Quinoa Pinto bean salad with Avocado Lime sauce

Hey Lovelies

As you may know I have a love affair with food and cooking!  

In the kitchen is where I feel most comfortable. My mother and grandmother instilled a sense of pride in cooking homemade food from scratch with love!! 

And they both blessed my sister and I with the cooking bug, mine didn't come until later in life but I'm happy to say I have also passed it on to my daughter who is now 17 and she makes a mean creamed eggs!! I got her a leather bound journal and she keeps all her favorite (usually family) recipes in there! 

Which makes my ❤️ shine! 

Jessica with her brother Corey 

=========================================================================

AFTER ALL the holiday indulging my body was literally screaming at me to eat something green and fresh. As I LOVE anything Mexican that is my go to so last night I sat thinking about what ingredients I had on hand and what I could make that would satisfy my craving. 

Lucky for you I came up with this delicious fresh salad that tastes better the day after. Flavors need to sit together and marry if you will... 

What's in It and how did I make it I bet you are wondering?

If I would have sat down and thought out this recipe and had everything on hand it would have had a few per things like smoked paprika and cilantro BUT... I used what I had on hand and it turned out just fine. Feel free to add what you like and make it your own!! 

Because I FIRMLY believe SHARING IS CARING, I'm here to share the recipe with you! 

Quinoa & Pinto bean salad with Avocado lime sauce

2 cups cooked white quinoa

1 can drained and rinses pinto beans 

1 cup thawed frozen corn

1/2 finely chopped onion 

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander 

1/2 tsp oregano 

1 sm Clive garlic minced

Pinch sea salt

Pinch red pepper flakes 

Juice from half a lime 

Mix everything together set aside 

Avocado lime sauce 

1/4 jalapeño with or without seeds is up to you, I used seeds from one side 

1 avocado

Juice from half a lime

Pinch sea salt

Sm clove garlic

1/4 cup sour cream (I would have preferred to make this vegan but used what I had on hand) to make vegan use vegan sou cream or plain unsweetened coconut milk yogurt 

A little water to thin it out

Add everything into a magic bullet or blender ( I don't own a blender as a I LOVE my magic bullet and it never fails me for any job I have from making oat flour to my daily superfood shake) 

Add water to your desired consistency 

DONE!! Let me know how you like it and if any, substitutions you make

HAPPY EATING and keep a look out for my Ecookbook coming this summer to a PDF near you 😊

Lunch @ CLOVER

Hello Darlings ~

I just love that word... Darlings. It just sounds so European.
This weekend was super Rainy and cold. Well at least cold for being June. Come on Mother Nature, it's summer time!!

Saturday I got together with my sister and we headed to the library. I haven't been to the library, I'm sad to say for probably 5 yrs. NO JOKE!! I was pleased to see some new DVD Titles and some new book titles I've been wanting to read.

My book Hual. The Crazy Sexy Diet I'm gonna have to buy

Then we needed a little warmth in our tummies. We really wanted a light healthy lunch of soup and salad and my sister remembered this new restaurant that opened not long ago in our neighborhood. As it turns out I've also been wanting to go there. GREAT idea sis!

So we headed to Clover....

 

Clover has a great court yard and patio seating that I can't wait to enjoy with a delicious brunch on a sunny weekend! Unfortunately I didn't snap a pic of the patio but I did get a few of the landscape.

really cool fountain

This is the door leading into the courtyard, Isn't it just awesome. We loved it!!

Once inside out of the rain, the staff was very friendly and welcoming. They have seating downstairs as well as upstairs. We choose to sit upstairs and I'm glad we did. 

The pictures really don't do it justice.. The upstairs was open and welcoming and the downstairs has a nice bar area with a little nook of window seating and some seating to the left.

Beautiful plank hardwood floors and soft lighting really add to the comfort of the place.

Once we headed up stairs and were seated,  I ordered a refreshing drink. A lime spritzer with meddled mint and ginger in sparkling water. It was really light and refreshing.

 Then we ordered lunch. We shared the Clover salad of greens with shaved parm, candied pecans and a house citrus vinaigrette and soup. She got the French onion and I got the Tomato Bisque.

The salad was ok, we both thought it needed a little something more, like some pears or beets to liven it up and the dressing was lacking the citrus component. I was thinking it would be a party in my mouth but nope. But the soups were delicious. The Tomato was thick and hearty and her French Onion was AH. MAZ. ING!!!!!! I've never had F. O. Soup before and let me tell you, I will be ordering this next time. It was savory and rich with a crusty, cheesy delicious topping. Everything a French Onion soup should be!!

What the salad lacked in pizazz the soups definitely made up for!! Once we had savored our lunch and eaten every last bite of salad and sipped every last spoonful of soup it was dessert time..

We shared an order of Baklava, which was really good and the perfect amount. We enjoyed dessert with a mug of hot Decaf. 

Baklava w/ Blackberries

Cheers to sister time and a great lunch!

The Breakfast and Dinner menu looked delicious as well.. yummy omelets, french toast and Steaks and seafood. 

We will for sure be going back for a brunch on the patio and a steak or in my sisters case a seafood dinner. 

If you live in Spokane give Clover a try. You won't be disappointed! 

**********

In other news.. guess what I'm doing....

Yep... I finally ordered my stuff from NASM and I'm heading down the path I've been waiting to venture for the last 4 yrs. It's been such a long time coming but everything happens for a reason and I just need to remember that! I'm doing the CPT (certified personal trainer) and the FNS (fitness nutrition certification).

I'm looking forward to getting these 2 certs and finding a job that I LOVE, which is helping change someone else's life like fitness has changed mine. It's my passion. I want the world to know that feeling good is not an unattainable goal. Everyone has the right to look in the mirror and like what they see. It's hard work and sacrifice but it's so worth it. And before long it really isn't a sacrifice because you will feel better, look better and be better and you will want to continue on your journey.

So Cheers to a healthy happy you! 

OXOX Sherice