10 picnic ideas for the Fourth of July

A festive twist to some summertime favorites will make your patriotic picnic complete. 

4. Quinoa, corn, and feta salad with fresh herbs

Garden of Eating
Nothing says corn like summer. Keep a couple ears of grilled corn on hand to toss in salads, like this one!

By Eve Fox, Garden of Eating

Quinoa, corn & feta salad with fresh herbs
Serves 4 as a side

1-1/2 cups quinoa
2-1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
1/4 to 1/2 cup (the more the better, I think) coarsely chopped fresh herbs – you can use oregano, basil, cilantro, thyme, parsley, marjoram, mint, etc.,
Juice of half a lemon
1-2 cups cooked corn kernels (grilled is the tastiest)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese – I would choose a harder/drier variety over one of the softer ones
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Cook the quinoa: bring a medium-large pot of water to a boil; while it's heating up, rinse the quinoa in several changes of water and drain thoroughly. Once the water reaches a boil, add the quinoa, stir, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat or until you see the little curly white tail of the quinoa grains emerge. If there is too much liquid, leave the lid off for the last few minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in a few tablespoons of olive oil and set it aside to cool with the lid off.

2. If you don't have cooked corn kernels on hand, use the time that the quinoa is cooking to grill your corn – get the simple directions here – two ears should be plenty. Once it's cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cobs and set aside.

3. Wash, dry and chop the herbs. Combine the quinoa, corn, herbs, and lemon juice with a little more olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the crumbled feta cheese and toss to combine.

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4 of 10

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