Basil quinoa and red beans

I love basil.  Seriously I could eat it plain off the plant.  I love the smell too, I often stick my nose in the leaves and inhale....bliss.  I wanted some sort of pesto vehicle last night so I made this basil vinaigrette quinoa with red beans and vegetables.  You will need:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and cooked
• 1 cup red beans, rinsed, boiled, rinsed again and then simmered on the stove until tender (you can also use your crock pot but for some reason I wanted to torture myself with the stove top method yesterday.)
• 1 cup frozen corn, cooked according to directions and allowed to cool
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced, raw
• cherry tomatoes, quartered
• balsamic vinegar
• sea salt
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic
• basil, lots and lots of basil

When the beans are close to being done add balsamic vinegar and sea salt to taste.  I added about 1 tablespoon-eyeballing it-and a pinch or two of salt.  Not too much though because you will use salt in the vinaigrette.

Combine the cooked quinoa and red beans in a large serving dish.  Add in the vegetables and mix well. 

In a blender combine the oil through the basil and salt to taste and blend well until combined.

Pour the vinaigrette onto the quinoa and beans and toss well to coat.  Serve warm.  Refrigerate the left overs and enjoy as a cold lunch the next day....like I'm doing, right now.  I love basil....