Crunchy Red Quinoa Salad with Chai Tea Vinaigrette (and a delicious giveaway!)

During my sophomore year in college I started just about every day with a Chai tea latte. Unfazed by the calories that my daily drink was racking up, I couldn't get enough of the warm, spicy flavor underneath the smooth ribbons of foam.

When I eventually came to my senses and moved on to Starbucks Tazo Chai Filterbags (actually I developed a wicked coffee habit but this is neither the time or place for that discussion).

As most of you know I am working with Starbucks' Tazo brand to develop three recipes featuring a weekly secret ingredient and of course, tea. As most of you also know, there is a little healthy competition involved here - the blogger who garners the most comments after the three weeks wins $1,000 to a kitchen store.

[pause while we all think about how much damage I could do with $1,000 in a kitchen store].

Giveaway: Because last week I received such amazing responses from my wonderful readers (some of whom I didn't even know were out there. Hi!) I have a great giveaway to offer to one lucky reader this week. Tazo is going to hook one of you up with a great package of tea-related goodness:

• Crate & Barrel Iced Tea/Sangria Pitcher
• Breville electric kettle
• Tea pot
• Cup and saucers
• More tea than you could possibly dream of drinking. 

To enter: leave a comment on this post and tell about your most memorable kitchen mishap. If you don't have one, tell me your favorite food. (If you'd like to comment but not enter the giveaway, please write "no thanks" after your comment).

For extra entries: Become a fan of In Good Taste on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or invite your friends to become a fan of In Good Taste on Facebook. Make sure in your comment, you let me know that you did.

Contest will close at 11:59pm CST on Saturday, August 21, 2010. Winner will be chosen at random using the number generator on random.org. 

Here is a sampling of what you could win (bookshelf not included):

Now, let's talk quinoa. In case you haven't guessed already, the ingredient for this week's challenge was red quinoa, an ingredient that until this week, I'd never cooked with.

Red quinoa is a grain high in protein with roots in South America. It is considered a "super grain" thanks to a rich nutritional profile and it can be used as a substitute for rice in almost any dish: entree, side dish, soup or salad.

Since you can never have too many chilled side salads in August, I went the latter route and mixed the ruby-hued grain with a few of my favorite fruits (fresh and dried) along with some toasted pecans to add a little crunch and a subtle earthy flavor.

Crunchy Red Quinoa Salad with Chai Vinaigrette
Serves 4-6

What you need:

Salad Ingredients:
1 cup red quinoa
2 cups cold water
pinch of sea salt
1 cup chopped apple (1 large or 2 medium apples)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds (optional) 

Dressing Ingredients:
2 tsp. tea Chai tea leaves
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. minced shallots
Fine sea salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive or sunflower seed oil

What you do:

1. To prepare quinoa:  rinse  with cold water and soak for 10 minutes.  Strain and combine with 1 1/2 c water and a pinch of sea salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover the pan with a lid, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes stirring once.  Remove from heat, fluff, and set aside to cool.

2. Prepare Dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set dressing aside. In a separate bowl, toss chopped apples with lemon juice to prevent fruit from oxidizing.

3. When quinoa is cool, combine quinoa, chopped apple, pecans and raisins in a bowl and toss well. Place on serving dish and garnish with remaining chopped pecans.

 

Disclosure: Tazo provided me with the tea, a few brewing essentials and a grocery gift card to cover the cost of supplies for this project. Tazo did not tell me what to write here and the opinions in this post are 100% honest and accurate.

 

Comments

[Duchess of Fork]

I was making Paula Deen's Irish Creme Cake for St. Patty's Day this year and was breezing right through the recipe. I was so overcome by the ease of it that I completely forgot to put the oil in the cake. I realized it when the cakes had been in the oven about 4 minutes. I pulled those suckers out, scooped out the batter, added oil, put the batter back in and baked away. They came out great!! No one had any idea of my oil mishap. :)

[Kelly]

The salad looks and sounds SO good! I also love chai lattes, but will have to check out those filterbags. I do loves me some Starbucks. Good luck with the competition!

[Suebob]

I have a bad habit of seeing recipes and thinking "That sounds so weird it CAN'T be good" and then making the recipe. All too often, I am right. It's a sickness.

