Quinoa with Summer Vegetable Stir-Fry

I am not sure if I have mentioned this on the blog but this year I have started my garden. I have lots of vegetable plants growing and starting to flower, which means vegetables are on the way. My garden mixed with our food share I am going to be enjoying lots of vegetables this summer!

I was looking forward to making a stir fry with vegetables I have on hand but came up with something a little different.

This easy, toss together quinoa is fabulous hot from the pan. But it's also delicious cool, as a quinoa salad. So make more than you think you'll need and you've got picnic food for the next day.

The Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 yellow summer squash, sliced and chopped into chunks

1 green zucchini, sliced and chopped into chunks

A fistful of slender asparagus or green beans, trimmed, sliced (from our food share)
1 Japanese eggplant (small eggplants are way less bitter), peeled, sliced into bite size pieces

1 bell pepper- red, yellow, orange or green, cored, sliced

1/2 cup of chickpeas (canned or fresh)
2 cups Baby Bella mushrooms, trimmed, sliced (optional)

A handful of sugar snap peas, ends cut off (from our food share)
A handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Sea salt and ground pepper
Herbs, to taste- parsley, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes- whatever you prefer (from our food share)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

The Directions:

First make your quinoa, the easy way. In a rice cooker. You'll need roughly 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa.

When the quinoa is almost done, heat a splash of light olive oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, stir until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the remaining vegetables. Season with sea salt, pepper, and herbs. Add the balsamic vinegar. Stir-fry until tender.

Scoop the cooked quinoa out of the rice cooker and add it into the wok. Stir to combine with the vegetables. Taste test and add more salt or seasoning if it needs it. Remove from heat. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and toss to fluff.

Serve immediately; or allow it to cool, then cover and refrigerate it to eat as a salad. before serving it cold, taste test again and adjust seasonings.