Quinoa Salad with Roasted Asparagus

The kids are back at school and I've (almost) fully recovered.  I'm getting caught up on life and am finding little moments here and there to sit down, make some grown-up food and enjoy the peace and quiet...ahhh.  So, this ones for me!

You know how it is to take your kids grocery shopping? You get the list (can't count on memory for these trips), you make sure the kids have full bellies (that's mommy 101- never takes kids on an empty stomach!) and you give them the pep talk on the way there (good manners, be helpful, watch for other people, on and on and on).  Then you get there, race through while negotiating what junk food to cave in on, break up fights for who gets to choose the cereal and remind countlessly to look out for the little old lady behind them, in front of them, no where near them because somehow you just know she's going to be taken out and you'll look like the oblivious mom who "didn't teach her children how to behave".  There's no checking for prices, no seeing what's on special, and forget about any sort of inspiration or stopping to see what's fresh in the produce section. I count it a win if we get out of there and we're still speaking to one another!  So this week I went to the grocery store...by myself...and you won't believe what I found...peace. And asparagus.  Lovely little pencil thin, super sweet and bright green asparagus, for a decent price- bonus!  Now since none of the other members of my family like or will even eat asparagus I was inspired to make- for myself- a quite girly quinoa salad with these little beauties.  A girls still got to eat right?  I thought so:)

Starting with the quinoa, it takes longer to cook, I'm using red and white -because it's pretty, this is for me remember? Give it a rinse and allow to drain.

Add it into some onion that I sautéed til translucent in color and allow to cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally, just to get toasted.

Add in chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

While the quinoa is simmering preheat your oven to 450F, give the asparagus a good rinse and dry it with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.

Cut into 1" pieces and place it on a cookie sheet, toss with olive oil and kosher salt.

Roast for 5-10 min or til it just starts to brown, check it often because it'll burn easily.  I could eat the whole pan just like this, it's so delicious, kind of buttery tasting, mmm.

The quinoa is done when all the liquid is absorbed and it has sprouted a little curly q- cute!  Allow both the asparagus and quinoa to cool a bit.

Then combine in a large bowl along with some slivered almonds.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan on top and enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch fresh asparagus, chopped into 1" pieces
1 c quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 onion, finely diced
2 T butter
4 T olive oil, divided
2 c chicken broth
1/2 c slivered almonds
parmesan for garnish

For the quinoa:

In a large saute pan (that has a lid) cook the onion in butter, 2 T olive oil and some salt over medium heat.  When translucent in color turn heat to med-high and add in the quinoa and cook for about 3 min.  Add in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Cover and turn heat to low for 15-20 min, til liquid is absorbed and quinoa has sprouted.  Turn heat off and let sit with lid on til cooled down a bit.

For the asparagus:

Preheat oven to 450F.  Wash and dry asparagus and cut into 1" pieces, making sure to remove the tough bottom portion.  Place on a cookie sheet and toss with remaining 2 T olive oil and kosher salt.  Spread out to make a single layer on cookie sheet and roast for 5-10 minutes, til asparagus just begins to turn brown and a bit crispy on the tips.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In a large bowl combine the quinoa, asparagus and almonds.  Taste to adjust seasoning.  I added some fresh black pepper.  Serve with a garnish of parmesan cheese, enjoy!