December is the season of cookies and champagne and lots and lots of cheese. Everyone has their own favorite food traditions this month. I indulge in Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate with real whipped cream, in two slices of cranberry-vanilla coffee cake on Christmas morning, and in the truly excellent gouda my grandfather sometimes brings to our house. This year we are headed to Munich and Brussels around Christmastime, so I expect there will also be Belgian waffles, glühwein, pretzels, and lots of yummy Belgian beer. I try not to feel guilty about these indulgences – it’s part of the season! – but I do find myself strongly craving vegetables after a few days of heavy meals. Of course, it’s freezing cold in Boston, so the vegetables still have to be warm and comforting, which is where grain bowls save the day.

Grain bowls are a pretty regular feature of our weekly menu. Usually they are a pretty basic affair. Roast brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are a staple, along with a few pieces of whatever cheese we have sitting in the fridge. There is maybe a dollop of hummus that serves as dressing and a handful of greens. The grain itself is whatever we have on hand – usually farro or rice. These grain bowls are always satisfying, but they aren’t always cohesive – it’s just a mess of stuff I like to eat on one plate. So every once in a while, I like to put a little more thought into how the components of the bowl will go together. Recently, we made a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl that came out so well that I thought it was worth sharing here (as well as documenting for myself!).

This grain bowl has a lot of goodness in it. Spicy honey-cinnamon roast sweet potatoes. Cumin-scented roast cauliflower with sticky dates. Crispy brussels sprouts. To pull it together there’s a tangy tahini-yogurt sauce, creamy goat cheese, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Each individual component is highly flavorful – the sweet and spicy sweet potatoes in particular are addictive. All together in one bowl each component enhances the others, for a warming, slightly exotic meal. Plus, if you double up on the quantities below you’ll have plenty of leftovers to see you through the week.

Middle-Eastern Grain Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower

A step above your average throw-it-all-together grain bowl. This recipe combines honey-cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes with cumin-spiced cauliflower and tahini dressing for a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl.

Cauliflower recipe is adapted from Dining In. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 2-3

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dry farro

For the sweet potatoes:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the cauliflower and brussels sprouts:

• 1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
• 20–30 brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, cut in half
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 8 dates, halved

For the dressing:

• 3 TBS tahini
• 3 TBS plain Greek yogurt or skyr (the tangier the better!)
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Toppings/other:

• Several handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• Arils from 1/2 a pomegranate, about 1/2 cup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the farro. Cook until al dente, about 20-25 minutes. Drain farro and set aside.
2. For the sweet potatoes: whisk the olive oil, honey, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato wedges and toss to completely coat with the honey-olive oil mixture. Spread the sweet potatoes out on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast until very tender, about 25-30 minutes.
3. For the cauliflower: in the same bowl you used for the sweet potatoes, whisk together the olive oil, cumin seed, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower florets and toss, making sure to thoroughly coat the tops of each floret with the olive oil mixture. Add the halved brussels sprouts to the bowl and toss to coat. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are tender in the middle and crispy on the edges, about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes, before the vegetables are done, add the halved dates to the roasting pan so that they roast slightly (they will get a little bit more sticky and caramelized).
4. For the bowls: whisk all dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth, then adjust seasoning to taste. Divide the cooked farro and the baby spinach between two bowls. Top each bowl with several roast sweet potato wedges, pieces of cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Crumble goat cheese on top of the bowls, then sprinkle with pomegranate arils. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.

Notes

All the cooked ingredients have approximately the same cooking time, meaning if you start the farro at the same time as you put the vegetables in the oven, everything will be ready almost at once.

The post Middle-Eastern Grain Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I recently discovered two things. First, Cara Cara oranges. Have you ever had one? They’re amazing. Whoever invented orange-flavored candies was definitely inspired by these guys. They are so much sweeter, juicier, and just more wonderful than regular oranges, and they’re a beautiful pink color inside, too. Although I usually associate citrus with January and February, Cara Caras seem to just be hitting their peak season now. At least, Wholefoods is full of them: no ramps or fava beans, just a lot of oranges. Although to be honest, I think my expectations for the seasonal produce that should be available in April have always been a little out of touch with reality. It was snowing two weeks ago, after all.

