Great Food and Company!

We got back from Nashville late Tuesday night, and as time is short while we are home these days, this means we need to be efficient about catching up with our family and friends in Estes and everyone else in between.  Krissy Moehl was in town visiting because she is in Colorado running the TransRockies and we wanted to see her so we had her and Kelly Cordes over for dinner Wednesday night.  We had to be sure to be done by 7pm because of the WEC fights on at Josh Wharton's (one of our few friends with TV in Estes).  I decided to flip through my Climb Nashville Cookbook that Carrie made and came upon Quinoa Salad recipe.  Tommy and I decided to make that and a cherry tomato tart that Carrie got from this link and had baked for us while we were in Nashville.  I got cooking on time, we got eating on time, dined outside in the perfect Estes weather, had great conversation about VO2 maxes and lactic acid and the Kreb's cycle and got to Josh's on time for the fights.  This was a miraculous thing (us being on time so much) and can only be attributed to Lance Brock, who taught us in a short week in Nashville how to be on time.  We hope this wasn't a fluke and I am sure our friends and family do as well.  :)  We will see!

Here's the Quinoa Salad recipe from the Climb Nashville cookbook contributed by Matt Royka.

• 3 T. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 3 T. minced cilantro
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 c. fresh corn
• 1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed well
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 c. cooked black beans
• 1 med. tomato, diced
• 3 T. red onion, minced

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste, set aside.  In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil and add corn.  Reduce heat and let corn simmer until tender.  Drain corn, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid.  Bring cooking liquid to a boil and add quinoa and cumin.  Cover, reducing heat and let simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.  Fluff quinoa with a fork and allow to cool slightly.  In a bowl, combine cooled quinoa, corn, black beans, tomato and onion.  Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to mix.  Refrigerate salad until ready to serve.

*I doubled the recipe and we ate this as a main dish.  The four of us all had seconds and there was a small container of left overs!  Next time I promise to take pictures!

In lack of a photo for the Quinoa Salad, here is a photo to illustrate our intellectual dinner conversation.  Ask Kelly Cordes if you have questions! (I hope pasting this picture isn't illegal...it's not mine):