Oven Roasted Tomato, Black Bean & Quinoa Salad

Perspective.

When the boys were little I declared myself “not a baby person”.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved being a mom from the beginning and have always been madly in love with my boys. I just always knew that for my personality type, parenting was going to get a LOT easier as they grew. (And it did.)

In the early days I was overwhelmed with the hours and hours of nursing, changing, sleep deprivation and general neediness.

With my oldest we endured four months of colic that I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to survive. By the time he was five months, little brother was on the way and I was dealing with crippling exhaustion.

It would have all felt easier at the time if I’d known that I was going to blink and find my needy and demanding little boys closing their bedroom door so they could “have some privacy” while they played. (HATE THIS!)

I didn’t know how bittersweet it would be as the last traces of baby faded and I was left with boys who are perhaps just a bit more competent and independent that I’d like.

I wish I’d stressed less and enjoyed more. Enjoyed every snuggle. Not felt exasperated when I’d just spent an hour getting them to sleep and they were back up in 10 minutes. Not worried that I hadn’t dried my hair in months and that there may or may not be something growing in the fridge.

This time I am in the moment.

I don’t care that my major accomplishment each day is getting both of us bathed and the family fed. And if it’s noon (or 2pm or 4pm!) and we are still on the couch snuggling, well, ok.

The laundry is clean (thanks hubby!) but will most likely all be used before I get around to putting it up.

I currently have 1197 unread emails, hundreds of comments I haven’t responded to (but that are appreciated!) and it is a very real possibility that I will never get caught up. I’m OK with that.

This is such an unusual phenomenon for me because I’m typically type A, high strung, and can’t sit still. Savoring every slow lazy moment is quite a bit out of character and I do appreciate your indulgence during this time.

Luckily the type A side of me did a bit of planning and I have quite a few recipes to share with you in the coming weeks.

This quinoa salad is another recipe (like this one) that is packed full of my favorite things. I snapped a picture of the ingredients and then decided the recipe needed a bit of heat so what you don’t see here is the crushed red pepper.

If you are like me and love tomatoes and mourn them when they are not quite in season, you really have to try oven roasting them. It brings out the sweetness and is the cure for your “summer is not quite here” blues. I love oven roasted tomatoes on burgers, in casseroles and of course in quinoa salads! 🙂

If you don’t count the passive time that the tomatoes are roasting and are starting with cooked beans and quinoa, this dish comes together in a matter of minutes.

Moms: What would you do differently if you unexpectedly had the chance to do it all again??

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Oven Roasted Tomato, Black Bean & Quinoa Salad

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• Tomatoes
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes stemmed and halfed
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Salad
• 1 recipe oven roasted cherry tomatoes including olive oil
• 2 cups black beans drained and rinsed (1 can)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup feta cheese or vegan feta

Instructions

1. To make tomatoes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a medium bowl combine tomatoes, olive oil, syrup, crushed red pepper and sea salt. Toss gently and then arrange on prepared baking sheet cut side up. Roast for 55 to 60 minutes
3. In a large bowl combine tomatoes (with oil), black beans, quinoa, walnuts, salt and lemon juice. Toss well and salt and pepper to taste. Top with feta and serve at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by Super Natural Every Day
Servings 6, Calories 303, Fat 16.1g, Carbohydrates 29.7g, Protein 12.4g, Cholesterol 7mg, Sodium 514mg, Fiber 8.3g, Sugars 5.1g, WW Pts 8