Monday was a potluck day. And whenever I can, I try to bring something substantial to potlucks. Because if everyone brings something substantial to potlucks, the worst that happens is everyone brings home 3/4 of the substantial thing they brought. But if nobody brings something substantial, everybody goes hungry (Cue "Rubber Biscuit").

Also, for sake of convenience, I wanted something that could be eaten chilled or at room temp. There's nothing worse at a potluck than a long line of people waiting to reheat their stuff. Quinoa works well cold, I just bought a bunch of chicken breasts, and I had asparagus and bell peppers that needed using.

For seasoning, I went with lemon (always good with asparagus), garlic (just always good), and sage (goes well with chicken, plus I had a ton from the CSA).

Since Monday was a bit hectic, I didn't do proper measuring, but here's a rough recipe. You'll need:

• Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Two large red bell peppers or equivalent mass of smaller peppers
• 20-25 stalks of asparagus
• 2.5 cups quinoa
• 4 cups water
• Two lemons
• Four cloves of garlic
• 8-10 fresh sage leaves
• Salt, pepper, oil

PREP:Snap the woody ends off the asparagus. Trim off the tips and save. Cut the remaining stalks into 1/4-1/2 inch long pieces. Cut the red bell peppers to a similar size, and the chicken to slightly larger, but still small, chunks.

Zest and juice both lemons. Crush the garlic, and finely chop the sage. Rinse the quinoa in a strainer under running water, then drain.

COOKING: Add the quinoa and the water to a covered pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, still covered, for 10 minutes. When that's done, fluff the quinoa and stir the lemon juice through it.

In a very large saute pan, heat some oil. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces, then brown them off in the pan, 3-4 minutes. Once the chicken has some color to it, add in the garlic, the lemon zest, and the sage. Stir/flip the chicken pieces, cook for another 1-2 minutes, then add the asparagus (except for the tips) and the peppers. Cook another 2-3 minutes, making sure the chicken is cooked through. Turn off the heat and stir in the asparagus tips.

In a large container, thoroughly combine the meat and vegetables with the quinoa, then either serve warm, or chill for later. Makes an epic shitload.