New Recipe - Southwest Quinoa Salad

From Quinoa 365

I'm not a food photographer.
The salad tastes better than it looks.

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lime juice - about 2-3 limes
4 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp finely minced jalapeno pepper

1 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt

Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 4 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Place the quinoa in a large bowl.  Whisk the oil, line juice, apple cider vinegar, cumin and jalapeno in a small bowl.  Stir the dressing into the quinoa.  Toss with the corn, read pepper, black beans, cilantro and salt.  Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

notes:

• I didn't read the part that says 1 tsp jalapeno.  I used one whole jalapeno.  I think it was a good decision.  And really, is there any point to only 1 tsp jalapeno?  
• I recommend letting the quinoa cool completely before you mix everything.  I ended up with warm salad, but we left it in the fridge to cool for a bit.  I think a bit of sitting time lets the flavours blend better.  And try not to over cook the quinoa, it gets a bit mushy.
• I used fresh corn that I sliced off the cob.  I think it was a good decision.
• I didn't put the cilantro in the salad, I decided I didn't want to ruin a perfectly good salad by putting something as vile as cilantro in it. 
• I ate mine with sauerkraut.  It was a good combination.  We also had smokies and chili, so that's really why there was sauerkraut, but it mixed well with the salad.