Our power went out last night. And with it went our fans and window AC unit.
Aka, our only reprieves from the 100+ degree day.
There was no breeze, either, for us to coax through our windows. All along our block, lights and air conditioners were out.
One block over? Full power. This is why I need to befriend the neighbors who are nearby but not on our block, clearly. So we have someplace to go when the power goes out.
There was only one solution: go out for ice cream to take advantage of their air conditioning and treats. Nothing sounded better than cooling ourselves both inside and out.
Apparently, our neighbors and everyone else who needed a break from the heat had the same idea, so the line was long. I didn’t mind. More time to stand in the nice cold air before heading home!
Luckily, our big desserts were balanced out by a nice and light dinner earlier in the night.
Summer Vegetable Quinoa
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 medium zucchini, diced
4 small bell peppers, chopped
Fresh basil, sea salt, grated Parmesan and/or additional olive oil, for topping
In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Cover and bring to a boil, then remove the lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.
In the meantime, warm the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and starting to brown around the edges.
Toss the quinoa with the vegetables. Serve topped with fresh basil leaves, grated Parmesan, coarse sea salt and/or additional olive oil.
Hope the power comes back on soon for you Julie! We’ve been making due w/out AC here but I can’t imagine how bad it would be without fans.
Luckily, it came back on around 11 pm, but that little time without ventilation made a huge difference. It is still at least 85F in here!
And, how have you been? I haven’t talked to you in so long!
I love how fresh and cool this dish looks. Perfect for any summer dinner and leftovers for lunch too! Hope your power went back on!
It did, thankfully! I think I’m going to try the leftovers cold for lunch!
oh mah gosh! that would be brutal!! at least you have this bomb recipe to keep cool! looks amazing
This looks great! And even better when it’s followed by ice cream
Agreed!
Yum, I am making something just like this tonight!
So good and SO easy!
This sounds great! What a great way to use summer veggies!!! MMM… I recently got some Himalayan pink salt from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com and I’ll have to try it out in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
How many servings is this?
3-4 as an entree, 6-8 as a side!