Happy 4th of July!

We are having family over, and we are grilling steaks as the main course. I also made one of my favorite recipes...Tabouleh. For those of you who have no idea what Tabouleh is, it is a cold salad usually made with bulgar wheat, vegetables and spices. Since bulgar is a grain that contains gluten, I substitute quinoa for the bulgar. Most Tabouleh recipes call for mint and parsley. I make mine a little different, and love how it tastes. I forgot to add the black olives when I made the batch this time. So they are not in the picture. Here is my recipe:

2 cups dry quinoa
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 large tomatoes, or 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 small can sliced black olives
3/4 cup olive oil
juice of 2 large lemons, or 3 small lemons
2 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

If possible, soak the quinoa in warm water with 2 tsp. of lemon juice overnight. This helps make the quinoa easier to digest. This step is not necessary, just helpful for those with digestive problems. If you soak the quinoa overnight, drain and rinse before cooking. If you do not soak the quinoa, make sure to rinse it well before you cook it. Place the quinoa in a large pan, and add 4 cups of water. Bring quinoa to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer. Cover with a lid, and cook for 20 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked through and the water is gone. Remove from heat and allow quinoa to cool.

Once quinoa is cooled, add the cucumbers, tomatoes, dried onions, cilantro and black olives in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Add to the quinoa mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to marinate.

**This recipe makes a very large amount. Recipe can be cut in half.

Besides the quinoa Tabouleh, I made a festive 4th of July fruit bars that are gluten and dairy free. The recipe for it is here: http://glutenfreefix.com/festive-fruit-bars/2506/ . I thought the bars turned out really pretty :). I can't wait to see how they taste! I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!