Some Quinoa Fo Ya

'Ello Mateys!
I hope you're not drowning in the sea of this heat wave, but rather staying afloat with cold drinks and hopefully a dip in the pool or ocean if you are so lucky to have them near by.  If you need a way to cool off I suggest following the lead of these two.

Here in DC I have neither of those things, so I try to stick with as much air conditioning as possible.  I do still turn it off when I am not home as part of my journey to be more of a conserver of the earth and it's resources. 
Last night I was feeling a rumble in my stomach and an emptiness in my brain for creative vegan ideas.  When in doubt, I take the quinoa out!  This is such a versatile grain that you can really pair with anything.  So I cooked a cup of it with a cup of water and a cup of organic vegetable broth (the box said it would make it savory but it really did not).
Because I was not thrilled with the less than savory taste, I just added all the veggies I could find in my kitchen (which are all organic): corn, carrots, peas, half a white onion and a plum tomato.  In hind site I should have added the carrots while the quinoa was still cooking (at least for 5 minutes) to soften them up a bit. But otherwise, it was a delicious meal.  And of course I added on top salt, pepper, OVOO, roasted red pepper flakes, and some chopped garlic, because that's what I do.

 For a beverage I had this organic hard cider.  It was good but a bit tart, it took some getting used to.  It was nice and refreshing after trekking through the heat to my apartment (sometimes being 21 really is magical). 

If you are confused as to why one should buy organic, here is a neat little comparison I found.  I choose organic because I don't trust pesticides on my food, and growing organic is better for the environment.  I encourage everyone to buy organic to help our planet, but I understand it does cost more.  I suggest buying these things when you can, and know that every time you do you're making improvements to our home (Earth for all you aliens out there unsure of what I mean).