Vegan Bridal Shower Brunch and Hawaiian Quinoa Salad

I had the pleasure of coming out of catering retirement and catering a lovely bridal shower this weekend. The hostess (and a very dear friend) agreed to keep the fact that it was all vegan a secret from most of the guests until after everyone had a chance to try the goods. It was a great success. There were many happy tummies and requests for recipes. It was fun to serve food to such a nice bunch of people, who were very open minded about the vegan menu. The lovely bride seemed to enjoy the food too, which is the most important thing!! So for those of you who asked for the Hawaiian Quinoa Salad recipe, I am posting it here for you.

Hawaiian Quinoa Salad

Makes 8-10 Servings

1/2 medium white or yellow onion, diced small
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 cup red inca quinoa (if you can't find red use regular)
1 1/4 cup quinoa
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup light coconut milk

1 1/2 cup large red bell pepper, diced approx 1/4 inch
1 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced approx 1/4 inc (can sub canned but fresh is much better)
1 cup toasted macadamia nuts, coarsely choppped
6 green onions, sliced thinly

Dressing ingredients

1 1/2 Tablespoons white mellow miso
1 1/2 Tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
3 Tablespoons pineapple juice
1 1/2 teaspoons mirin
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned rice or sushi vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

In medium size saucepan saute onion and garlic in sesame oil until onions are softened (about 5 minutes). Add quinoa and saute until just toated. Add vegetable broth and coconut milk. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is cooked through (about 25 minutes). Make sure all liquid is absorbed or the salad will have quite a bit of liquid at the bottom. Let quinoa cool completely. While it is cooling dice the red pepper and pineapple. Chop the macadamia nuts. Slice the green onions. They look very pretty if you slice them at an angle. Fold these into the cooled quinoa until evenly distributed.

Stir together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing slowly into the salad Let chill in the refrigerator at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

Just a little FYI: The Coffee Chip Muffins, Toasted Coconut Mango Muffins, East Coast Blueberry Coffee Cake and both the Broccoli and Cauliflower Quiches were from the Vegan Brunch cookbook. The Mushroom and Leek tart was a recipe from the Voluptuous Vegan cookbook.