Quinoa, Golden Beet, and Feta Salad

So our wonderful summer CSA started this past Monday at our local organic farm. It is really great, and I am so glad that we have this option. We live out in the country, and it takes a good 25-30 minutes to get into a store that actually has some good, fresh organic produce.
So having an organic farm half a mile down the road is pretty much fantastic. We get to go down to the farm every Monday and choose our items from the selection provided. Last week they had some beautiful golden beets, and since my surgery a few weeks ago I have been trying to find ways to bump my iron intake with out gorging on red meat. We had some quinoa, and I figured we could whip up a salad that would be healthy and delicious.

Quinoa is awesome. It is high in protein, has a lovely nutty flavor, and is gluten free. We often use quinoa as a rice substitute in our house. It cooks just like rice, for this recipe I used 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups liquid - I used chicken broth this time, but you could use any type of broth or even water. Sometimes I also throw in a clove or two of garlic while it is cooking to give it a mild garlic flavor.

While the quinoa was cooking I cut the greens off of the beets and boiled them until they were fork tender, then put them on the cutting board to let them cool off. The quinoa was done so it went into a medium sized bowl, waiting for the rest of the fun.

I love the golden beets, they have such a vibrant color, and are sweeter and milder than their red counterparts. Plus they don't leave stains everywhere :) Once the beets cooled, I chopped them into 1/2 inch chunks, or you can cut them into whatever seems like the right bite size to you. Then mix them into the quinoa. In this recipe I don't really measure, just add and mix until it looks like a good mixture to you.

In the same eye-ballin' manner I add the feta cheese and raisins. Next it is time to whip up the dressing. It's light, sweet and tangy. Perfect for a summer salad.

In a small separate bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice, 1 TBSP honey, 1 TBSP fresh chopped thyme, 1/2 TBSP water, salt and pepper to taste. It will feel thick at first from the honey, but whisk it out and it will turn into a wonderful, thin dressing.

Next is the final and fun part - pour all over the quinoa mix, toss lightly and it is ready to go!

Perfect as a side with dinner, and I have eaten leftovers as lunch.


Ingredients
Quinoa, Golden Beet and Feta Salad

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth or water)
• 2 or 3 medium sized beets (I used golden)
• 3 or 4 ounces feta cheese
• 1/4-1/2 cup raisins

Dressing

• 1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1/2 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP fresh thyme, chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

Instructions
 Cook quinoa and beets. Chop beets into bite sized chunks. Mix beet chunks, feta and raisins into quinoa in a medium sized bowl. Put all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour onto the quinoa mix and toss lightly. Enjoy!