The most memorable was orange-leek soup. My favorite leek vendor at Farmer's Market was handing out a sheet of leek recipes and this was on it. I thought "Wow, that sounds weird." So of course I set out to make it. I chopped and sliced and diced and sauteed. When I was done, I had a giant pot of soup.

I tasted...it tasted EXACTLY like bile - that acidy taste in the back of your throat when you almost lose it. One spoonful and I tossed the rest. I don't even like THINKING about how it tasted.

[Kelly]

I love quinoa! I was hesitant to try it at first but now I eat it with eggs, in salads, with tomatoes and cucumbers... it can really go in anything!

My biggest kitchen mishap (or perhaps my funniest) was when I was making Kraft mac n' cheese after a long day of college football tailgating and I completely forgot a colander and just poured the noodles into the sink. A complete disaster for a sink without a garbage disposal. Lesson learned though... every time I make pasta now I am SUPER careful!

[kakaty]

My husband is a peanut butter fanatic so I'm always trying new recipes featuring the stuff. I somehow came across Paula Dean's Peanut Butter Balls and while the recipe sounded a bit odd (2 CUPS powered milk?!?!) I went for it, trusting in Paula's southern cooking. 8 cups of ingredients later and I had the most overly-sweet, grainy, dry disgusting balls of failure. I knew in my gut that the combination of things wouldn't work - I need to trust that instinct!

[Rebecca]

I am reading this as my boyfriend is making dinner. He moved in recently, and so far everything is quite charming, including his lack of skills in the kitchen. During the time it took me to read this post, our smoke alarm has gone off twice. It's a good thing he's such a good guy :)

[Rebecca]

The fire alarm just went off again! That's three. It does smell good though... :)

[Marilyn]

Well, my most common mishap is that I grossly underestimate how long it will take me to make something, and then we end up eating dinner after 9 p.m.

[sarah]

i set off the fire alarm while making grilled cheese!

this site looks awesome... Im definitely going to try some of these recipes. I also "fan"-ed you on Facebook!

[Marcy K.]

My most memorable mishap was when my stove exploded, but perhaps that does not count, so I'll add the time I did not strain the raspberries before adding them to the sorbet. Or when I forgot to add water to the pot to steam veggies and had to buy a new pot, or when I left the glass cutting board with a chocolate cake on it in the cold oven to keep it safe from little fingers, and my husband decided to bake something... I'm sure there are more :)

[Katy]

Your Salad looks so yummy!! I must say I dont think I have had a major kitchen mishap(yet!!) but one of my favorite foods is goat cheese. Its yummy and creamy and goes well with so many things. I love it on pizza with eggplant and spinach! :) Thanks for all your wonderful cooking!

[Michael Coddington]

Memorable kitchen mishap... the $100.00 maple block cutting board literally shattering into four pieces when I set a hot pan on it. My mishaps are always expensive,

[Kelly]

Hahaha. I haven't had any huge kitchen mishaps. Just a couple of (small) fires, which sounds so much worse than it is. Good luck girl!

[lynn miller]

The salad looks very yummy although I have not tried several of the ingredients. Kitchen mishaps are numerous. Pyrex bowl exploding all over the kitchen when I tried to heat gravy on the stovetop (thinking Corning Ware and Pyrex were the same). Setting oven for six hours instead of six minutes for a pizza.(Had just moved into a new apartment -- seven months earlier). Matzoh balls that would not stay together since I used jumbo eggs instead of large. Peanut soup from a Williamsburg recipe that was too salty to eat -- but guests were polite and ate it. Needless to say I learned through error.

[Kate]

Wow, most memorable kitchen mishap... so many to choose from! The most publicly embarrassing of my mishaps occurred in my sophomore year college dorm: I was microwaving popcorn. Idiot-proof, right? Wrong. I forgot about the roasting popcorn and ended up setting the fire alarm off for the whole building... in Chicago, at 11 PM, on a 30-degree November evening. It wasn't a quick way to make friends.

[Alice]

I have had too many kitchen mishaps for any of them to be the most memorable but grabbing my hot cast iron skillet without a glove is way up there on the top of my list.

