A quinoa salad to welcome spring
and finding community in a digitally-connected world
So it’s official. One year since we were going to stay home for two weeks to “flatten the curve”. Far from flattening, the curve went on a wild roller coaster ride and took us with it for a very long year.
There are already being books written about what it all means: what the future will look like, how work will change, whether we’ll want to get on a plane, where we’ll go first when we do. Zoom or Teams? (a phone call please). Will we ever wear high heels willingly again? (no). Are stretchy pants here to stay? (yes). Will we ever take our hairdresser for granted again? (God, no). Profound or prosaic, like a fabric being woven, we won’t be able to discern the full patterns of change until we can look back in a Covid-free rear view window.
Digital relationships in a virtual world
What I don’t need a book or expert to tell me, however, is how our relationships with people have changed. When the noise of being busy falls away, in the silence that ensues comes clarity, if only we listen hard enough.
When I started my first food blog in 2009, it was really more to understand the medium from a technical perspective. I was a marketer doing my own focus group of one. With that I joined Twitter and a whole world of people opened up before me. Back in the day, I was on a simple mission - to find and follow like-minded folks who loved food as much as I did. And boy, did I find them.
It was the first time that I formed friendships and close relationships through technology. Because although I was “meeting” people online, there was often a wonderful human element to the whole experience. Twitter (and later Instagram) led me to IRL events, meet-ups and food happenings, from Pistoia, in Italy to Ottsville, Pennsylvania. Those in turn, have led to friendships that have persevered over time and miles.
I’ve had cocktails in Umbria, ice cream in London, a nifty Sazerac in SoHo, a frozen yogurt in Washington D.C., a kitchen meet-up here in Toronto, all with friends I met first online. There is something that gets stripped away when you communicate first through technology, an immediacy that is both fast and meaningful.
Covid connections made real
So, how does this translate to the here and now? More than ever, technology has replaced our ability to be together, and while I know for some it has been really difficult to have Zoom replace an in-person conversation, the richness of the relationships that have deepened and the new friendships that have been formed are extraordinary.
The Tri-City Cocktail and Movie Club
First, there’s our weekly call with two other couples in the US. Although we’ve all known each other for decades, this simple weekly call has reconnected us in an amazing way. We call it the “Tri-City Cocktail” and weekly, we are on the phone for sometimes four hours at a stretch. Out of that call has come the “Tri-City Movie Club”. Each week, along with dissecting the news of the day and myriad other topics, we also choose a movie to watch in the week ahead. With choices as individual as the six of us, we’ve watched Easy Rider, Le Samourai, Burning, The Lunchbox, Gimme Shelter, Your Name, to name a few of the dozens we’ve seen. Then, we play armchair critics and discuss the movies on that call. It’s been a wholly entertaining way to share an experience across miles and time (let me know in the comments if you want me to send you the full list!).
The Travelling Sweatpants Gang
The other weekly ritual that I can’t do without is called “Wine Not”. Started by my friend Joanne as a nice way to connect with a small group of friends over the course of a month or so of lockdown (right!), our weekly chat is still going strong one year later. Going from a virtual gathering with eight women I didn’t know very well to a highlight of the week, we discuss everything from career advice, home décor, Netflix, recipes, wine, clothes (bras included), restaurants, travel, books, make up, politics, the Royals, and other “hot” topics of the day. We’ve celebrated milestone birthdays, new jobs, new businesses and generally been a mighty cheerleading squad of eight for one another. We’ve dubbed ourselves The Sisterhood of the Travelling Sweatpants and are already planning our post-Covid trip to the south of France.
A recipe rooted in connections far and wide
So how does this come full circle to this week’s recipe, a favourite of mine? I first made this salad to bring to a food blogger event in 2011. There I met Penny de los Santos, a fabulous food and travel photographer. I later connected with Penny to work on a photo shoot I was organising for a company blog. At the shoot I met Susan Spungen, a recipe developer, food stylist and writer (you may know her from The New York Times, her many cookbooks, or perhaps most famously as the stylist who worked on Julie and Julia, one of my all-time favorite films).
And, through the magic of technology and Instagram, I learned a few weeks ago that Susan was running an online recipe development workshop. Week one’s assignment was to submit a recipe. I chose this favorite, with its fond memories and roots in virtual and real-life food community.
The workshop has introduced me to a new community of food enthusiasts, both professional and amateur, like me. So, the circle continues, the richness expands, and I am once again grateful that, even in a time where my physical world is small, my virtual one continues to expand and grow.
Quinoa and Red Rice Salad with Dried Cherries, Capers and Walnuts
Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main
Next time you make quinoa or rice, why not make a little extra to have on hand for this beautiful salad? It can be on the table in minutes, and is a lovely side with poultry or fish. I call this a “just enough” combination of flavours: the cherries give it just enough sweet, the capers just enough briny, the walnuts just enough crunch. On its own, this gluten-free, vegan salad makes a perfect main for two, made more substantial with a protein of your choice, vegan or otherwise.
1 cup (140 grams) cooked quinoa
1 cup (165 grams) cooked red rice
1/2 cup (57 grams) walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (48 grams) dried cherries or cranberries
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 cup baby spinach or watercress
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Maldon or other flaky salt, to taste
TO MAKE SALAD:
Combine the quinoa, rice, walnuts and dried cherries in a medium-sized serving bowl. Stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Add the capers, lemon zest, mint, baby spinach, olive oil and lemon juice and stir gently to combine. Sprinkle with Maldon salt and minced chives and serve.
NOTES:
Start with small quantities of olive oil and lemon juice, and increase to taste. The dressing is an accent here, not the main attraction. This salad has infinite possibilities, and I encourage substitutions based on what you have on hand.
MAKE AHEAD:
The salad can be made up to two hours in advance, covered and kept at room temperature, or the night before and refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.