Writing the above paragraph has sent me down an internet rabbit hole looking for orange trees online. Because wouldn’t a Cara Cara orange tree be the perfect addition to our collection of trees that you probably shouldn’t try and grow in Boston? Our impulse-tree-purchase rate is way up this month anyways – last weekend alone we bought an olive tree and a coral bark Japanese Maple. What would harm could one more citrus tree do?

The second thing I discovered is that I’ve been cooking asparagus wrong. My standard cooking method for most vegetables is this: douse liberally with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, roast at 400°F until nicely charred. I like my roasted vegetables to be borderline carcinogenic. Especially brussels sprouts – I love the way the leaves get translucent and crunchy. Unfortunately, this method has left me unsatisfied when it comes to asparagus. If you roast asparagus even a little bit too long, it becomes stringy and mushy. So I recently tried a recipe in Diana Henry’s Simple which calls for you to lightly steam the asparagus by putting the thick ends in an inch or two of simmering water and pushing the tips just below the edge of the pot, without putting the whole stalk underwater. You only cook the asparagus for a few minutes, until they’re bright green, then drain immediately. This method resulted in asparagus that was fresh, tender, and perfectly cooked without being limp or mushy or stringy. Success!

In this recipe I’ve brought these two April delicacies together in – surprise! – a bowl. I just like things better when they’re in bowl form, OK? It’s a trend that makes me eat my vegetables. I’ve built on the Diana Henry recipe I mentioned above, which served the steamed asparagus with goat cheese and lemon butter, to build a warm bowl that screams spring. The base of the bowl is Israeli Couscous tossed with butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest while the couscous is still warm. Adding spinach, steamed asparagus, goat cheese, the lovely Cara Cara oranges, and shelled pistachios makes a healthy spring dinner that is complete and satisfying.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Lemony Israeli Couscous with Asparagus, Oranges, and Goat Cheese

Inspired by Simple. Serves 2.

• 1 cup of uncooked Israeli couscous
• 2 TBS butter
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• black pepper
• 1/2 pound of asparagus
• 3 oz. of baby spinach
• 1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and supremed (cut into segments)
• 3 oz. soft goat cheese, cut into slices
• 1/4 cup of shelled pistachios

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat (the pot should be slightly less wide than the length of your asparagus stalks). Add the couscous to the boiling water and stir. Cook until tender and chewy, about 5-7 minutes, then drain. Transfer to a bowl and add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and black pepper while couscous is warm. Stir until the couscous is evenly coated with the lemon butter and set aside.
2. Add about 2 inches of water to the pot and return to the stove. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Prepare the asparagus by snapping or trimming off the thick woody end of each stalk, usually about the bottom 1 inch. (You can gently bend the asparagus to find the natural breaking point as a guide). Place the thick end of the stalks in the simmering water in the bottom of the pot. Gently bend the asparagus so the tips are resting just inside the pot but aren’t submerged in the water, so they will steam but not boil. Cook the asparagus in this way until bright green, which should take about 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of your asparagus. Remove from the heat, drain, and run under cold water for 60 seconds to stop the cooking process.
3. To assemble the salads, divide the couscous and spinach between two bowls. Top with asparagus, orange segments, goat cheese, and pistachios. Serve warm.

The post Lemony Israeli Couscous with Asparagus, Oranges, and Goat Cheese appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’ve been running for most of my life. I started training for the cross-country team when I was 13 and never stopped. Ten miles a week, 52 weeks a year, and 15 years later I’ve run at least 8,000 miles. Probably more like 10,000 when you factor in the long runs, the half marathons, the heavy training periods.

When we were in high school, our coach used to read aloud to us from Once A Runner, to psych us up before races. I’ve never actually read the book, but the title echoes through my head all the time – it resonates. Running is such an essential part of who I am. It’s when I’m running that I feel most like myself, most in tune with my own thoughts. It’s my quiet time, the time when I allow my thoughts to spin unstructured through my mind and let them sort themselves out. When I’m angry I come back calm, and when I’m tired I come back reinvigorated. I’ve made my most difficult decisions in the space of 4 miles without even realizing I was making them.

