Wahoooooo summer is coming! The weather’s getting better, the sun is out longer and longer in the day, the flip flops are making their way out of hiding, and best of all, picnic season is upon us. We celebrated yesterday at Sheep Meadow in Central Park, with a ton of great friends (and great snacks!) We even witnessed a skywriting proposal- turns out the couple were nearby us! And yep… she said yes! (phew for that guy)

How can you not love a picnic? The sun, the breeze, the food, the friends… it was a great time with a ton of different groups of friends. Here I am with my friends from college…

… and my old job…

… and oh yeah, this guy!

I brought along a fresh and yummy quinoa tabbouleh salad, which basically screams summer if you’ve never had it. Crunchy quinoa, crisp cucumber, and delicious olives bring a ton of flavor and texture to the salad, and the lemony dressing brings everything up another level to the penthouse of Flavortown. I had actually made this for the first time last week for Mother’s Day, but didn’t have any good pictures that time. Loved it so much I had to make it again!

Quinoa Tabbouleh

based off of: Closet Cooking
serves: a large group!

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
1 cup cucumber, diced
1/4 cup kalamata olives (around 8-10 olives), chopped coarsely
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
juice and zest of one lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
salt to taste

Directions

1. Bring the water and quinoa to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has all been absorbed, about 17-20 minutes and let cool. You may want to make the quinoa well ahead of time so it’s nice and cooled before you mix in the good stuff.
2. Mix the quinoa, tomato, cucumber, olives, parsley, and green onion.
3. Make the dressing: Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt if desired. Toss with salad.

So simple, but so tasty! Enjoy at your next picnic

Happy Eating
mally