Instructions: Notes: Look for quinoa next to other grains in your supermarket. Use fresh-squeezed lime juice.

In a 2- to 3-quart pan over high heat, bring quinoa and 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse to cool; drain well.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine lime juice, oil, cumin, beans, corn, jicama, roasted peppers, cilantro, onion, and chili. Mix in quinoa, then season to taste with salt. Spoon over lettuce leaves.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Comments: Some people set their sights on the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes or a state lottery. Roxanne Chan of Albany, California, has found a more lucrative way to use her free time: she creates recipes to publish and enter in cooking contests.

About the cooking contests, Chan explains, "Even though I enjoy creating recipes for the sake of coming up with a good idea, its fun to win a contest." And in the past dozen years, shes won 350 of them. So far, the big-cash jackpots have eluded her. But shes scored a new car, a kitchenful of appliances, and numerous international trips.

Chan has also scored binderfuls of clippings from her publications. Southwestern Quinoa Salad is her 51st recipe to appear in Sunset over 16 years. Weve come to count on Chans healthful and delicious ideas for using grains and fresh produce, and on her creative eye for combining a variety of textures and colors.

For this light, refreshing salad, Chan built on the South American origin of quinoa by adding other foods native to the Americas - beans, corn, and peppers - plus Southwestern seasonings.

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