Kale Salad

Prep: Wash and dry produce. Drain and rinse beans. Thinly slice the radishes into rounds discarding stems and bottoms. Remove stems from strawberries. Thinly slice half of the strawberries, and leave the remaining half whole. Rinse the quinoa over a fine mesh strainer. Roughly chop the pecans. Remove the kale leaves from stems, stack the leaves and slice into thin ¼ inch ribbons. Discard the kale stems.

Bring quinoa and 2 cups water to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to low, simmer covered until quinoa is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and let cool.

In a large skillet, dry toast the sunflower seeds and pecans over medium-low heat. Stir constantly, until a nutty fragrance emerges. Be careful not to let the nuts burn. Remove from heat when lightly toasted and set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the whole strawberries, balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, red chili flakes and 1/4 cup of water in a blender. Blend until you reach a smooth and creamy consistency, adding water to thin out as needed, about 2 minutes.

Add the kale and dressing to a large mixing bowl. Toss well to coat the kale with dressing, about 3 minutes.

Add the radishes, butter beans, pecans, sunflower seeds, sliced strawberries and quinoa to the bowl. Toss well and serve at room temperature or cold. Enjoy!