[Julie @ Willow Bird Baking]

Ohhh, chai lattes! A fond college memory for me, as well! :)

I like IGT on FB and follow you on Twitter. Best wishes in the contest!

[Molly]

hmmm let's see... I once overcooked porkchops so badly they more closely resembled car tires than dinner. Oops?

Good luck with the challenge! Though I think you have it in the bag - so creative to incorporate the tea leaves into salad dressing!

[DessertForTwo]

I'd rather not talk about my kitchen mis-haps...I save that for my close friends, haha. So my favorite food is avocados. I made a red quinoa salad with avocado in it and it was delicious! This salad recipe is next-thanks!

[Dave Wuensch]

Goddamn, I want some

[Heidi Renée]

Ooohh, quinoa! I love it, but I have never had red quinoa. I will have to find some and make this (or just use regular, which I already have...). I'm not a big fan of raisins, so maybe pomegranate seeds or dried cherries instead.

I've had many kitchen disasters, but one sticks out. My husband and I had just moved closer to his parents and we were all getting together for his mom's birthday. They usually buy a (nasty) grocery store cake, so I volunteered to make one from scratch instead. The cakes broke a little when I took them out of the pans, but I figured I could stick them back together with frosting. I had put my frosting in the fridge to chill as the recipe instructed, and I removed it at the appointed time. It hadn't stiffened--it was the consistency of melted ice cream. I panicked. My husband was due home from work shortly and we were headed to the party immediately. I didn't have time to chill the frosting any longer, so I dumped it and went out to get a jar of premade frosting. There wasn't time to go to the grocery store, so I went to the corner 7-11. Luckily my husband worked late so I had time to frost the cake. No one ever knew!

I already follow on Twitter and Facebook. :)

[Terry Clarkson Farrell]

OH now I'm going to have to try this salad- its looks and sounds wonderful.
Kitchen mishap well one of my first and in the realm of coffee. I was 11 and my parents had what was then pretty exotic for the 'burbs an espresso coffee pot. Little alumminum thing with the two parts that you flip so the hot water goes through the coffee. We had been taught by my father how to use this and he loved impressing his guest with both the fresh coffee and his clever children ( made us seem very worldly!)- on night as the guests chatted I made the coffee - I couldn't find a pot holder so I grab some PAPER napkins to then grab and turn over the perking pot. Paper meets hot burner and flames. Worldly children do not panic.Neither do ones who don't want to be in trouble for setting the house on fire. I calmly continued to turn the pot over- dropped the flaming napkins on the floor - hopped to the sink and got a glass of water that I poured over said flames. Scooped up the mess and delivered the espresso to the table.With no onethe wiser.
Favorite food- alas the ubiquitous chocolate and leg of lamb.

[bernard]

I like lasgna it is my favorite.

[Beth @ 990 Square]

When I was making blueberry jam earlier this summer I managed to knock the huge ladle off the side of the stockpot. This resulted in molten hot blueberry jam flying all over my kitchen--on the stove, on the floor, on the cabinets, fridge, and on and on. Yeah, it was a big mess!

[marla {family fresh cooking}]

Maris, your challenge is so exciting. This quinoa salad sounds awesome! Good luck to you, hope you win that $1000!! & i hope I win your fab giveaway :) xo

[marla {family fresh cooking}]

I fanned you on Facebook----xo

[Jane]

Never cook a turkey upside down!!!! The first Thanksgiving dinner that I ever cooked I made the mistake of cooking the turkey upside down. I do not know the science behind it but it was uneduble...dry, discusting, hard as a rock!!! To top it off in preparation (all of those hours of preparation...I cut my finger and had to go to the ER and get several stitches!!!! Live and learn!!!

[Laurie]

I've been looking for a recipe with quinoa that appealed to me. Thenk you -- I've finally found it!

[Cindy]

One memorable mishap (which happens almost every year!) is our Lamb Cake for Easter. The head of the lamb never stays attached to the body so it is held in place with toothpicks. By now though, we have learned at least to keep an eye out for the toothpicks when eating the cake!

The recipe looks great, can't wait to try it.

