Quinoa, cucumber, and tomato salad

Soak quinoa 1/2 hr. Rinse well. Cook in rice cooker - 1 c. quinoa 2 1/2 c. water.

Marinade:
2 limes, squeeze juice out
2 garlic, minced
about 1/4 c. olive oil
salt to taste

Add to quinoa:
fresh cucumber and tomatoes
whatever fresh herbs on hand ( I did basil one day and cilantro and mint another)
ripe avocado chunks

Add leftover roast chicken cut ups to make it a meal.

Roast Chicken

I cooked my first Chicken roast this week and I was pretty excited about it. I bought a Free Range, whole chicken from Whole Foods, marinated for a day in lime juice, olive oil and cilantro.

When I was ready to cook it, I preheated oven to 450. I rinsed chicken off and dried it. Then I smeared a paste over whole chicken. Paste: 2-3 T butter, 2 t. flour, and lots of salt and pepper.

I put chicken on a rack on top of a baking sheet that would collect drippings. (I guess it's better for the chicken not to sit in its oil.) Then I put it in oven, uncovered. I baked it at 450 for 10 min. then I reduced heat to 325 and roasted it another 1 1/2 hr to 2 hr. depending on size. I put a therometer in between thigh and main chicken and waited til it got to about 170-180. I wasn't sure I placed the therometer in right place, but it seemed done after an hour and a half and it tasted pretty close to the rotisserie chickens at Costco (that's kind of what I was going for).

I love eating the yummy skin right afterwards!! Enjoy!