Quinoa Millet Salad

This salad would be great at a picnic on a warm summer day. Unfortunately, it's February and I live in Seattle. Nonetheless, this is a light and delicious salad.

I did not initially realize that the Italian herb blend I bought also had lavender, which gives this salad an interesting twist. Do I like it enough to add it again? The jury's still out. For my salad, I doubled the amount of peas and also added in chickpeas and red bell pepper.

From the Veg-Feasting Cookbook:
Serves 6 to 8

5 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 cup millet, rinsed
1 cup drained and quartered artichoke hearts
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 bunch chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup sliced black olives
1 cup thawed frozen peas

Dressing:
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Italian herb blend
3/4 cup light-flavored oil, such as canola

Place 2 medium saucepans on the stove and pour 2 1/2 cups water into each. Bring the water to a boil and add the quinoa to one saucepan and the millet to the other. Cover, reduce the heat, and cook until the grains are soft, about 15 minutes for the quinoa and 20 minutes for the millet. Drain and rinse the grains in cold water. Set them aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked and cooled grains with the artichoke hearts, carrots, red onion, parsley, sunflower seeds, black olives and frozen peas.

In a blender, combine the garlic, lemon juice, salt, and Italian herb blend. Drizzle the oil into the blended ingredients. Toss the grain and vegetable mixture with the blended dressing and serve.