The Perfect Lunch: Quinoa Stuffed Cucumbers

Mother Nature is one funny lady.  She just blows through here one weekend with all her wintery might, forcing us to dig our our winter gloves and hats again.  Then, two weeks later it's 85 degrees and I'm realizing that I am way too pale to be donning a skirt with no nylons (apologies to my male readers, it's a girl thing).  As much as I LOVE the warm weather and am praying that it hangs around, I neglected to mention that when the temperature reaches, oh anything above 60, my tiny little apartment turns into a tiny little sauna (thank you very much old building with no air conditioner).  Normally, I can weather the heat impressively well but the second the stove switches on, this place goes from sauna to making you swear that you secured yourself a seat on the sun.

But as the old saying goes: If you can't take the heat.....


Not wanting to let a little heat stand in the way of me and my Small Boston Kitchen, I created a recipe with "cool" in mind.  Always on the quest to recycle recipe ideas and flip them around a little to make something new, (isn't cooking awesome?) I set out to make something exciting for me to enjoy for lunch tomorrow at work.  (I'll be honest though, I liked this dish so much that I actually had them for dinner as well.)  Playing off of my Quinoa Tabbouleh recipe, I created this dish.  Inspired by cool but perfect with a satisfying crunch that will perk up any lunch hour.  Oh summer, I cannot wait for your arrival.  (Now I just need to go out and get an air conditioner!)

Check out the recipe by clicking on the "Still hungry" link below:


Quinoa Stuffed Cucumbers

- 1 cucumber (I used an English cucumber for this.  Less seeds and more cucumber!)
- 1/2 c. Quinoa
- 1 c. chicken stock
- A handful or feta
- A large handful of fresh basil, chopped (you can use dried herbs as well but fresh is always such much more refreshing!)
- A splash of extra virgin olive oil
- The juice of 1/2 lemon
- Fresh ground pepper (you can certainly add salt but the feta provides a lot of saltiness so you may not even need it)
- A large handful of pignolis (pine nuts)

Start by making the Quinoa exactly how you would make rice (I used a rice cooker but stove top works well.) with chicken stock and the dry Quinoa.  Once that is done, let it cool.  (I stuck mine in the freezer for a bit until it had chilled a little)

Hollow out the cucumber by cutting it in half and with a spoon, scoop out the seeds to create a little boat.  Once the Quinoa has cooled, add the pine nuts, feta, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  Stir to combine.  Scoop the Quinoa mixture into the cucumber boats and either chill for serving later on, or eat right away.