Running has also taken me to corners of the world where I’d never find myself otherwise. Sunrise runs in Dublin along the quiet banks of the grand canal, past medeival cathedrals and castles. Hot, impossibly humid runs in Hong Kong along an elevated running track in the jungle, looking straight into the tops of skyscrapers. Just a month ago, we set out from Evora into the Alentejan countryside and found ourselves on a dirt path, running through olive and cork groves. It’s the most amazing way to explore somewhere new.

Don’t get me wrong – there are times when running is an absolute slog. When it’s hot and hard to breathe and I heave myself around the streets feeling like I weigh 100 pounds more than I do. But it’s not those times that keep me coming back. It’s the times when it’s cool and quiet and I feel strong and light. It’s the feeling of strength in my legs as my feet bounce repeatedly off the pavement. The sound of my breath in my chest, even and heavy, condensing in clouds around my face when it’s cold. The moment when I hit the second mile, which is always faster, looser than the first.

That steadiness, that strength and clarity, that feeling of self is why I keep running. It’s why I pull on fleece-lined leggings when there’s a wind chill of 0°F. Why I groggily lace up my shoes before dawn and run through the sunrise before my mind is even awake. Why I push through the awful runs and anticipate the great ones. Like they say, once a runner.

I’m writing this as part of my #EatSmarterMoveMore resolution this year. The “eat smart” part is so important to being able to feel good on a run. Running requires fuel – a mix of protein and carbohydrates – and nothing too heavy or rich. My parents used to host dinners for our team the night before we raced, and the living room would fill with skinny teenage girls who ate bowl after bowl of soup and homemade bread. Now that we’re getting into spring running, when the sidewalks are free of ice and my fingers don’t freeze during the first mile, I’m craving light, bright flavors as fuel. So I put together a falafel salad, dressed up for spring with bright, crunchy asparagus and carrot pickles, pistachios, feta and a green herb aioli.

I’ve posted falafel recipes before – it was one of my first posts ever, and I shared this healthy Baked Herb and Pistachio Falafel from Green Kitchen Stories. But to be honest, baked falafel is just not the same. I don’t deep fry mine, I just pan fry them in a little olive oil, which works beautifully. I’ve also started using a 50-50 mix of fava beans and chickpeas, which gives the falafel more flavor and heft.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Spring Falafel Salad

Serves 4.

• 5 oz. baby spinach leaves
• 3 oz. swiss chard leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 recipe Fava Bean and Chickpea Falafel, recipe below
• 1 cup roughly chopped Spring Pickles, recipe below
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3/4 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Fresh Herb Aioli

1. Mix spinach and chard leave together and divide between four bowls. Top each bowl with 4-5 pieces of falafel, 1/4 cup of spring pickles, 2 tablespoons of feta cheese, and 3 tabplesoons of chopped pistachios. Drizzle a few tablespoons of aioli on top of each bowl and serve.

Fava Bean and Chickpea Falafel

Adapted loosely from Epicurious. Serves 4.

• 1/2 onion, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1 c. cooked fava beans (originally dried)
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 TBS flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil, for frying

1. Add onion, garlic, half of the chickpeas, half of the fava beans, and the parsley leaves to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely and evenly chopped, but not quite a paste. Add the remaining chickpeas and fava beans to the food processor, and pulse a few times more – most of the mixture should be smooth with a few larger pieces of bean left intact.
2. Scrape the bean mixture into a bowl and stir in the ground cumin, ground coriander, sea salt, and baking powder until evenly mixed. Add the flour and stir. Form a small ball of dough with your hands – if the dough comes together easily without sticking to your hands, it’s ready. If not, add another 1 to 2 TBS of flour. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
3. When ready to cook, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Form the falafel dough into balls roughly the size of a golf ball. Add 5 or 6 of the falafel to the pan and fry until deep golden brown on each side, using tongs to gently turn them as each side cooks. Each batch of falafel will take 5-7 minutes to cook completely. Use tongs to remove the falafel to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat until you have cooked all of the falafel. Serve immediately.

Spring Pickles – Asparagus, Carrot, Radish, and Swiss Chard

Adapted from Splendid Table. Makes 2 quarts of pickles.

