Quinoa-green bean salad with mint-date dressing (vegan)

The last three weeks or so have been very indulgent. First Sam was visiting, and we patronized multiple restaurants and cooked various unhealthy meaty, fatty things. Then I drove across the country, and along the way we seemed to find the best food in every town: Delicious Thai in Chicago! Best steak of my life in Omaha! Gluten-free pizza in Moab! Best bacon ever in Utah! More Thai in Laguna Beach! Plus, you know, a couple bars of Dairy Milk in the car and lots of butter on my toast in the morning and....

Anyway, now that I am back in my domicile and the life of cooking-for-one, I am trying to get back into eating the way I like to think of myself eating: not a lot of meat, plenty of seasonal vegetables, and some whole grains for good measure.

This dish fit the bill quite well. By the way, I originally thought I was buying shell peas at the farmers market, only to bring a basket home and try to shell them and discover that they were certainly not shell peas. They may not even be green beans, but close enough, right?

I completely forgot to take pictures of this dish, so I hope these pictures of the Southwest will suffice:

Quinoa-green bean salad with mint-date dressing (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

About two cups green beans, washed, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 cup fresh mint leaves

2 or 3 dried dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

Juice of half a lemon

Zest of whole lemon

1/2 small serrano pepper (can remove seeds and veins to reduce spiciness)

Dump the water and quinoa in a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, and simmer until all the water is absorbed and you can see the little white ribbon in each grain.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook the green beans a little longer than blanching - about 2 minutes. The beans will turn bright green and will float up to the top of the water. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Puree the mint, dates, lemon juice and zest, and pepper in a food processor or blender until thoroughly combined and paste-like. Dilute with a little water until the mixture is more of a dressing consistency.

Combine the beans and quinoa, either in a serving bowl or in individual bowls, and top with dressing.