Apparently Ithaca (or this coast?) is all about barbecues!  I’ve never been to this many in my life!  Oh my goodness I need to stop going to barbecues and eating a ton.

Who am I kidding? It’s delicious!

Last night, I received a menu for today’s barbecue from a friend:

Beverages
Ginger sweet tea punch.
Bombay tea-government punch.

Starters
Feta-stuffed nectarines marinated in a balsamic, sunflower red pepper dressing.
Molasses-guava skewers, both shrimp and vegetable.
Chili-lime Asian noodles in a peanut carrot chutney.

Main
Goat cheese-stuffed local bison sliders; naked, blacked or coffee-rubbed. Topped with fresh greens.
Braised local pork shoulder (Boston butt), served with a Carolina-style coleslaw on wheat buns.

Doesn’t that sound intense?  I’m kicking myself for remembering to take my camera and FORGETTING to take pictures!  I didn’t try the meat things but let me tell you, the grilled feta-stuffed nectarines marinated in a balsamic, sunflower red pepper dressing, were simply amazing! I’m making those the next time I acquire a grill.

Here was my contribution to the barbecue:

Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt

adapted from Epicurious

1/3 cup yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 1/3 cup quinoa (uncooked)
3 cups mango chunks (I thawed the frozen kind)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup peanuts

Combine the yogurt, curry, ginger, salt and pepper for the dressing, set aside.

Boil the quinoa in water for 10 minutes, then place in a sieve and cover with a towel then lid (make sure your towel doesn’t catch on fire, mine did a bit so I repositioned it) and steam over 2 inches of boiling water (make sure sieve doesn’t touch water) for another 10 minutes.

Once quinoa is steamed, in a large bowl, add mango, jalapeno, cilantro, mint, peanuts and dressing.  Gently toss to combine.  That’s it!  You’re ready to enjoy!

I think it turned out well.  It was gone pretty quickly.

Oh boy, I’m exhausted! I need to wake up bright and early to hit them gym tomorrow morning.  I also think I need to do a sugar detox.  I’m starting to feel a little sugared out. I’m not sure how many more barbecues I can take…

Have you been to a lot of barbecues this summer?