 ears of corn

- 1 avocado

- 1 tomato

Dressing:

- juice of 2 limes

- 1 small shallot

- pinch of salt

- pinch of red chili flakes

- extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

First, wash your quinoa by running under water. Cook the quinoa by adding in 2 cups of water and season with a pinch of salt. I normally use 2: 1 ratio between water and quinoa, so if you wanted to make a bulk batch of quinoa to use throughout the week, just up the water accordingly. Bring the quinoa up to a boil and then turn down the heat to low and cover. It should take about 10-15 minutes from here. Make sure to use a fork to fluff the quinoa when it's finished cooking!

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables. First off, you can choose to boil, grill, or use raw corn for this recipe. Cut the kernels off of the ears of corn. To minimize the amount of corn flying around in the kitchen (believe me, I've been there), use a bundt pan. Place the ear of corn vertically onto the center of the bundt pan and slice downward-- the kernels should fall right in! Dice the avocado and tomato into small cubes and set aside.

For the dressing, mince a small shallot and add it into a mason jar. This is one of my favorite ways to mix dressing-- everything emulsifies together and a creamy texture is formed. Juice the limes, add in a pinch of salt and red chili flakes and a glug of olive oil. I prefer my vinaigrettes on the more acidic side, so I use a 2: 1 ratio between acid and oil. Pop on the lid of the mason jar and give it a good shake.

After that, all you have to do is assemble the salad. Toss everything together and enjoy!