[Mary]

This looks great. Have never tried Quinoa. My worst disaster was trying to cook pumpkin bread. I followed the instructions to the letter and the outside looked great and the inside was like goo! I could never get the inside to cook!

No Thanks!

[Daryl]

My worst disaster in the kitchen (and most fun) was baking brownies as a child with my brother Glenn. We made the whole recipe on the stovetop, never realizing we had to bake them!

[Sarah]

HAH I loved reading all the mishaps makes me feel like I am not the only klutz in the kitchen! Mine is embarrassing and a secret still to this day! My boyfriend is from Australia and his parents were celebrating their first thanksgiving with us. I had a turkey roasting in the oven, I went to pull it out to test the temperature and the rack wasn't in the slots properly needless to say the pan hit the floor and the turkey bounced out of the pan, basting slowly on the kitchen floor. Who knew turkeys bounced? I didn't know what to do..so I did the ten second rule, I picked that sucker up and put in back in to roast off the extra flavours it may have picked up!

I can't wait to try some or your chai recipes I love chai and couldn't live without my starbucks! YUM!

[Katie @ goodLife {eats}]

My worst disaster was my oven catching fire. I made a pound cake and I don't know what happened but the butter completely separated from the batter, then oozed over the sides and caught fire in the oven. I don't have the guts to try that recipe again. It was a stinky, smoky mess!

This quinoa looks great!

[Military Martha]

Love to find new things to make with quinoa. And, LOOOVEE tea infused recipes. From the tannins to the subtle flavor -- so good!

[Sarah]

I once used three tablespoons of salt for biscuits instead of teaspoons- HUGE difference. They were ridiculously salty.

[Dave C]

smitten kitchen's pecan pie bars, and the pan wasn't deep enough. Eggy sugary goo started leaking all over the oven. The smell was...well....unforgettable.

At least the bars still turned out okay...

[Sarah Sahmit]

My biggest mishap was thinking that decorating Christmas cookies with a three year old would be fun. I found candy balls and sugar sprinkles for months afterward.

My husband and I actually made a quinoa salad this summer and it was pretty good but this one sounds much better!

[ronnie]

Using tea in a vinaigrette - yum! The first(and last) time I made biscotti was a disaster. In retrospect, probably played with the dough too long. My biscotti had the texture and flavor of what I can only assume concrete would be like! From that I learned baking is a science to be respected and, unless you have the experience of Dorie Greenspan, follow directions carefully!

[aly]

i'm honestly not a quinoa fan in general, it always tasted too grainy for me. (for that same reason, i can't get behind cous cous) -but this looks delicious, and god knows i could use some more healthy food this summer!
i've had crazy kitchen mishaps -- most memorable is in college, when i tried to warm up leftover chinese takeout spare ribs - and didn't remember to take them out of the foil bag. they lit on fire and i melted a hole in the microwave!!!
i so so want that prize!
PS: am fan on FB, twitter, and IN LIFE.

[BK]

Kitchen mishap, huh? Well, normally I just OWN the kitchen, but about 4 years ago, while trying to carve up 5 day old baguette, I sliced my right index finger right open!!

Wheeee! A Med Center visit, and a handful of stitches later, I now make sure to tuck my fingers in. Ha!

[Nancy Troske]

This salad looks exactly like something I had in mind for dinner tonight! Can't wait to try it!

[Bonnie Rosen]

I am not sure if I am adventurous enough to try the Quinoa but it sure looks good and sounds healthy.

My most memorable kitchen mishap was during a large family holiday dinner. Everyone was gathered in the dining room as I was taking things out of the oven and placing them on serving platters. I have a very small kitchen and this can be a little tricky when I am making a lot of food at once... Suddenly there was a huge explosion. I had placed a pretty blue pyrex dish on top of the stove and I think the burner must have been on. It was pretty scary, glass was everywhere and I was depressed that my beautiful carrot dish was ruined. I cleaned up the huge mess and apologized to my guests who were sitting in stunned silence. Later I asked my husband if I had said the F word and he assured me that I didn't. Pheew.

