By the Associated Press (Recipe adapted from Megan Carle and Jill Carle's "College Vegetarian Cooking", Ten Speed Press, 2009)

Start to finish: 30 minutes (15 minutes active)
Servings: 6

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 12 spears asparagus, tough ends removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan bring 1/2 inch of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and blanch until barely tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the asparagus and rinse under cold running water for 1 minute to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the cooked quinoa, asparagus, olives, tomato and lemon zest.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil, then pour over the quinoa mixture.

Toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then serve topped with the feta cheese.

(Recipe adapted from Megan Carle and Jill Carle's "College Vegetarian Cooking", Ten Speed Press, 2009)