Abolition of the House of Lords Quinoa Salad

On March 19, 1649, the House of Commons passed an act abolishing the House of Lords, stating, "The Commons of England [find] by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England." Take that, nobility! Oh, but then it reconvened little more than ten years later, when the monarchy was restored. Those pesky aristocrats.

It's been freakishly summery here in B'klyn and the City. So a few days ago I made this simple, mostly raw salad. You could totally jazz it up with some apple cider vinegar and maybe like some, uh, I don't know.

INGREDIENTS

2/3 c. tri-color quinoa

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 mango, peeled and cubed or diced

1/2 cucumber, chopped or diced

1 avocado, chopped

grapeseed oil

nutritional yeast

juice of 1/4 lemon

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook quinoa

2. Toss everything together

My review of Nic Cage's new film isn't soft.

110 MPH Salad

According to the Internet, yesterday Ryan Dunn "of Jackass fame" drove into a tree at 110 MPH while intoxicated. There are probably a bunch of really distasteful jokes on Twitter.

This salad was good. This guacamole was better. And this sweet potato medallions. I intended to use 1 c. quinoa for the salad but ran out and decided to top off the measuring cup with red lentils. Whatever works!

makes approx. 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 15-oz. can black beans

1 c. quinoa and red lentils, in roughly equal proportion

1 mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

bunch o' cilantro, chopped

cumin

chipotle chili powder

juice of at least 1 lime

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simmer the quinoa and red lentils for 15-20 min.

2. Toss everything together.