[alexa - cleveland's a plum]

i've never cooked with quinoa either but enjoyed it every time i've ever had it - your recipe sounds delicious!

as for my worst kitchen mishap... hmmm, its probably nothing to dramatic more like simply over cooking things on accident like pasta or chicken.

[Alanna Kellogg]

"Blue frosting". Nuff said? I was about eight. Good luck gathering comments!

[beyond]

years ago my roommate and i would make bananas in the oven. bananas, butter, cinnamon. once i mistakenly used cayenne instead of cinnamon and we didn't notice until we both had our mouths full of peppery spicy banana. not my greatest mishap ever, but still.

[erin]

Yum!

[jane]

my most memorable kitchen mishap was the morning of a baby shower I was co-hosting - I was trying to make blueberry muffins and accidentally doubled the milk. with a few modifications I decided it might make for a good blueberry bread, and sure enough it totally came out. just in time for the party! :)

[AC]

favorite food is baklava

[elle michelle]

First, that recipe looks AMAZING.

Second, you already know my worst kitchen mishap... It was the time I set myself on fire while boiling water. Dress + Spices Over the Stove = STOP, DROP AND ROLL. Brings back horrific memories. Side note: Why didn't my smoke detector go off? I mean, I was essentially shooting flames out of my crotch.

Shudder. If you want to relive it, the tale is here: http://ellemichelleunedited.blogspot.com/2010/03/time-i-set-myself-on-fire-for-serious.html

Good luck, lady.

[Anna M]

I haven't had a kitchen myself, but I did have to eat the pumpkin pie my father forgot to put sugar in..... Decidedly undelicious.

[ErinsFoodFiles]

What an incredibly new & intriguing way to make a quinoa salad! Bookmarking NOW! This will be made sometime next month when my quinoa loving friend comes back to town.

[Heather Trabucco]

no majoy kitchen mishaps...so....
my fave food right now is a lovely dish called 'Apples & Oats'. it's like apple crisp, but has this crunchy healthy oatmeal topping instead of the flour/sugar/butter combo. totally delish!

[alexandra]

How interesting! I would never think to make a vinaigrette with Chai tea. This sounds delicious!!

[Thor]

it's hard to say one item that is my favorite...but i love asian food! and my favorite fruit is durian! yum!

also, just followed you on twitter!

[Jackie]

I love quinoa and this recipe looks perfect for apple season!

[Kiya]

Looks pretty good, will have to try.

[Chris Perrin]

My biggest mishap was the first time I cooked dinner for my not-yet-wife. I was making my signature lasagna and my oven caught fire. It was not cool.

Oh, and I follow you on twitter. :)

[Barbara P]

Can't think of one specific mishap, but I am famous for burning things!! Anyway, due to a recent tummy ailment, I had to lay of coffee for awhile, and have recently really gotten into tea. I'm looking forward to trying different kinds.

[Dana]

I have a bowl of cooked red quinoa sitting in my fridge - what a wonderful way to use it up! My worst mishap was when I left a small pot filled with honey and lavender on the stove. I also had a rubber spatula in there and by the time I realized that the house was filled with smoke, the pan was totally destroyed and the air was filled with the smell of burnt rubber. The spatula had totally disintegrated. All the smoke alarms went off in my house and the fire department called me. Good times.

[DesignerForever]

When I was younger, my most common mishap (and I did it numerous times), was that I would just open the oven and pull out what I was baking without a potholder! I really don't know what I was thinking (obviously not thinking). Should I tell you I was superwoman one halloween also? Recently, I blew up 2 pieces of frozen salmon with skin on, in the microwave while I was supposedly defrosting them. What a mess! Flying at the speed of light doesn't work well in a kitchen.

[Kevin E]

Oh man, I tried to make this Chinese dish and it ended up tasting TERRIBLE. Since then, I've kept it very, very simple.

[Jennifer]

How about throwing cilantro into a chicken dish instead of parsley? Kind of ridiculous and no clue where my head was at! The salad looks delish Maris. :)

[Lori @ RecipeGirl]

Most memorable kitchen mishap... that's an easy one. Mother's Day quite a few years back, I was making a very expensive lobster quiche and trying to impress my in-laws. The quiche was made in the blender, I stuck a wooden spoon in the blender to stir it up while blending, the blades caught the spoon and there were splinters everywhere. It was embarrassing to say the least!

