Quinoa Bowls Mediterranean style with roasted red pepper sauce

April 2016 

SmartCooks here.

'Tis the season of mega stress in my life -- work is frankly out of control, home life is a whirlwind of spring cleaning and trying to get the pool up and running.  This is not going well this year.  Major grrr.  Breathe. Breathe..... 

So I balance out the stress with comforting spring menus.  I'm cooking with quinoa -- Mediterranean style -- with roasted red pepper sauce.  Infinite combinations possible.  

Sigh. All good. Breathe.  This working life too shall pass... I can't wait for the weekend and seeing good friends and having a life.  

Mediterranean Quinoa Bowls with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce 

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
1 clove garlic
½ tsp salt (more to taste)
Juice of one lemon
½ cup olive oil
½ cup almonds

For the Mediterranean Bowls
Cooked quinoa
Spinach, kale, or cucumber
Feta cheese
Kalamata olives
Pepperoncini (see pix, left)
Thinly sliced red onion
Avocado
Hummus
Fresh basil or parsley

Olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper
Instructions:

Pulse all the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor or blender until mostly smooth. The texture should be thick and textured.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. When the quinoa is done, build yourself a Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl! Add in the quinoa and then all the other ingredients and mix. 

Store leftovers in separate containers and assemble each bowl just before serving, especially the greens and the sauces, as those will get soggy when stored with all the other ingredients.