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MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW had a birthday yesterday. I certainly don't want to divulge her age...especially since it is a birthday which some women wish to repeat again and again, claiming each time is the first. So my lips are sealed on the number. What I will tell you about, Dear Reader, is the fabulous dish I served for the birthday meal when she and my son delighted my yard man and me with their company today. Everyone murmured or readily spoke their approval of the Gingery Quinoa Salad. And the yard man, after he'd scooped a small serving onto his plate and taken a bite, even gave me notice, "Oh, you're really going to like this!" (The clever man--he's not so fond of vegetarian dishes himself.)


He was absolutely right, of course. The fates had come together on this one. When my son had informed me that the birthday girl preferred to eat vegetarian, I immediately went for the vegetarian magazine I had just picked up for a quarter at the thrift shop that morning. It's a March issue, so the recipes it features are the late-winter sort; but a salad is a salad, after all, and this one looked tempting. When I scanned the ingredients and saw beet juice, I couldn't believe the serendipity of the whole situation.


My daughter, the organic gardener, had just given me three beets on Tuesday. After weeks of pining for some, I had hurriedly chopped and cooked them and gobbled up a good portion without stopping to make any plans. But the glorious juice--hmm, I had spent a few moments on planning its future--I wanted to pickle the portion of chopped beets that remained. Yes, that had been the plan. The problem was, I hadn't been able to keep my fingers out of the beet jar; the dwindling supply of chopped beets made it more and more certain I'd have to find some other use for that juice.

I've also had a large bag of quinoa just sitting in my cupboard. And I happened to have sliced almonds in the freezer. Wow. You can surely understand, Dear Reader, why my eyes would alight on the magazine's photo and the title of this enticing ruby-red salad! But, let's see, it called for chopped apple. Now, residing in my kitchen at the time were five bananas, a bag of frozen blueberries, a grapefruit, three kiwis, a lime, some sliced orange, four peaches, a handful of fresh strawberries and most of a medium-sized watermelon. No apples.

Too finicky about following the recipe to the letter, I ran out to buy one apple. And, how handy, while I was at the store I could get shredded coconut and a piece of fresh ginger! Then I made up the salad. It's so quick! So easy! In case you'd like to try it, Dear Reader, here's how I put it together. I read the first step:

1. Toast almonds in saucepan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Cool.
Then I put two tablespoons of oil in the pan and added the almonds. I tried to watch them closely, but I was chatting with my son and before I knew it the pan was sending up a delicious aroma of cooking almonds that too rapidly progressed to slightly scorched almonds and I grabbed the pan from the burner and read step two.

2. Wipe out saucepan. Add oil and onion and saute 2-3 minutes until translucent, stirring often.

WAIT A MINUTE. Add oil?!!
I started over.

1/3 Cup chopped almonds (1& 1/2 oz.)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 Cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 Cup quinoa
1 & 1/2 Cups beet juice and/or carrot juice
1 Cup frozen peas
1 apple chopped up
1/3 Cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3. Stir in ginger, quinoa, juice and add salt and pepper if desired. Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer 15-20 minutes over medium heat until liquid is absorbed.

4. Remove from heat. Add frozen peas and cover again. Let sit for 10 minutes, covered, to thaw the peas.

5. Uncover and stir in the apple and coconut.

6. Serve warm or at least room temperature.










(Serves six vegetarians. Lots of yummy leftovers if served to one vegetarian,
one quasi-vegetarian, and a couple of enthusiastic meat-eaters.)

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