Summer Quinoa Salad

Sometimes I pull together inspired dishes, where I plan out days in advance and visit multiple locations to get all the right ingredients. And other times, I rummage through the kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer to find whatever ingredients I can for a quick meal. This is one of the latter times, but its no less delicious than if i'd planned it for days.

The combination of chickpeas, sweet potatoes and dried cranberries is a perfect interaction of flavors, colors and textures. Each ingredient compliments the other, and the orange vinaigrette tops off the whol thing and brings it together, to give you a mouthful of flavors in each bite. B'teyavon!

Recipe:

1 large or two medium sweet potatoes

1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Prepare the quinoa according to package directions, then set aside

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes until roughly the size of the chickpeas. Toss the potatoes, chickpeas oil, salt, pepper and garlic together in a roasting pan and cook on 400 F for about 25 minutes, until they are both brown. Add to the quinoa mixture, then add the cranberries and mix to combine.

Mix together the oil, orange juice, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk well until combined. Taste and adjust sweetness and salt as necessary, then mix with the quinoa.