Confetti Quinoa — Two Kitchens, One Table

I got married Saturday, September 24, 2022. I am writing this on Tuesday, September 27, in my kitchen, in sweatpants, with the echo of the weekend in my body like a chord that has not stopped ringing. I will try.

Thursday: Jisoo and Jun-ho arrived. I met them at baggage claim. Jisoo saw me from the escalator and she stopped walking and people had to step around her. She stood still. She looked at me. I walked up the escalator two steps and took her hand. She said, in Korean, "You are here. This is your airport." I said, "Yes, umma. Welcome to Seattle." Jun-ho hugged James. Jun-ho hugged me. We drove home. Jisoo ate pajeon at my kitchen island and said, in English, "Good pajeon." She slept for twelve hours.

Friday: the rehearsal dinner. Fifteen of us at the Korean-Taiwanese restaurant in Fremont. Jisoo and Karen met in person for the first time. They were across the room. They walked toward each other. They stopped about a foot apart. Karen said, "Jisoo." Jisoo said, "Karen." Karen opened her arms. Jisoo walked into them. They hugged for, I swear, two minutes. The restaurant went quiet. Jun-ho and David stood near each other watching. Jun-ho put a hand on David's shoulder. David patted Jun-ho's hand. I saw this. I will not stop seeing it.

Saturday: wedding day. I got ready at a hotel near the winery with Maya and Eunji and two other friends. Eunji did my makeup because she is better at it than any of us. She said, "Unnie. Cry only happy tears today." I laughed. I mostly obeyed.

The ceremony at 4 PM. James at the end of the aisle. Kevin beside him. David walking me up. I looked at every face. Jisoo, in her cream hanbok, in the front row. Karen beside her in navy, holding Jisoo's hand. Both my mothers, holding hands, waiting for me. I almost did not make it up the aisle. Kevin, with his characteristic wry impropriety, whispered as I passed him, "Steph. You got this." I said, "I got this." I got to James. James was crying. I said, "You are crying." He said, "I know."

Reverend Anne said the line about the two mothers. Both mothers cried. The whole room cried. Jihoon played "In the Misty Moonlight" on his guitar during the signing of the ketubah-adjacent certificate we had made. Karen, who had not known this was coming, gasped audibly. Karen cried harder than she had cried all day. Jisoo, who did not recognize the song but saw Karen's reaction, held Karen's hand tighter. I said my vows. James said his. We kissed. We walked back down the aisle married.

The reception: the food was as planned. Jisoo's kimchi was on every plate. Karen ate bulgogi. Jun-ho tried gua bao and said, in English, "This is new for me. This is good." Ming, across the room, beamed. Hye-jin translated speeches. Kevin's best-man speech was, against my expectation, emotional and beautifully written — he told the story of our childhood as the two Korean kids in a Bellevue cul-de-sac, and he ended with, "My sister found her mother. My sister found James. My sister found herself. I am so proud to be her brother." The room wept.

I danced with David. I danced with James. I danced with Jisoo, slowly, a simple holding of each other at the center of the floor, while Jun-ho watched from a table, smiling. Karen watched from a chair, holding a cup of coffee, her hands shaking. She was beautiful.

I do not have a recipe for this week. The recipe is the wedding. The recipe is both families. The recipe is two kitchens becoming one dinner. The recipe is my whole life so far, plated and served, and eaten by everyone I love.

I said in the story that I had no recipe for this week, and I meant it — the weekend was its own dish, layered and impossible to reproduce. But when Tuesday came and I was standing in my kitchen in sweatpants, still ringing from the inside out, I needed something to make with my hands that felt like what the weekend had looked like: colorful, a little from everywhere, nothing too heavy, just bright and full. Confetti Quinoa is what I made. It is not kimchi. It is not gua bao. It is the recipe for the Tuesday after — the one where you are still so full of love you can barely eat, but you cook anyway because cooking is how you stay in your body.

Confetti Quinoa

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 3 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen edamame, shelled
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa. Combine rinsed quinoa and vegetable broth in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool slightly.
2. Prep the vegetables. While the quinoa cooks, dice the bell peppers and red onion. Thaw the corn and edamame if using frozen. Rinse and drain the black beans thoroughly.
3. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until fully combined.
4. Combine. In a large mixing bowl, add the warm quinoa, corn, bell peppers, red onion, black beans, and edamame. Pour the dressing over the top and toss gently until everything is evenly coated.
5. Finish and serve. Fold in the fresh cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, lime juice, or cumin as needed. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. The flavors deepen after an hour of resting.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 390mg