• 10 thin spring carrots
• 20 pencil-thin stalks of asparagus
• 8 swiss chard stems
• 10-12 radishes
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of kosher salt
• 1 TBS dill seeds

1. Bring a large pot water to a boil. Thoroughly clean two quart-size canning jars and fill with very hot water. Set aside.
2. Cut the greens from the carrots and discard or reserve for another use. Wash the carrots. If the carrots are thinner than a sharpie marker, leave whole (cutting in half cross-wise only if they are taller than your pickling jars). If they are much thicker, cut them in half lengthwise. When the water is boiling, add the carrots to the water and blanch for 1-2 minutes, then drain them and run the carrots under cold water for 1-2 minutes.
3. Wash the asparagus stalks and cut in half cross-wise. Wash the chard stems and slice in half length-wise. All of your long vegetables (carrots, asparagus, chard stems) should be roughly the same length and width. Wash the radishes and cut in half.
4. Empty the canning jars of the hot water. Divide the vegetables between the two jars, standing the long vegetables up inside the jars and filling the gaps in with radishes. Add some of the garlic slices to each jar. Pack the jars as full as you can, and make them pretty!
5. Add the white wine vinegar, 2 1/2 cups of water, honey, kosher salt, and dill seeds to a small saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Using a funnel if you have one, pour the hot pickling liquid into the jars over the vegetables. The pickling liquid should come all the way to the top of the vegetables. Let jars cool on the counter for 20-30 minutes before capping and refrigerating them. Refrigerate for at least 2 days before serving.

The post Spring Falafel Salad // #EatSmarterMoveMore: Why I Run appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The weekend before last, Trevor and I got sick. I might be kind of a wimp when it comes to being sick, but I was sicker than I have any memory of ever being before, although Trevor says he was sicker in Ecuador. We think it was some sort of norovirus we picked up, probably compounded by the fact that we’re in Portugal and we don’t have as much resistance to the viruses here. (I could be making that up though; feel free to correct me if you know about these sorts of things). I was totally miserable but at the same time a little fascinated: since I was wearing my fitness tracker, I could tell that I had been “active” for 75 minutes even though I was lying in bed, asleep. That visualization of how hard your body has to work to fight illness was really interesting for me.

It was a good reminder that health is one of the most important things in life. The Herophilus quote in my passion planner is fitting: “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.”

Health is one of my major focuses for this year. Not just weight loss, or exercise, although those are important pieces. Health. Being well. As a day-to-day reminder, I’ve set a little mantra: eat smarter, move more. Simple, to the point. If I tell myself this when evaluating options – what to have for lunch, whether I need that chocolate after lunch, if I should walk home or take the bus – it serves as a gentle reminder of my goals. It’s not a rule, or a restriction. It’s just a little push towards better choices.

The food we put into our bodies plays such a huge role in our overall health. I feel worlds better when I keep my meals light and bright – the trick is coming up with meals that make me crave eating this way. Generally, I find that lunch is the easiest time to get a lot of vegetables in, and when I’m home, I frequent b.good, a Boston-based chain. I think they started out as a burger place, but they also offer great grain bowls and salads. I love their butternut squash and apple salad (and when I’m really hungry, I add a burger to the top – all the flavor and none of the guilt of the bun, french fries, and cheese).

This salad was easy to recreate at home, and so good that I ate it 3 times in one week. In the spirit of #EatSmarterMoveMore, I forwent the burger and replaced it with farro to make the salad filling enough for dinner. In addition to the farro, the salad has roasted butternut squash, diced apple, tamari almonds, cheddar cheese, pomegranate, and spinach. All kinds of good flavors going on. I can’t take any credit for the combination, but I can vouch for its deliciousness. Also, I’d love to see how you’re choosing to #EatSmarterMoveMore, so follow along (and contribute!) to the hashtag on Instagram. I’ll be using it all year to track my healthiest recipes and active adventures.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Butternut Squash and Apple Buddha Bowl

Inspired by b.good. Serves 2.

