Sculpting the steps to his throne at WildSnow HQ.
Indian summer is full-on beautiful here in Colorado. Blue sky, crisp air and a hint of snow bring thoughts of cold smoke powder and crackling wood stoves at the cabins. We’re thinking Lou probably brought some of the snow karma up from Chile, where he’s been backcountry skiing and adventure traveling for the past few weeks. Home now, he’s planning on finishing up our Field HQ improvements for winter as well as doing a few more blog posts about skiing down south. Following, a recipe for one of our favorite picnic and cabin meals. We like quinoa!
Main ingredients for our favorite picnic salad.
Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 limes juiced or 4 tablespoons of lime juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
1 chopped avocado, optional
Put 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water in pot. Bring to boil, turn heat on low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Whether I prewash quinoa or not, I’ve often bit down into sand or grit after it’s been cooked. The best solution I’ve found is to wash the quinoa in cold water after it’s been cooked. This eliminates all the grit and has the added bonus of cooling the quinoa quickly.
The best method I’ve found is to use a salad spinner. After cooking, put the quinoa in the spinner and fill with cold water. Swish the quinoa around to allow the grit to flow out of the strainer. Refill the spinner a few times to ensure all the grit gets washed away. Spin quinoa thoroughly to remove excess water. This method also seems to make the quinoa light and fluffy, perfect for the salad.
In a blender, combine olive oil, lime juice, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes. Pour over cooled quinoa. Add tomatoes, onion, cilantro and avocado. Toss and enjoy.
Recap of last week’s posts:
Binding Hype Hits — Herr Barthel Speaks
Chile Continuation — Cultural Rain & Ski
DIN Wars Commence — Dynafit Beast 16 In Pipe
Skiing’s Original Hard Man — Fridtjof Nansen
10 Commandments of Avalanche Safety – Bruce Tremper
Lago De Los Tres — Ski Touring Beneath Fabulous Fitz Roy
WildSnow Girl, Lisa Dawson, is the luckiest girl in the world. Also known as Mrs. WildSnow.com, she tests whatever gear she wants. She gives the WildSnow family of websites the feminine voice.
