Quinoa & Kale Salad

Original Version found here

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 10 leaves kale, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground (sea) salt
• 1 cup pecans (or your choice of nut)
• 1 cup currants
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

[Optional]

• 1 Avocado, peeled and diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• INSTEAD of currants, use cranberries (dried)
• INSTEAD of pecans, use sunflower seeds

Directions 

1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir quinoa into the boiling water, reduce heat to medium-low, place cover on the saucepan, and cook until water absorbs into the quinoa (12 min). Remove saucepan from heat and let rest covered for 5 minutes. Remove cover and allow quinoa to cool completely.
2. Put kale in a large mixing bowl.
3. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic pepper, and salt together in a bowl until oil emulsifies into the mixture; drizzle over kale. Add cooled quinoa, pecans, currants, and feta cheese to the dressed kale and toss to incorporate.

[Optional]

1. Allow kale to cook with quinoa (prior to cooling).
2. Add avocado, tomato, and cucumbers to the mixture.
3. Omit feta cheese if desired.