• 2 cups peeled butternut squash cubes (1/2 inch pieces)
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups cooked farro, warm (reheated if  not prepared fresh)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 2 small apples, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 2 oz. cheddar cheese, cut or shaved into thin pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
• 1/3 cup tamari almonds
• Your favorite tangy salad dressing, or a simple mix of lemon juice and olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the butternut squash cubes with olive oil and sea salt and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until tender when pricked with a fork, about 30-40 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Divide the farro and spinach between the bowls, mixing together gently to combine. Top each bowl with some of the butternut squash, apple cubes, shaved cheddar, pomegranate seeds, and tamari almonds. Drizzle with your favorite dressing. Salad is best when the farro and butternut squash are warm.

The post Butternut Squash and Apple Buddha Bowl #EatSmarterMoveMore appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

It’s hard to believe it’s already September. Even when you’re not a student and/or don’t have school-age kids, September still has that back-to-school feeling, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just ingrained in us to start buying jeans and sweaters and new notebooks once September hits. Or maybe that’s mass marketing at it’s finest. Either way, September always feels like a little bit of a new start.

So, since I’m feeling the September-vibe as much as I did as an eager high school freshman, and since I have the luxury of being at home for a few more weeks, I’m launching a little health challenge here and on Instagram for the next few weeks. Every day I’ll be eating (and sharing!) some form of “bowl food,” whether it’s a smoothie bowl topped with fruit and coconut or a full-on meat+grain+veg combo like this one.

“Bowl food” seems to be all the rage right now, a trend that places like Sweetgreen and Dig Inn have really been able to capitalize on. Trevor thinks it’s a dumb trend – he argues that any food placed in a bowl becomes “bowl food” – and I see where he’s coming from. But to me a bowl is a distinct culinary thing, a combination of healthy but filling ingredients, placed together in a bowl but each maintaining their own flavors and textures. It’s different than a salad, and I can’t seem to get enough. In a nutshell, it’s going to be healthy around here, and it’s going to be delicious. Follow along on Instagram with #dailybowlchallenge (by the way, most existing permutations of #DailyBowl on Instagram were primarily about pot, which didn’t even cross my mind until I searched it. Sigh.)

This first bowl is one that even Trevor grudgingly acknowledges is delicious (primarily because it contains steak, which can pretty much warm him to any meal). For me, the star of the show is the corn, which is so good at this time of year that I’m always nibbling it off the cob without cooking it. Elote, which is a Mexican street snack of grilled corn topped with mayonnaise, lime juice, chile powder, and grated cheese, is one of our all time favorite things to eat, so converting it into bowl form is a big win. Sweetgreen did offer an Elote Corn Bowl earlier this summer, but it had too many other vegetables and not enough cheese for my taste, so I had to make it my own. And by make it my own I mean add rosemary-and-olive oil grilled steak, barely cooked green beans, nutty farro, and tons of mint and basil. It’s summery and nourishing and a pretty good start to this little challenge, I think.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Steak and Elote Corn Bowl

Inspired by Sweetgreen and Bon Appetit. Serves 4.

• leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
• leaves from 3 sprigs thyme
• 1/3 c. plus 1 TBS olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 lb. skirt steak
• 2 c. cooked farro
• 1 lb. fresh romano or green beans
• 3 large ears fresh corn
• 3/4 c. grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
• 2 TBS butter
• leaves from 3 sprigs mint, cut into thin strips
• 4 sprigs basil, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
• sea salt to taste
• pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of olive oil, rosemary leaves, thyme leaves, and sea salt. Place steak in a a shallow baking dish, pour marinade over steak, cover dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill the steak until medium-rare, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing on the bias.
3. While you are grilling the steaks, also grill the corn. Place the ears of corn, still in their husks, directly on the grill, and grill for about 15-20 minutes, turning the corn every few minutes to char on all side. When the corn is done, remove it from the grill and let cool for a few minutes before removing and discarding the husks. Use a serrated knife to cut the kernels from the cob. I find that the easiest way to do this is to hold the corn by the cob vertically, with the tapered tip in a bowl, and slice down the length of the corn. Mix the warm corn kernels with the grated cheese, butter, mint, basil, and smoked paprika, stirring to evenly incorporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. To assemble the bowls, mix the cooked farro with the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil then divide between four bowls. Top the farro with a handful of green beans on one side of the bowl, and several scoops of the corn mixture on the other side of the bowl. Spread 3-4 pieces of sliced steak on top and serve.

