Last fall, I wrote about my night at the Residence Inn, courtesy of Residence Inn by Marriott, which was reaching out to blogging parents for feedback and ideas. I mentioned the company’s LGBT friendliness—a friendliness they’ve reinforced by naming chef and lifestyle entrepreneur Cat Cora their “Resident Mom Of The Year 2013,” and by mentioning “She resides in Santa Barbara, CA, with her wife and four sons” in their press release about it.
As part of her relationship with Residence Inn, Cora has also created three unique and easy recipes that parents can quickly create in the full kitchens of Residence Inn hotel suites (or whenever they need to create a simple but tasty meal at home). I’ll be sharing them with you over the next few days. Let’s start with Curried Quinoa Salad Mediterranean.
Curried Quinoa Salad Mediterranean
by Cat CoraServes 4
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup fresh Kale, julienne
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 ½ cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup cucumber, peeled and diced
½ cup of Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1 tsp fresh mint, julienne
1 tsp yellow ground curry
2 limes, juiced
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup almonds, sliced and toasted
feta, crumbled on topIn a medium saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add crushed garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until brown. Add kale and saute quickly, continuing to stir for 2-3 minutes or until lightly wilted. Set aside. In a large bowl toss kale and all ingredients except almonds and feta with the cooked quinoa, season with salt and pepper and taste.
Garnish with almonds and feta cheese.
