Quinoa Salad With Roasted Carrots and Frizzled Leeks

Last weekend we went to Theo and Emel's to celebrate her arrival to NYC, their new backyard in West Harlem and their daughter who will be joining us at some point mid-summer. It was quite a bash and the highlight, of course, was when Emel picked up her guitar.

I made this quinoa salad that was featured in the New York Times this spring.

http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1016239/quinoa-salad-with-roasted-carrots-and-frizzled-leeks.html

I was drawn to it since it incorporates both currants and pomegranate molasses - two items that haven't exactly been leaping off my shelves these days. It's not the easiest salad as it involves multiple steps including frying the leeks, roasting the carrots, making the quinoa, etc. But it's worth the effort as the sweetness of the roasted carrots, currants and pomegranate molasses are balanced by the fried leeks and the arugula.

Anyways, it was a wonderful day. And Theo and Emel will be great parents.  This is Theo last summer with Annecy when she was just a few days old. He's already a pro!

Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Annecy turned one yesterday. When Xavier turned one, I brought in Day of the Dead decorations from a work trip to Mexico, invited 30 people over, mixed up fresh margaritas, made 3 types of tacos and hunted down black food coloring to make a skull on his cake. I think I even bought him a gift...and wrapped it. Flash forward to second child. Annecy got cupcakes after school in the park with a side of cheddar bunnies and apple sauce. Anyways, I felt that the least I could do was make her first experience with pure sugar worth it!

I'm a 'ditch the frosting, eat the cake' kind of girl so when I say this frosting is amazing, I really mean it. I could eat it with a spoon. (I'm not sure why I used the theoretical there since I did eat it with a spoon!) 

Cream together 8 oz of cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter, softened. Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Then add 1/2 cup smashed and drained strawberries. Try to get as much liquid as possible out of the berries and then chill to make it firm up. 

Make this frosting this summer!