Quinoa Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

The original recipe for this salad is from the Canadian Living website.  I was not fond of the tomato vinaigrette, so I tried a number of recipes until I found one that worked well for me.  The recipe for the tomato vinaigrette is inspired by the cookbook "Eat Raw, Eat Well" by Douglas McNish.  As usual, each time I make this salad I change an ingredient or two.  It seems to work well every time though.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa (I use the Costco brand which is pre-washed, so you do not have to rinse it)

2 cups green beans, trimmed and rinsed (I use frozen green beans and steam them to make this recipe faster)

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 sweet pepper, diced (I used some sliced cherry tomatoes instead)

1 cup crumbled goat feta cheese

Tomato Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I use the oil packed ones from Costco)

3 chopped pitted dates, soaked if a bit dry (or 3 tbsp agave or honey)

1 cup cold pressed olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tsp wheat free tamari or soy sauce or Braggs

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preparation

In a saucepan, bring quinoa and 2 cups water to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool.

Steam green beans until tender.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in cooled quinoa, chickpeas, red pepper.

Tomato Vinaigrette:  In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.  Pour over the quinoa mixture and stir to coat.  Crumble feta cheese on top of the salad.