A Cookable Feast

Hello, all! It’s May, and it’s maybe almost summer here in Michigan, and summer means fresh, healthful salads like this Arugula and Quinoa Salad with Feta, Blueberries, and Pecans!

It’s been two weeks since I’ve last posted, and I’m glad to be back in the game! Life has been a little crazy lately, but when is it not in this day and age for most of us, really? I let myself fall out of the habit of recipe creation and felt The Resistance – that dreaded force that plagues so many of us creatives – looming larger and larger. The longer I waited to try a draft of a recipe, the more daunting a task it felt.

Last night, I finally coaxed myself into trying a first draft of a vegan dessert recipe I’ve wanted to attempt for weeks. The result: a resounding FAIL. Draft 2 would require some prep work; I’d need at least a day or two to get back at it. I was discouraged.

Finally I decided this morning that if I wanted to get a post up, anything would do, really. That’s the kind of thing I have to tell myself as a recovering perfectionist. Perfect is the enemy of the good, right? (Any recovering perfectionists with me on that?) So I got up early and dragged myself to the grocery store, intending to pick up a few things for a granola recipe I had in mind – until a more tantalizing idea hit.

What about a salad, with fresh blueberries . . . and pecans . . . and arugula – of course arugula. And some quinoa. And my lemon vinaigrette.

OK, NOW we’re talking!

Arugula and Quinoa Salad with Feta, Blueberries, and Pecans was born. I got it in one take, and it tastes delicious, and this post is going up just in time for TGIF tomorrow, and YAY! it’s a tiny personal victory between me and The Resistance. Take a hike, Resistance!

Tiny victories are where it’s it; we’ve gotta celebrate them! And creating anything in the face of creative inertia is really a mighty victory, when you think about how powerful The Resistance can be. So pat yourself on the back whenever you get past it. It’ll probably be there tomorrow, but all that’s important today is that you’ve held it at bay for one more day. Please feel free to post any tiny or mighty victories you’ve achieved against creative resistance or the other baddie forces in your life in the comments field below, and we’ll all celebrate along with you!

Back to the most important matter at hand here: the recipe for Arugula and Quinoa Salad with Feta, Blueberries, and Pecans. Considering that this is my fourth arugula salad this year (it’s obvi one of my 2017 obsessions) and that several of my salad recipes incorporate this lemon vinaigrette – and feta, too, while we’re at it – this Arugula and Quinoa Salad with Feta, Blueberries, and Pecans is not one of my most earth-shatteringly original ideas. But Perfect is the Enemy of the Good (There’s that mantra again!). And this salad is delicious, I must say. I mean, you can’t go wrong with any dish that includes fresh blueberries AND peppery arugula AND savory feta AND crunchy pecans – and QUINOA!

Isn’t quinoa THE BEST in a salad? It adds this delightful extra something, this chewiness, this texture – not to mention, it’s doing its healthful beautiful quinoa thing by providing our bodies with ample protein and fiber and amazing vitamins and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and manganese.

And fresh blueberries . . .. Fresh berries always feel like a treat to me when they work themselves into my diet. They’re generally not cheap, but their delicate tart-sweetness and antioxidant-packed power make them worth the splurge. And as we move into summer, they’ll be coming into season here in the Northern Hemisphere before we know it.

I have only good things to say about ALL of the ingredients in this recipe, notwithstanding the lemon vinaigrette, which would brighten even the gloomiest of foods with its tangy, zesty sweetness. Yes, this Arugula and Quinoa Salad with Feta, Blueberries, and Pecans is a GLOOM-FREE-ZONE!

OK, on to the recipe and sunny almost-summer-y goodness!