Taco Tuesday Quinoa Salad

I really like recipes that are simple and require minimal cooking—the only cooking you'll have to do for this recipe is the quinoa. That's it! The rest of the recipe will give you a solid forearm // wrist workout as there is much chopping and a bit of whisking + stirring involved.

This Mexican-esque quinoa salad is a great accompaniment to a Taco Tuesday lunch, dinner....or breakfast? (Breakfast tacos? Yes.) It works well as a side dish, and also is a solid taco shell filler for a vegan or vegetarian!

BY THE WAY: Before we get to the good stuff, I'm still looking for recs on how to not cry like a buffoon when cutting onions. Please help. Leave me a comment if you've found something that works for you! I've tried everything...even holding my breath. Which doesn't work well. My lung capacity is shit.

Ingredients:
(Salad) 
1/2 cup Red Quinoa
1/2 cup Plain (white) Quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth (I used low sodium)
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Orange Pepper
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Onion
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
1 15oz. can Black Beans
1/4 cup Pepitas
(Dressing)
1 heaping teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon Cumin (if you don't love cumin, start with just 1 teaspoon)
5 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Agave
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(Optional Additions) 
Corn
Avocado
Green Chiles
Jalapeño Pepper
Cilantro

(If you're a composter, your compost bin will love you for this recipe! Lots of compostable scraps!)

What you'll need: 
(I like to take everything that I need out before I start a recipe, so I'll include this for people who are like me) 
Measuring cup (liquid, too)
Measuring spoons
Pot to cook the quinoa in
Large bowl for the veggies // beans
Bad ass knife for chopping
One cutting board
Colander
Small bowl for the dressing
Whisk
Big mixing spoon

Directions:
- Follow quinoa cooking instructions (2 cups water for every 1 cup of quinoa), sub one cup of water for 1 cup of vegetable broth
- When the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and set aside to let cool
- Chop red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, green pepper, and red onion and place in large bowl
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half and add them to the pepper//onion bowl
- Drain black beans in colander, then place in large bowl with veggies
- In the small bowl, whisk together cumin, fresh lime juice, agave and EVOO and set aside
- Add cooled // room temp. quinoa to large bowl with veggies and toss to mix
- Add dressing 3 hours before serving to give the flavors time to marry, or add it at the time of serving (it'll still taste great!)
- Top with pepitas before serving

Serve at room temperature + enjoy! 

Side note:
I made this the night before a Saturday afternoon Mexican style fiesta, I was tempted to add the dressing that night and let it sit until the party to let the flavors marry, but decided to add it about 3 hours before leaving. Three hours was plenty of time for the quinoa salad to marinate and the flavor was delish (though, as a cumin fanatic, I feel like I could have definitely added more, but to be kind to others that might not feel the same I left it as is).