The post September Fitness Goals: #DailyBowlChallenge // Steak and Elote Corn Bowl appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’ve somehow let over three weeks go by since the last time I wrote. Before our trip, I prepped and photographed six recipes to share with you while I was away, approximately one per week. It was good planning on my part, but I arrived home a few days ago and I seem to have only managed to post three of them. Whoops. In reality, I decided that this trip wasn’t the time to be fretting over my blog schedule and unanswered email inquiries – and I’m glad I did. It was nice to let go of some of it for a few weeks, to focus my energy each day on where we were and what we were doing. That’s not to say I traveled anxiety-free or without letting thoughts of home occasionally slip into my mind, but I let go of a lot more than I usually do, especially during our time in Japan, and I enjoyed the trip so much more for it.

I had originally intended this recipe for my February fitness goal post, but fitness goals are another thing I’ve let slide. I’m not too concerned about it – we spent 6 weeks walking 10+ miles a day, not sitting on a couch. Still, this is the kind of food I am very much looking forward to eating now that I am home – simple, light, and nourishing. We had fairly few “Western” meals during our 6 weeks in Asia – a few hamburgers in Hong Kong, a pizza one night. Both Hong Kong and Japan have such incredible food cultures, we were never bored with or tired of the local offerings. I wasn’t particularly anxious to get home, but walking through the door Monday night I was surprisingly happy to be here. And there are things that I’m looking forward to now that I’m back – yogurt and berries, real avocado toast, affordable wine and brie, giant grain salads. Planning for our garden this spring and getting back into decorating the house. Probably most of all, seeing my friends and family. And it’s almost spring! I might skip winter every year.

Now that I’m home, I’m also excited to be back in the kitchen (or at least I will be once we’ve managed to get some groceries). I’m full of inspiration for soups, noodles, dumplings, and street food – don’t be surprised if this blog takes a decidedly Asian slant for the next few months. But before we get to all that, I have this Nordic-inspired, healthy salmon and rice bowl for you, with pickled beets and dilled sour cream. It is super quick and easy to put together, and satisfying without being heavy. It’s also seasonally appropriate, beets being one of the few vegetables we New Englanders can get locally in the middle of winter. In fact, revisiting it now, I’m thinking this might be a good one to go on my grocery list this week. Enjoy!

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Scandi Salmon Bowl with Pickled Beets and Dilled Sour Cream

Pickled beets adapted from Gourmet. Serves 4.

• 2 beets, boiled until tender, peeled, and thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp mustard seed
• 1/4 tsp dill seed
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
• 2 TBS minced fresh dill
• 1 shallot, peeled and finely minced
• sea salt, to taste
• 3 c. prepared brown rice, farro, or other nutty whole grain
• 8 oz. hot-smoked salmon, flaked into bite-size pieces

1. Place thinly sliced beets in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, water, cider vinegar, mustard seed, and dill seed, and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, then pour over the sliced beets. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.
2. To prepare the dilled sour cream, mix sour cream, lemon juice, dill and minced shallot together in a bowl until evenly combined. Season to taste with sea salt.
3. To serve, fill 4 bowls with a few scoops of cooked rice or farro. Top the rice with the flaked salmon, a few pickled beets, and a dollop of sour cream. Best served when rice is still slightly warm.

The post Scandi Salmon Bowl with Pickled Beets and Dilled Sour Cream appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The Book: Although I somehow missed Sprouted Kitchen’s eponymous first book (so many cookbooks, so little time!), after the rave reviews I saw for it all over my favorite blogs, I wasn’t about to make the same mistake with their newest book, Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon. If you’re not familiar with Sara and Hugh’s lovely blog, please take a few minutes to go check it out – it’s full of warmth, love, and healthy, wholesome meals. In their newest book, which is a seamless continuation of their blog, they take the somewhat trendy idea of “bounty bowls” (see also “earth bowl,” “broth bowl,” etc… even Panera now sells “broth bowls” of quinoa, lentils, and kale, although to be honest, I’m not sure how a broth bowl is different from soup) and explore it to the fullest. They’ve managed to turn everything from breakfast (cabbage, fennel, and apple slaw with smoked salmon) to dessert (key lime eton mess) into a “bowl” meal. Perhaps the best description of what qualifies as a “bowl” is that it should be a hearty but healthy mixture of grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, eggs, lean meats, and flavorful sauces, served together in a big bowl but with each element maintaining it’s own flavors and integrity. The recipes that Sara and Hugh have included are not particularly innovative or particularly classic – what they are is well-loved, tried and true meals that a family that loves to cook and eat has come to rely on. I love that the recipes are healthy without being restrictive – they won’t deny you eggs, a little cheese, or a few spoonfuls of maple syrup. They are also simple – nothing in this book should overwhelm you, even if you’re a tentative cook. Everything is simple to prepare, simple to serve, and simple to eat, the sort of food you’d happily whip up and pack for a picnic, but with smart, bright flavors throughout.

