Another Tomato Centric Dish

I went to the Santa Monica farmer's market today before Bar Method and picked up even more tomatoes; I think I've bought over 20 lbs of tomatoes over the last few weeks, just because they've been so good. All varieties; heirlooms, early girl, vine ripened. I also bought some bicolor corn, more basil and summer squash that was pretty cheap at 75 cents per pound. Grapes looked really good at the farmer's market, with more organic selections and cheaper too. I was tempted by the melons, but as I was on my bike, I didn't feel like lugging the melons home. It's definitely my favorite time of year at the market. We've gone entirely vegetarian this week so far and we haven't missed meat at all. The weather has been so warm, it just feels like we should be eating lighter (and drinking lots of cold beer and white wine).

I made the tomato grilled corn quinoa salad a few days ago, using the cherry tomatoes from my parents' backyard which has been very prolific this year. With some freshly grilled corn, cilantro, lime, cumin and green onions, it's a very summery and healthy dish. It also keeps well in the fridge for lunch the next day. I got the recipe from an excellent article on grain salads from the LA Times a few weeks back; we've made all three of the grain salads, including the pearl barley, mushroom, and roasted peppers salad, and they are all very good and a nice change as we are trying to move away from all the rice we usually eat with every meal. The salad went well with the vegan Mexican pizza that I made again, as well as a very refreshing glass of Avery's DuganA IPA, one of my favorite beers from the grilled cheese and beer tasting at Andrew's Cheese Shop.

Quinoa, Grilled Corn, Tomato and Cilantro Salad, adapted from the LA Times

• Cook 1 cup of quinoa: rinse, then toast in a pan until dry, about 5 minutes, add 1 3/4 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt, bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 30 minutes. Uncover, let it cool for 10 minutes, and then fluff with a fork
• While the quinoa is cooking, grill 2 ears of corn and shave it off the cobb and put in a bowl. Thinly slice 5 green onions, half 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, and put in the same bowl. Combine with the quinoa. Mince a large bunch of cilantro and set aside
• For the dressing, whisk together 1 clove of minced garlic, juice from 1 lime, 2 tsp of cumin, 2 TB of olive oil
• Toss the quinoa and dressing together, then add the cilantro. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper

Really nice IPA. A touch of creaminess that keeps it from being overly bitter