Mexican Quinoa Salad w/Lime Cumin Dressing

I thrMexQuinoaSalad1ew this together recently for dinner when it was over 100 degrees outside.  Didn’t feel like a hot meal, and definitely didn’t feel like turning on the oven or spending a lot of time at the stove.  The only cooking required is for the quinoa and that’s super quick, especially if you have a pressure cooker in which it quinoa takes 5 minutes at high pressure.

This is a great dish to share at a potluck, picnic, or for this coming weekend, a Labor Day BBQ.  It holds up well in the fridge for a few days; the sauce/dressing soaks in quite a bit but the flavor is still there.  Delicious on its own or on a bed of lettuce.

Mesquite-Lime Hummus

Honestly, I don’t know anybody who doesn’t l like  hummus.  I’m sure they exist but I’ve never met them.  Such a simple thing – chickpeas and a handful of ingredients, whirled through a blender.  And so many ways to eat it: with raw veggies, crackers, chips, on a sandwich or wrap, thinned out as gravy to top greens or grains…so many possibilities.  There are also many flavors of hummus, and this one is really delicious.  I love anything with a smoky flavor and the smoked paprika does a great job here, but the lime really makes this hummus come to life.  I used about 2.5 TBS of lime juice and it’s pretty limey….use more or less depending on your tastes.  Same with the cayenne.  1/8 tsp is quite mild.  Now go make some hummus.  🙂