Quinoa With Summer Vegetables
[Vegan]

For the Roasted Vegetables:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Remove the ends from the zucchini and summer squash. Quarter lengthwise. Then dice widthwise to form bite sized pieces.
3. Place on baking tray.
4. Sprinkle with sea salt and garlic pepper. Stir to combine.
5. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Stir halfway through.
6. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the Quinoa:

1. Rinse the quinoa well through a mesh strainer.
2. Place in a medium pot with 1 1/2 cups of filtered water (or vegetable broth). Add a pinch of salt.
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from heat and let set aside.

For the Dressing:

1. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing.
2. Juice the lemon or limes to yield about 6 tbsp of juice.
3. Add the juice to a large bowl, along with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Stir to combine.

For the Corn:

1. Remove the husk and silk from the corn. Rinse.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil (large enough to fit the cob of corn).
3. Add the cob and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the corn from the pot and let cool.
4. Once cooled, stand the corn on one end. Use a knife to strip the corn off of the cob.
5. One cob will yield about one cup but you don't have to measure – use all the corn that you remove.
6. You can sub 1 cup frozen corn that has been thawed but fresh summer corn is better in this recipe.

Put it All Together:

1. Make slow-roasted tomatoes the day before to use in this recipe or you can use store-bought sun-dried tomatoes.
2. Slice the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.
3. Slice the mint and add it to the bowl.
4. Add the quinoa and stir to combine.
5. Add the remaining ingredients (except seeds or pine nuts). Stir to combine.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.
7. Top with the toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts (optional).