My niece, Lisa came up with this won­der­ful salad. Bright­ened with pis­ta­chios and cran­ber­ries, the quinoa pro­vides a nice punch of pro­tein. This a won­der­ful side for a Frit­tata brunch or along­side a nour­ish­ing But­ter­nut Squash Soup. It’s great served warm, but left­over in the fridge, it’s still good the next day.

Prep time: 20 min­utes
Total time: 30 min­utes
Yield: 8–10 side servings

7 oz. (1 bag) arugula (I use baby arugula)
2 oz. spinach (about 1 hand­ful)
2 cups hot quinoa
1 cucum­ber, skinned, quar­tered length­wise and sliced
3 scal­lions sliced thin
1/2 c. toasted, salted pis­ta­chios
1/2 c. dried cran­ber­ries
about 1 tsp. salt (divided)
pep­per to taste
your favorite vinai­grette

1. Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add 1 c. quinoa and 1/2 tsp. salt, bring back to a boil, cover, and cook over medium heat for 12 min­utes until quinoa has absorbed all the water. Remove from heat, fluff, cover and let stand for 15 min­utes. (Makes about 4 cups).
2. Mean­while, add the greens to a salad bowl, along with cucum­ber, scal­lions and cran­ber­ries. Set aside.
3. Once it has rested, add 2 cups hot quinoa to the greens (which will slightly wilt them). Driz­zle 2–3 T vinai­grette over entire salad, sprin­kle with pis­ta­chios, 1/2 tsp. salt and a grind­ing of pep­per. Toss and serve imme­di­ately or at room temperature. The left­over 2 cups of quinoa will keep for about a week to be used in more salad, or in a tasty Tabouli.