Black quinoa salad with avocado and lemon-cumin viniagrette

One of the things I got in my CSA box was a group of four fresh-off-the-tree avocados. Not wanting to waste such goodness on mere guacamole, I opted instead for a quinoa salad.

I used black quinoa, but red or white will do just fine. To the quinoa I added the four chopped avocados, a few chopped dried apricots, some sliced almonds, and a little garlic powder. In a separate bowl, I zested one lemon, then added the juice from half the lemon, along with cumin and smoked paprika. I whisked in a few tablespoons of olive oil, and poured that onto the quinoa salad and mixed it all up well, along with salt and pepper to taste. Some fresh scallions or chives would have gone very nicely, as well. I also added a handful of edamame (but quinoa, since it has all eight amino acids, is a complete protein--so adding edamame was nutritional overkill. Tasty, though).

Cost: 40 cents for the cup of quinoa, let's say 50 cents each for the avocados (those are California prices), another 50 cents for the handful of edamame, and 50 cents for everything else. Around $2.00 total, for two full adult servings. Bonus: SUPER-healthy.