Eighteen months ago, while flying Canadian North up to our new home in Norman Wells, I found myself holding a magazine labeled Up Here. I skimmed through it, immediately seeking (as usual) the food section. There was none. Despite some great articles and insight into the foreign land, I did find it lacking the expected recipes and food images found within in-flight magazines!

Upon returning the magazine to the seat pocket, I announced to Jesse “while I’m in Norman Wells, I’m going to get my food and photos published in that magazine.”

Last week I browsed through Up Here Business. To find this on the final page.

They call her Christina Barrett (it’s Bartlett…) but it sure looks like me! And featured alongside the article about my food is my photography, and a recipe featured at my cafe. ‘Putting the ‘well’ in Norman Wells’ is a lovely way to express the simple food I make each day. It’s a little overwhelming to read such nice things about my work – but I am pleased to be able to check that one thing off my to-do list.

This is a simple salad using mostly storable ingredients but made extraordinary with the perfect combination of sweet, spicy and sour in the dressing. The recipe was found on an unknown food blog many years back and scrawled into a journal. Jesse and I have been making it frequently ever since, with a number of variations – as a side to chicken for dinner, a nutritious mid-morning snack or a full lunch in itself. When I lost the scrawled recipe, a little research showed it was originally from Martha Stewart. She’s a heck of a lady, and boy was she onto something good with the combination of curry, apples, mint, honey, almonds and green onions in this hearty protein-packed quinoa salad.

*The article in Up Here doesn’t show Martha Stewart as the creator. I now know it belonged to her, so I give her full credit here.

Curried Apple Quinoa Salad
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes 4 mains or 8 side

1 cup white quinoa
2 spring onions, greens only (reserve the whites) sliced thinly
1 granny smith apple, diced
½ cup currants
¼ cup almonds, toasted
handful fresh mint, finely chopped

1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon curry powder
white parts of spring onions, finely chopped
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt, black pepper to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa, return to a boil. Stir with a fork, reduce to a simmer and cook for 12 – 15 minutes until al dente.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, curry powder, finely chopped whites of spring onions, lemon and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Combine cooked quinoa with apples, toasted almonds, spring onions, mint and currants. Mix through the dressing.
4. Serve cold or at room temperature. Flavours become more enhanced overnight in the refrigerator.