The original recipe was found on the back of a box of quinoa. Since sweet potatoes are one of my favorite fall foods (especially with coconut and curry!), I substituted them for some of the original vegetable options. So this is my slightly different version …

Serves 4

 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium leek
1 medium sweet potato
1 medium zucchini
1 rib of celery
½ small yellow pepper
2 teaspoons curry
2 teaspoons cumin
1/3 cup uncooked white quinoa
2 cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cup cooked kidney beans
½ cup light coconut milk
fresh parsley or cilantro

Cut vegetables for a stew into medium to large pieces.
Heat a heavy bottom soup or casserole pot.
Add the oil and the leak.
When the leak is shiny, mix in the next vegetable and allow time for each to seal.
Mix ground spices into the vegetables.
Mix the quinoa with the vegetables, and then add water, salt, cinnamon, beans, and coconut milk.
Cover and simmer until quinoa drinks up the liquid, and vegetables are soft.
If desired, remove the cinnamon, blend, 1/3 of the stew and add back to the pot.
Garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley.

You'll find another quinoa recipe here.

This recipe (and the Lime Herb Dressing below) comes from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. I'm posting it here in response to the numerous requests I received after posting the photo of my version to my Facebook page. I followed the recipe exactly except for using red and green lettuces from my garden instead of the recommended meslun or romaine. Enjoy!

Yield: 1 serving

1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
2 teaspoons red onion, minced
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon jalapeno chile, minced or dash of cayenne
2 cups mesclun or shredded romaine lettuce
2 tablespoons Lime Herb Dressing

Place mango, avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and shile in a mixing bowl and toss gently.
Arrange the lettuce on a plate and drizzle with the Lime Herb Dressing.
Using a rubber spatula. mound the mango-avocado mixture in the center of the plate.
Serve immediately.

Yield: 3/4 cup, 4 servings

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, basil, dill, mint, tarragon, or oregano), minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic (1 clove), crushed
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
Dash of black pepper (optional)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the lemon juice, herbs, garlic, salt, mustard, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the olive oil and whisk again until well blended.
Store in a cruet or glass jar in the refrigerator.
Will keep for 5 days.

Variations
For Lime Herb Dressing: Replace the lemon juice with an equal amount of fresh lime juice.
For Spicy Cilantro Lime Dressing: Replace the lemon juice with an equal amount of the fresh lime juice. Use cilantro as the fresh herb. Add 1/8 teaspoon cayenne ans a dash of ground cumin.