Warm weather. Oh thank you, Jebus, I was gettin’ worried.

So let’s start, shall we? First off, in order to celebrate the coming of real weather, I made a Southwestern salad involving a new grain for me: quinoa.

Quinoa is apparently considered more of a berry than a grain—hence it’s appeal for the modern Passover cook—but whatever you call it, it turned out real delicious.

The thing with quinoa is that it has a sort of resin coating it; a bitter protective dust that prevents it from being the food for insects or birds. So you have to rinse it—really rinse it—in order to get the funkiness off, but if you buy it boxed as you would at certain grocery stores, apparently they take care of that for you. I bought it bagged like dried beans at Whole Foods and rinsed it myself, all the while worrying if I had run under enough water, visions of ruined dinner dancing before my eyes.

The recipe I found in paper suggested a rice salad application, which sounded quite perfect. It came together nicely and when all was said and done, I found that quinoa is a nice change of pace. I still have enough dry grain/berry to use for some other recipe, and if you guys have any ones you like, let me know.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup of mild or medium picante sauce

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well under cold water

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

ground black pepper to taste

1 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn, cooked, drained, cooled

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved*

4 green onions thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 tbl. canola oil

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the water, picante sauce, quinoa, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes. Uncover and toss with a fork. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, green onions, jalapeno and canola oil to the quinoa, tossing well to combine. Excellent a bit warm or room temperature.

Ah, sweet and savoury. I find most people are quite adamant about that sort of flavor combo, and I can be too, but most of the time, it works. (Other times, when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t.) And as always, I’m willing to give it a shot.

This dish was a big hit this week mainly for the fact it involves so little prep and frankly, it was probably one of the best things I’ve ever made. I recommend it for family gatherings or dinner parties with friends. A nice white wine white would go with this, or perhaps a nice stout German lager. Dishes like this remind me what I love about cooking; the simplest ingredients become something extraordinary.

I love spring. I love that I feel more alive and so does the world.

I apologize for the blurriness of the pic below. I’ve had this digital camera for nearly three years now and I don’t even know what half of what it does.

Of course, I used turkey kielbasa as I have this thing about certain types of meat. But the meatiness of the kielbasa, the tang of the mustardy sauce, and the sweetness of the apples was sublime.

Really, make this for someone you love. You’ll be rewarded by groans of pleasure and eye rolls of delight. I think the LSC would love this meal.

Noodles with Kielbasa, Cabbage and Apples

adapted from Time-Life’s “Great Taste, Low Fat”

8 oz. “yolkless” egg noodles

1 tbl. canola oil

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 lb. kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch rounds

2 cups fresh shredded cabbage

1 apple, cored and diced

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 tbl. cider vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbl. cornstarch

In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until just tender. Drain well. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and kielbasa and cook until kielbasa is slightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the cabbage, apple and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the cabbage is just tender, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard and cornstarch. Add the cornstarch mixture to the skillet and cook until the liquid is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. (If you like it a bit more saucy, add more broth.) Transfer the kielbasa mixture to a large bowl and add the noodles. Toss to combine.