The Food: In my last post, I lamented my recent (poor) eating habits, driven largely by my nutty travel schedule (I have another week-long trip starting tomorrow, and I’m planning to be a lot more diligent about what goes into my body this time!). Coming home to a copy of Bowl + Spoon waiting for me in the mail was exactly what I needed – it’s full of inspiration for healthy, nourishing, and simple meals to fuel you through a busy day. The first recipe I turned to was the Tahini Kale Slaw and Roasted Tamari Portobello Bowl, because it was exactly to my tastes without even a small tweak (although I did skip the carrots as Trevor is allergic). The base of the bowl is a hearty scoop of brown rice, which is then topped with a raw kale slaw dressed in a sweet and savory tahini and citrus sauce. The crowning elements are sesame and soy roasted portobello mushrooms, and perfectly ripe avocado. The beauty of this recipe, besides that it’s filling, healthy, and super simple to prepare, is that each element has a distinct flavor – they don’t run together and end up tasting like a stirfry. I made this two nights in a row, and my body and tastebuds were both grateful.

Recipe Shortlist: Burrata with Figs and Crostini; Golden Quinoa and Butternut Breakfast Bowl; Caribbean Bowl with Jerk-Seasoned White Fish and Tropical Fruit Salsa; Lentil and Rice Bowls with Summer Vegetable Kebabs; Curried Sweet Potato Soup with Crispy Lentils; Lentil and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers over Goat Cheese Butternut Mash; Coconut Sorbet with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce; Key Lime Eton Mess

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon from Ten Speed Press, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Tahini Kale Slaw and Roasted Tamari Portobello Bowl

Recipe from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon. Serves 2.

For the Tahini Citrus Miso Dressing:

• 1/2 c. tahini
• 2 TBS white or yellow miso
• 2 TBS honey
• 1 TBS toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp Sriracha or hot sauce
• 1 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 c. orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon juice, to taste

1. In a mixing bowl or mason jar, whisk together the tahini, miso, honey, sesame oil, Sriracha, vinegar, and orange juice until smooth and evenly combined. Thin with water or lemon juice, 1 TBS at a time, if needed. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. The dressing will keep, covered, in the fridge for two weeks.

For the Tahini Kale Slaw and Roasted Tamari Portobello Bowl:

• 2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
• 2 TBS toasted sesame oil
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS tamari or soy sauce
• 1 bunch lacinato (tuscan) kale, central stems removed
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 1/2 c. sunflower sprouts or microgreens
• 1 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
• 1/3 c. roasted and salted sunflower seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a small roasting pan with tinfoil and place the portobello mushrooms in it. Rub both sides with the sesame oil and with sea salt and black pepper. Place them gill side up on the roasting pan and drizzle with the soy sauce. Roast until soft and collapsing, about 15-18 minutes. Remove from the pan and thinly slice.
2. While the mushrooms are roasting, prepare the kale slaw. Finely chop the kale into slivers, then toss with the carrot and scallions. Dress with the tahini citrus dressing to taste, rubbing the dressing into the kale to help tenderize it. Add the sprouts to the salad just before serving.
3. To assemble the bowls, divide the brown rice between two bowls. Top with a generous portion of the kale slow, 1 of the sliced portobellos, and half the cubed avocado. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve.

The post Book Club: Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon // Tahini Kale Slaw and Roasted Tamari Portobello Bowl appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.