Green Pepper Duel, Pt. 2

This was my second attempt at finding a recipe for green peppers that I could stomach. There's so much going on in this salad (figs! cucumbers! feta!) that I could barely taste them, which is exactly what I was aiming for. They offered a much-needed crunchy counterbalance to the softer figs and cucumbers, but otherwise disappeared. I'm going to declare victory on this one. I got the inspiration for this salad from this recipe, but used a different vegetable combination (and some feta cheese).

A note on quinoa: it's not only a "super food," it tastes great, too. It's got a nutty flavor that mixes well with lots of different vegetables and cheeses, and a quinoa salad will hold up for a few days in the fridge, which makes it perfect for making on a Sunday for a few day's worth of lunch.



Total time to cook: 25 minutes (including time to cook quinoa)

Ingredients:
3/4-1 cup finely diced green pepper (about half of one medium pepper)
2 baby cucumbers, cut in half length-wise and then sliced (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup crumbled farmhouse feta (it's a little milder than other feta)
2 cups cooked quinoa (my grocery store doesn't have quinoa, so I have to buy a box of a quinoa/brown rice blend)
3/4 cup chopped figs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Steps:
- Prepare the quinoa, however you want to do it, and then set aside to cool - while mine is cooking, I season it with some black pepper and dried basil.
- Once the quinoa is cool, mix in the peppers, cucumbers, figs and feta cheese.
- Mix in the olive oil and lemon juice.
- Serve chilled.