This past Saturday we breezed into downtown Ludlow, Vermont to be part of the 13th annual Zucchini Festival and honor one of the stars of the season, the beautiful zucchini. Believe it or not, the celebration draws people from all over the area, and there is palpable excitement around the little festival and its goings ons.

We tasted zucchini breads for the bake off, colored pictures of frolicking zukes, watched the weigh in for the biggest zucchini entrant, and decorated some of the little green creatures-much to the delight of the children.

To join in honoring the grand zucchini, as well as its BFF’s of the season, summer squash, corn and tomatoes, we pulled together a simple quinoa salad with a roasted tomato vinaigrette. Double up on the vinaigrette recipe, and pour the lush liquid over fresh corn, cucumber salad or pasta salad later.

Note: While staying here in Vermont, we have limited kitchen resources. There are certain things that I had to improvise around, like not having any sort of blender. The recipe below assumes that you will have one, but if you don’t, you can mince and crush the garlic with the back of a chef’s knife and have your mini-chef help you mushing the roasted tomatoes with a fork.

Quinoa with Corn, Summer Squash, Zucchini, and Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

For the Quinoa:

• 2 c. quinoa
• 3 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 medium zucchini, medium dice
• 2 medium summer squashes, medium dice
• 3 ears of corn, shucked and with kernels knifed off the cob
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 T. olive oil, butter, or a mixture of both
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. chopped fresh basil and/or mint (purple basil is pretty)
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the Vinaigrette:

• 3 medium tomatoes (heirloom or plums are delish here), cut into 1 inch wedges
• 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 T. balsamic vinegar
• 1 t. local honey
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

1. Together: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread out the tomato wedges. Have your mini-chef sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
2. Big Person: Place the tomatoes into the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to brown slightly. Set them aside to cool while you make the rest of the dish.
3. With your mini-chef, pour the quinoa into a fine-mesh sieve and wash the quinoa under cold running water for a few seconds 30 seconds to remove the outer hull that will make the quinoa bitter if not washed off.
4. Big Person: Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once it is boiling, add the quinoa, bring back up to a boil, turn the heat down to low, partially cover and let cook until the little “hairs” spring up on the grains, 13-15 minutes.
5. In a medium-large saute pan, heat the oil/butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, till the onions have softened and become translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minutes, stirring constantly. Throw in the zucchini and summer squash and saute till cooked through and golden. Add the corn kernels and cook another few second. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Back Together Again: Drop the tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper into the pitcher of an UNPLUGGED blender. Secure the top on the pitcher, and have Big Person plug in the blender. Blitz until the liquid. Unplug the blender and pour the dressing over the vegetable mixture.
7. Next, place the quinoa in a large bowl. Add the veggie-and-vinaigrette mixture to the bowl and fold the veggies in gently. As a final touch, have your Yummy sprinkle the fresh mint or basil over the top or mix it gently into the quinoa. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.