Fall Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic quinoa
• Sea salt
• 2 good handfuls of organic baby spinach leaves, washed, drained
• 1 large organic ripe pear, washed, stemmed and cored, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup chilled organic chick peas, rinsed, drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped organic parsley
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• A handful of pecans, pan toasted and salted to taste

For the Maple Vinaigrette Dressing:

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Here's how to make this dish:

• Using a fine sieve, rinse quinoa thoroughly with cold water.
• Place the quinoa in a saucepan or a rice cooker. Add 2 cups fresh water, and a pinch of sea salt.
• Cover and cook on a low simmer until all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is tender- roughly 20 minutes.
• Fluff with a fork and dump it into a large salad bowl.
• Add the baby spinach, pear, chick peas, and chopped parsley to the quinoa and fluff.
• Whisk together the vinaigrette, pour it over the quinoa salad and toss gently to coat.
• Season to taste with sea salt and ground pepper.
• Just before serving, add the toasted pecans and lightly combine.