Sugar Snap Solstice Salad

Today was the second annual Summer SolstiCelebration at my friend Joanna's homestead, Woven Meadows Farms in Saranac, NY. Despite the fact that the omnipresent rain turned it into a barn party, we still had a lovely time and a TON of good eats! For my contribution, I wanted to make something with sugar snap peas because they are starting to really produce, plus the nice lady at work who shared seeds with me was going to be at the party. (Shout-out to Barbara!)

I knew the crowd was fairly "crunchy," so I thought I would made a salad with whole grains, veggies, and herbs. I had some leftover volcano rice (that's brown and two kinds of red rice) from dinner the other night, then I added some red quinoa. I steamed the sugar snaps and corn cut from the cob, cut up some fresh chives, also from my herb garden, then chilled everything overnight. Right before the party, I added a zesty avocado-cilantro dressing and some crunchy pepitas. I am pretty sure that this is the most DELICIOUS salad I've ever made! Even though four other people brought similar "hippie" salads, I took home a nearly clean dish. POTLUCK WIN!

Volcano Rice and Quinoa Salad with Sugar Snap Peas, Sweet Corn, and Chives

For the salad:
3 cups prepared volcano rice, chilled
1 cup prepared red quinoa, chilled
1/2 lb. sugar snap peas, blanched for 2 min, shocked, and sliced in half width-wise
2 large ears sweet corn, steamed in the husks in the microwave for 10 min, kernels cut from the cobs and cooled
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup toasted/salted pepitas

For the dressing (blend until smooth in a food processor):
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cups olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 bunch cilantro, mostly leaves not stems
1/4 bunch parsley, mostly leaves not stems
1/4 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 Anaheim pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 ripe avocado, seeded and cut into chunks
Combine the salad ingredients then add enough of the dressing to suit you (you won't need it all). Chill or serve room temp. if you prefer.

*You can substitute brown rice for the volcano rice and regular quinoa for the red if that's what you have on hand.