Mango Cucumber Rice Salad and appetizer.

 Here is my newest vegetarian salad.  I found this 'side' dish in the Food Network Magazine, but of course I altered it just a bit.  It called for red jalapeno, which I've never heard of.  I used red pepper b/c that is what I had on hand.  I also substituted parsley for cilantro, red onion for scallions, and pistachios for salted roasted peanuts.

What you will need: kosher Salt, 1 1/2 cup rice blend, 1/4 cup quinoa, juice of one lime, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp sugar, freshly ground pepper, 1 cup chopped mango, 1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and diced), 1 red pepper ( diced), 1/4 chopped red onion, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/3 cup chopped pistachios.

Bring a large saucepan  of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice (I used 1 cup white and 1/2 cup brown) and cook, stirring until tender. 
Meanwhile bring another saucepan of salted water to a boil and add quinoa. Cook until tender.
In a jar with the screw top add the lime juice, oil, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Shake to combine.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and combine.

We served this up with some grilled shrimp and it was fabulous.  As leftovers, I cut up extra mangoes and tangerines to add.  We ate this for dinner tonight. The heat index was 116 degrees so we wanted something 'light'.


This appetizer was made with garden fresh tomatoes and basil.  I halved the mozzarella balls and tomatoes and stuck them on a toothpick with a basil leaf.