Box #1

Today is a milestone in our move, I got Box #1 packed. :) We got up pretty early this morning, and went to Lowe's to get packing boxes/papers and got some groceries. I started packing up the kitchen and living room decorations, and got the first one out of the way. I've been taking my time and dusting and cleaning everything off before I pack it so that I don't have to do it at the other end. I also did some cleaning on windows and the kitchen area too. I have some repairs to start working on - replacing the stopper in the bathroom sink, touching up the master bathroom walls and doing some painting, but I'm more worried about getting the rooms emptied of stuff before I start in on all of that. We have a realtor coming by to take a look at the place tomorrow, to give us an idea of the things that we are going to need to do. It's pretty busy, but it's also been a lot of fun. My mom and I have been hanging out, the visit has been going well.

For dinner tonight, I made a quinoa salad, which turned out really good. Basically I just make a pasta salad and substitute the quinoa for pasta. The smoked paprika gives it a nice smoky flavor. The vinaigrette is one that I just eyeballed the measurements, but any of your favorite dressings will work. Here's the recipe:

Quinoa Salad

1 c. quinoa
2 c. vegetable stock (or water)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cucumber, seeds removed and diced
1 small container cherry tomatoes, quartered
6-7 green onions, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 Tbs. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of one lime
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sugar to taste (about 1 tsp or so is right for me)
1/4 tsp. smoked spanish paprika

In a medium-sized saucepan, add quinoa and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Check quinoa to make sure that it is done, it may need to be cooked slightly longer. Add the next 5 ingredients (black beans through green onions) into a large mixing bowl. Whisk the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add quinoa to the vegetables, cover with dressing and toss to combine. Can either be served chilled or at room temperature.