Cranberry Squash Quinoa Salad

It's been quite a while since I posted, sorry.  Between finals, new job, back to school again and trying to spend time doing things I love, I've found very little opportunity to experiment with cooking (and blog about it).  What I have been doing very diligently is making lunches for work that are easy to throw together.  Trying to find something you can eat for a week without getting sick of hasn't been as challenging as expected.  This has included a million bean chili, extravagant salads, curry and lots of mexican themed "shit in a bowl with cilantro and cholula".  My personal favorite thus far has been this quinoa salad.   Quinoa has a higher protein content than sausage and it's pretty well known is has a portion of magic as well. Anyways,

Cranberry Squash Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, any color
1 butternut squash, or equivalent winter squash
1 cup cranberries
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped

~3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
dash of salt

Cook the quinoa - I have a rice maker, so I don't have experience with the complexities of this step, all I understand is two parts water, one part quinoa and click the button.  "They" say its best to let it soak before you cook: boring, it tastes fine without.

Sauté onions and squash for a couple minutes then add cranberries and chopped parsley and let cook for maybe 5 minutes then combine this mix with the cooked quinoa.  Mix together the vinegar, oil, mustard and salt in a small dish and pour over the quinoa and squash.  Adding a bit of lemon juice can be nice.  Add extra vinegar to your taste.

It's worth mentioning that adding some cooked kale in the mix could be tasty.  Although I don't ever eat kale by choice, only when its around and its going to go bad.  I'm constantly in the market for a recipe that could change this, so if you find one let me know.  Enjoy.