Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

I made this for a healthy lunch but it would also make a tasty side dish.  Quinoa often sometimes gets a bad rep in the taste department but, like rice it is all about how you dress it up.  The most important step is to rinse the quinoa before cooking it.

Ingredients
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/4 of a red onion, very finely minced
1 cup of arugula lettuce
1 mini cucumber, quartered lengthwise then sliced into small pieces
1/8 of a block of feta cheese (or to taste)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp of white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp of agave or honey
1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Prepared crispy, salted chickpeas

Place quinoa and water in a small pot, cover, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes until the water is absorbed and the spiral from the grain has begun to come out.  Take the pot off the heat, stir in the red onion and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and set aside for 2 minutes for the onion to steep.  Mix the lemon, vinegar, agave, mustard and olive oil and whisk.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove quinoa to a bowl.  Season with 1/3 of the vinaigrette and allow to chill completely.

In a bowl, mix arugula, cucumbers and feta.  When you are ready to serve, mix the chilled quinoa in to the cucumber mixture.  Dress with the remaining vinaigrette to taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.  Top with the crispy chickpeas and serve.