Moderation never tasted so sweet

Whenever I am on my way to any sort of festival, I mentally prepare myself for the impending greasy delicious temptations I am headed towards.  I always teach and personally follow the tried and true philosophy of everything in moderation . . . if I know I'm going to be eating not so well, I try and make up for my bad behavior with good behavior at another meal that day.  This weekend, when my husband and I went back for our second day at the Show Me Music & Arts Festival in Springfield, I already knew what foods were there and all of the saturated fats I was up against.  Naturally, therefore, I fix a vegan meal for lunch before we headed out!

This was only the second time I had cooked quinoa.  The first time it ended slightly bland, so I knew I really needed to pump up the flavors.  One of my chef friends told me he likes to make a tabouleh with quinoa, so his advice inspired this impromptu recipe.  As the quinoa cooked, I cut up a variety of veggies that had been laying in my veggie drawer, begging to be used.  Some fresh lime juice, leftover dijon vinaigrette and leftover chimichuri (inspired by the Ellie Krieger live food demo I from the first day!) all seemed like they could bring some good flavor to the dish.

To make the dish cool in a hurry (90 degree weather does not inspire hot bowls of food), I rinsed the quinoa off with cold water after it finished cooking.  I was nervous as to how the grain would handle the rinsing, as again I am not overly familiar with cooking quinoa . . . but the result was perfect.  Toss with juice/vinaigrette/chimichuri combo, veggies, and we were good to go!  Healthy, packed with whole grain protein and veggie vitamins, and even flavorful thanks to my dressings.  Lovely to look at as well, with a carnival of colors from the veggies and delightful curly strings from the quinoa.  Delish.

After all that lovely description of my vegan meal, I bet you just want to know what I joyfully clogged my arteries with at the festival.  Italian ice, deep fried taco and funnel cake.  And don't forget the deep fried Snickers I had the first day.  Yep!