Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl...Salad

Some of my gal pals are really into the no-salad-salad, as they call it. The no-salad-salad is basically a big bowl of salady stuff that isn't leafy green and lettuce-like. They throw in a whole bunch of veggies, beans, and baby corn. 

Ugh. Can I tell you something? I hate baby corn. It totally freaks me out. When I was a little kid I loved it...until one time, at a fancy restaurant (ahem, it was the O'Callahan's restaurant at the Shilo Inn in The Dalles, OR... which I thought was like, the fanciest of fancy...it wasn't) I yoinked a baby corn off of Mel's plate when she wasn't looking, and it was pickled or something, and it tasted awful, and I threw up. I've been super anti baby corn ever since that day. PS. this is totally not food-blog friendly, but I have a lot of stories that end with "and then I threw up." 

But I digress, this post really has nothing to do with baby corn or my wimpy stomach. It's all about no-salad-salad.

So anyway, whenever I try to make the standard no-salad-salad, I feel like it doesn't come out quite as good as when my friends do it. It feels like a big, jumbled, incoherent mess. That's why I like themed no-salad-salads. Like Greek-style salads loaded with chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives. Or, my favorite: a no-salad-salad with southwest flair. Otherwise known as a burrito bowl. Can we just call it a Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl…Salad? 

This one has so much goodness in it: sweet corn fresh off the cob (not the baby variety, thankyouverymuch), avocado, green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, black beans, and cotija cheese, all doused with fresh squeezed lime juice. You could definitely eat this as is. Or you could make it even better by tossing it with quinoa and a creamy southwest sauce. I vote you do that. I vote you do that right now. 

Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl Salad

Serves 4

Creamy Southwest Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon of each: cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano

Splash hot sauce (I use Tapatio) 

Juice from half a lime

Salt & pepper to taste

For sauce, whisk together sour cream through hot sauce, until smooth and creamy. Save the other lime half for salad. Salt & Pepper to taste. 

Salad 

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 large tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced

Fresh corn off the cob from 1 ear

2-3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup crumbled cotija cheese

Juice from half a lime

Creamy Southwest Sauce

Cook quinoa: Rinse until water runs clear, drain. Add to a medium pot with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and cool before mixing with salad. 

Stir together black beans through cotija cheese, and toss with lime juice. Add cooled quinoa, and stir until just combined (gently, so you don't moosh up the avocado). Salt and pepper to taste. To eat, either mix in the sauce, or add sauce to each serving. 

Sour (Ice) Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for… sour cream? That’s right, sour cream…ice cream. Believe it or not, it’s delicious. Even a little addicting. It’s tangy, a little sweet, and ah.may.zing.. Especially with a slice of fruit pie. Or on its own. I’m actually eating a dish of it…right this very second. And by a dish of it, I mean the entire container.

Sure, if you think about the fact that you’re shoveling spoonful after spoonful of sour cream into your mouth, then it’s kinda weird. But when you taste it…{swoon} you’ll throw all those weird feelings out the window, because—trust me—you’ll want nothing more than to devour every last scoop of this frozen wonder, and then even lick the bowl clean.

Since this ice cream doesn’t have an eggy-custard base, it’s a breeze to make (with an ice cream maker). I usually decide to make ice cream about 1 hour before I want to serve it (or eat it by myself, hoping Evan won’t walk in as I’m tilting the ice cream freezer toward my mouth) so bases that have to be cooked and the chilled before churning generally don’t work out for me. If with nothing else in life, I’m at least spontaneous with my ice cream maker.  

 PS. Evan hates sour cream and refuses to try this. If you know sour cream haters, first consider whether or not you still want to be friends with them (because that’s just crazy), and then offer them some tangy vanilla ice cream. Feel free to break the news to them after their 3^rd serving.

MmmmHMMMM… who hates sour cream now, sucker?

Sour Cream Ice Cream

Inspired by Food Network

1 pound sour cream

1 cup half and half

1 cup sugar

Juice of 1 small lime

1 teaspoon vanilla

*ice cream machine

Whisk together sour cream and half-and-half, then add the sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Once combined, churn in an ice cream machine. If it’s still runny, freeze to harden before serving.