[Sarah C]

First year of marriage, on a student budget. Manager's special steaks that tasted so bad and old, and potatoes that spent 20 minutes in the microwave and still were hard. We had to get value meal dinner at a fast food place instead. It was a disaster.

[Sarah C]

I like you on FB as sarah linette, and on Twitter as duckybunny

[Alan Fleming]

This looks and sounds delicious. I've got to gather the ingredients!

[Kristen]

Delicious, Maris!

[kat]

I love cooking with chai & quinoa too, such a yummy idea. I'm trying to think of my worst kitchen mishap & nothing springs to mind so I'll tell you Matt's. He was cooking a chicken on the rotisserie grill for my parents & apparently hadn't cleaned the grill well enough. When he opened the grill top to check on the chicken he discovered the whole inside including the chicken was engulfed in flames. We had to use the fire extinguisher on it & go buy a cooked chicken at the grocery store.

[Kim Kellogg]

My favorite food is chicken parmesan. I usually make it with pasta, caesar salad, and some garlic bread. We usually have this as our Sunday dinner once a month.

[Dana Heller]

We will definitely try the chai dressing. I discovered quinoa years ago through my local health food coop, and it is wonderfully versatile. Thanks for these suggestions, as always.

[Meagan]

As a witness to this in the making, I have to say it turned out delicious!

[stephanie krol]

I love Chai Tea so will be excited to try this tasty recipe! Yum.

[khalidah]

I can't wait to try it.

[Steve]

The Crunchy Red Quinoa Salad with Chai Tea Vinaigrette sounds great. We'll have to try it. As for a kitchen mishap I was putting an almost cooked spiral ham back in the oven an missed the rack. The ham and everything that goes with it ended up on the oven door and in the drawers underneath. Quite a mess, and yet the ham turned out ok.

[Doniree]

Hmm... kitchen mishaps? I burned chocolate cookies over the weekend, ha! It's been awhile since I've done any baking...

[Doniree]

I liked you on Facebook :) Also, I've seen a lot of great quinoa recipes around lately and have wanted to post them on my food blog - mind if I include this one?

[Doniree]

I also already follow you on Twitter, my dear :)

[John Chi]

My mom makes the best potato dish!

[Heather]

I frosted a cake with shortening. I was a kid!

[Joanne]

This is excellent Maris! I love your savory spin on it...a vinaigrette is such an inventive way to go!

My worst kitchen mishap was the first time I tried to make fettuccine alfredo in college. I had just been cooking the fettuccine and strained it. Mixed in the sauce. As I went to pour it into one of those big plastic ziploc containers for storage, I smelled burning plastic. I had put the container on the still-hot burner and it had melted! That was one seriously ruined dish.

[John]

Love Tazo tea..especially the one in the purple paper with licorice root. Rich flavor, doesn't need any sweetner. And Quinoa...more people should discover it. Great grain without the carb crash I get from too much rice and bread. Salad you describe sounds really refreshing for summer.

[Travis]

I was making choc. chip cookies w/ my mom and accidentally dumped the entire bottle of vanilla extract in. oops! I tried to hide it and just kept making them. Needless to say, they had a bit of a strong vanilla flavor to them. Mom threw them out.

BTW, I LOVE chai tea, but not the watery American kind. I just found Tipu's Chai, an authentic Indian chai that's organic. Definitely worth a try!

[Natalie (The Sweets Life)]

hmm probably the time I was making poppyseed bread(recipe here:http://www.thesweetslife.com/2010/05/poppyseed-bread.html) and forgot to add the poppyseeds until I had already put it in the oven! I opened the oven, mixed in some poppyseeds, and out came a bread with giant poppyseed craters :)

[Janel Gradowski]

I actually did the leaving the giblet bag in the turkey thing, a long time ago.

I love quinoa and the chai vinaigrette sounds like a wonderful dressing for it.

[chris motamed]

Salad sounds great. I know Tom and his Dad were trying to cook a Thanksgiving turkey and put it in oven legs down !!!

