Cucumber Kale Salad with Avocado Dressing

• Start by cooking the quinoa, so it will have time cook and cool while you prepare everything else. Combine quinoa and stock (vegetable, chicken or you could use water) in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, cover and then simmer on low about 7-8 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. The quinoa should still have a springy bite but not crunchy. If there is still a little liquid left, drain it before adding the quinoa to the salad. Let cool completely before adding to the other ingredients.
• Peel, deseed and dice the cucumbers. The easiest way to do this is to cut the cucumber in half the long way and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Place chopped cucumbers in a bowl - large enough so that you’ll be able to toss all the ingredients with the dressing. Finely dice the red onion and add to the cucumbers. Remove the main stem of the kale leaf and finely chop the kale leaves and add to the bowl. Add the black beans, if using canned black beans, drain and rinse them before adding.
• Dice the avocado and add to the bowl along with the cooled quinoa and dressing. Toss all the ingredients together and top with crumbled goat cheese.

For the Dressing:

• In a food processor, or whisking by hand, blend 1 avocado, 2 tablespoons goat cheese, extra virgin olive oil salt, pepper, and 5 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 medium limes.) Option to add chopped cilantro. Makes about 2 cups.