Bean Salad with Quinoa

I've never been a breakfast person, and it's interesting to watch my daughter become the splitting food-image of her mom as she chooses left-over spaghetti or fried leftover potatoes and a hamburger patty for breakfast.  Now that oatmeal, most cereals, french toast, and waffles (too much work to clean out the waffle iron after wheat pancakes) are not an option, I'm eating dinner for breakfast more often.  The one food combination that really seems to hit home and get me through the first few hours of my day is quinoa alongside bean salad.  I have to admit, when I was a little girl my mom would make bean salad for buffet meals and I was always so grossed out by the brown bits swimming in onion rounds.  I mean, who would eat beans voluntarily, and especially with ONIONS?  What always surprised me is that she'd bring an empty bowl home.  Adults.

Well, now that I've grown up, I'd like to share my own colourful, energy-giving recipe.  One friend gave me her version of this recipe (calls it a dip, and scoops it up with tortilla chips) and said that her brother makes it ahead of time and takes it, drained of oil and vinegar, out on camping/climbing trips.  Apparently his keeps for days.  All bean & veggie measurements are approximate, and if you like one item more than the other, definitely increase it.

Bean Salad (can use canned beans or fresh-then-boiled beans)

ingredients:
1 cup fresh, chopped (1 inch) green beans
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn kernels, drained
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I chop the slices in half, too)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 fat handful of thickly diced cilantro leaves--you'll want to season to your personal taste with this one

Steam green beans until almost cooked (they'll continue to soften in the liquid), remove from heat, let cool slightly.  Add the rest of the beans and veggies.

marinade:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup white vinegar (OR...3/4 cups apple cider vinegar if you want a sweeter salad)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan, bringing to boil until sugar and salt have dissolved.  Cool for a few minutes and then pour over mixed beans and veggies.  Let it sit for a few hours, or even better, overnight.  The same friend suggested draining off the liquid after 3 hours.  I tried it and agree that it tastes just as good after being soaked for at least 3 hours, without the extra moisture.

Prepare your quinoa like it says on the bag/box, but stir in a bit of gluten-free (dairy free) chicken stock powder to the water before adding to the grain.

The bean salad lasts for days, but only prepare enough quinoa for 2 days as it tends to 'grow' or sprout over time, and it dries out after the second day.  I eat the salad and quinoa side by side, but others I've served it to have mixed it all up together.

Thanks for reading.