spinach salad with quinoa, apples & peppadew dressing (vegan)

this was inspired by the "catalan couscous salad with pears" recipe from isa chandra moskowitz's appetite for reduction cookbook.   i had a craving for kale, but it was kinda moldy at food lion, so i ended up buying a bag of baby spinach. when i got home, i flipped though the cookbook and realized i could throw this salad together with what i had on hand.  sorry, kale craving.


for the salad:
-put baby spinach in a bowl. add however much quinoa you desire (make sure it's cooled, see below for cooking directions). chop up your apple. add however much dressing you want.

notes:
-original recipe calls for whole wheat couscous; i used 1/2 red & 1/2 white quinoa. 
-original recipe calls for a pear; i used an apple.
-switched up a few ingredients for the dressing


"peppadew" dressing, modified version of "romesco dressing"
ingredients:
3 TBS toasted slivered almonds
2 TBS chopped red onion
1/4 cup peppadew peppers (jar available at trader joe's)
1/2 cup water
3 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp agave nectar
3/4 tsp salt

directions:
pulse the almonds and the onion in a food processor. add everything else and blend until smooth. store leftovers in a jar in the fridge.

to cook quinoa:
add 1 cup quinoa & 2 cups water to a small pan. bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.  fluff, cool, serve.  store whatever you don't use for the salad in the fridge.