[Hal]

Salad sounds yummy and refreshing -- I am forwarding this recipe to my wife for us to make together. Never tried Red Quinoa, and I really do enjoy Tazo Chai tea, as well as all the other ingredients, so I am looking forward to try it. Something a little different for a change.

[Erika Peterson]

Greatest kitchen mishap? Starting a recipe without reading through the whole thing, which required some kitchen equipment that I didn't own. Plan B? Go buy new kitchen equipment before the ingredients go bad!

Great recipe!

[sensiblecooking]

My mishap was I was roasting some chickpeas for my salad. It was supposed to be roasted on high heat and kept close eye on it. But friends came and we started gossiping. The chickpeas were over cooked. well tried from honey to sea salt nothing worked. Tasted one and rest was for garbage.
The salad really looks good. I am defiantly make it tonight.

[Sues]

I've been dying to use red quinoa! This looks seriously awesome. Also, this is an amazing giveaway... I've been obsessed with tea lately and Tazo is definitely high up there on the list.

As for a kitchen mishap, I seriously think I block most of them out! But my mom recently bought me a cupcake tin that makes flower-shaped cupcakes. I made them for a party and instead of flowers, they looked like giant blobs. Sigh. I went out and bought a fruit tart instead.

I follow you on @wearenotmartha and @susie :)

[Molly Simons]

Hi!! I live on the Delaware coast, and my most memorable kitchen mishap was when a seagull flew in through my open window when I was making an all-organic lunch consisting of my special homemade chicken salad! It knocked all of my pots and pans down and my kitten just about went crazy! My favorite food is sushi...and as for my favorite drink? Tazo chai tea!

[Maryann Fleming]

I love quinoa so I can wait to try this recipe.

[Cecile Yasay]

Innovative way to use chai tea (a favorite of mine) in a salad dressing. A must try!

As for worst kitchen mishap, we were steaming live crabs in a steamer and did not close the lid properly. We had a live crab jump out of the pot and hide under the kitchen cabinets for a week, and once in a while, it would remind us that it was still alive. Creepy!

[Alina]

I am eager to try this recipe. I loved the chilled avocado soup Maris posted a few months ago, and I am sure I won't be disappointed with this one.

[Charlene]

Well, my biggest kitchen mishap occurred when I put in a homeade pizza, stone and all and closed the oven and accidently hit the self clean button instead of the timer -needless to say I tried everything to get the dang thing open - I had to call my dad who told me that we could try unplugging it, but even that did not work - for three hours, I had to open every window and door in the house, I took the batteries out of the smoke detectors and prayed that the oven and house wouldn't catch on fire - Luckily the only thing lost was a piece of my sanity and the pizza that was now dust. Boy, I learned my lesson and now take my time and pay attention to what I am doing. I really enjoy your blog and the recipes are so great and healthy - I look forward to trying the quinoa, not long ago I had quinoa in a macaroni/cheese like dish and it was quite delicious. Enjoy your week and keep creating, cooking and blogging.
Charlene

[thatShortChick]

my worst kitchen mishap involves making hot chocolate, innocently enough. I tried warming up the milk (the old fashioned way) on the stove and ended up having it boil over and spill out, which led to burnt milk on a ceramic cooktop which was VERY difficult to clean up.

[lisa keys]

First, I love quinoa but have never seen the red variety. Definitely have to scope that out next time I am in the local health food store. My mishap was the day I tried to make a tuile type cookie that refused to leave the cookie sheet. The cookies and cookie sheet ended up in the trash.

[penny gupta]

yummo!

[Adrienne Thacher]

This looks amazing, definitely the next thing I make. I LOVE quinoa!!

[mandy]

I have never cooked quinoa, ever. This salad sounds delicious.

A memorable kitchen mishap. I wasnt paying attention once, at all, when I was making a blueberry coffee cake. Instead of flour I used powdered sugar which led to a sugary mess. I wanted to cry but a guy friend went to the store and came back with ice cream. We used the blue berry stuff as a topping and the evening was saved.

[Sarah]

I forgot that I was baking potatoes in the oven. They began to burn and smoked up my house. I smelled smoke and panicked...called 911. The fireman pulled the burnt potatoes out of my oven.