Buddha Bowl

While I love cooking, I typically don’t want to spend my whole day doing it.  I think that’s why so many people have gotten into meal prepping:  cook on Sunday and eat for the whole week.  I love the concept, especially when you have a busy week ahead of you, but I don’t want to eat the same thing every day!  Enter the Buddha Bowl.  

The recipe here is portioned for one serving, but you definitely don’t want to do all of this cooking for just one meal.  Lately, I’ve been cooking lots of quinoa, lentils, and vegetables and storing them away to build whatever kind of lunch I want that day.  Indian spiced lentils with spinach, caramelized onions, and sweet potato?  Quinoa with taco seasoning and grilled chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and black beans?  The combinations are endless and perfectly accommodating to any and all leftovers that are hanging around the fridge.  Just make sure to add protein (both lentils and quinoa have tons of this!), lots of veggies, and any seasonings you want.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Buddha Bowl

-1/2 sweet potato

-1 c cooked quinoa

-1/4 of an avocado

-2 c kale, chopped

-1/2 tsp coconut oil

-1/4 of a roasted chicken breast

-1/4 c roasted chickpeas*

-sliced red onion

-cilantro

-salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes to taste

Roast your sweet potato at 400º for about 50 minutes to an hour or until it’s very soft.  (You can make this and the chickpeas at the same time)  Next add the kale and coconut oil to a pan with a little salt and pepper and cook until wilted.  Finally just add everything to a bowl and season to taste.

*For the roasted chickpeas, drain, rinse, and pat dry 1 can of chickpeas.  Then put them on a baking sheet with 1 tsp of coconut oil and a few dashes of cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Bake them at 400º for 40 to 50 minutes, shaking every 15 minutes or so.  You want them to get very crunchy–usually a couple of mine burn while this is happening, but they taste great too!  These are one of my all time favorite snacks, so I usually make a couple of cans at a time.

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Tuesday’s Table – Kale Salad with Quinoa, Feta and Crasins

On Saturday night I had Jonathan Waxman’s excellent Kale Salad at Adele’s in Nashville. It reminded me that I haven’t made one of my favorite kale salads in a while, and I have never posted it on our blog before. One of my dear friends introduced me to this salad over a year ago, and I have made it many times. It is inexpensive, healthy, and keeps well! It will keep in Tupperware in your fridge from Mon-Th/Fri. And that’s usually exactly when I eat it – the work week. It is the perfect, easy lunch to take with you to work or to have all ready to eat in the fridge.

  

  

Kale Salad with Quinoa, Feta, and Crasins

Salad:

1 large bunch of kale, washed well, dried, and torn/chopped into small bits

1/2 c. cooked quinoa, prepared according to package

1/4. c. crumbled feta

1/4 c. crasins

1/4 c. toasted pepitas/pecans/pine nuts (pick your favorite or use whatever nut you have, just toast them first)

Dressing:

2 Tbs. olive oil

juice of one lemon

1 small clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp. dijon mustard

freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

While you are preparing your quinoa according to its packaging (boiling water, letting it absorb said water, etc.), wash and dry your kale. Kale can be quite sandy so really rinse each leaf, then let dry. Once mostly dry pull leaves from their stems and tear or chop into small bits.

Prepare dressing.

  

Combine dressing with kale.

  

Add crasins, feta, nuts (that need to be toasted, do this on your stove top in a matter of 3-5 minutes – make more than you need and save them. You will use them!) and hot quinoa. I like adding the quinoa as soon as it’s finished cooking so it can help almost soften the kale.

  

Put in air tight container and in your fridge.

I make this on Sunday night and have it several days during the week. I love it! I also love that its a cold salad but tastes a bit like fall. Perfect for our in between weather!

Enjoy!!

Mini-Getaway to Leiper’s Fork

Two of my friends and I have talked about taking a day trip to Leiper’s Fork for months. Leiper’s Fork is a teeny town 25 minutes South of Nashville in Williamson County. We delayed the trip again and again for one reason or another then two weeks ago we decided to take off and go for a late lunch and to spend Friday afternoon exploring. It was SUCH a fun little escape.    

We started with lunch at Joe Natural’s, http://joenaturals.com They have plenty of outside seating in the front and back and a dining room inside as well. We found a picnic table out back, sat down and persued the menu. Their menu changes daily, everything is made right then and made to order so it might take a while, but they will take good care of you during your wait. They graciously brought us frozen grapes and smoked Gouda popovers while we waited just to be accommodating.

We ordered two of their salads and their cheeseburger (which was more like a patty melt, yum!) to split. The burger was tasty, but I cannot talk enough about their amazing  salads! I’ve thought about them several times since our visit and will definitely be going back for just one of these.    

Joe Natural’s is only open from Friday-Sunday from 11am – 3pm, Saturday nights by reservation only. They’ve also just started doing a songwriters night on Thursdays that is BYOB, and they serve tapas and desserts. Puckett’s also has a Thursday night songwriter night as well so it sounds like it would basically a music filled block party on Thursday’s. Cannot wait to go back for this!

Other restaurant options that looked good are the original Puckett’s Grocery and Fly South (it’s owned by the folks who have Firefly in Greenhills).      

 

After lunch we browsed through antique shops, art galleries and independent boutiques. Some of the shops were affordable and some were not (well, not for me), but take time to look and be inspired. My favorite shops and galleries were:

Davis Arms – this is his gallery but also a very well curated shop of Southern goodness. http://www.davidarms.com        

The Copper Fox http://thecopperfoxgallery.com  

Leiper’s Creek Gallery – Exquisite art gallery; many types and all of which I would have loved to come home with me. http://leiperscreekgallery.com  

West & Company – When you walk into West & Co you smell leather and goodness. This shop has a little bit of everything and is somewhere I know my husband or father would like to spend serious time (and money). http://www.thewestandcompany.com  

Serenite Maison – This store reminds me a little bit of bigger version of White’s Mercantile in Nashville. Everything from fabulous smelling candles and lotions to French antiques to funky signs and leather goods. http://www.serenitemaison.com/serenitemaison/Serenite_Maison_-_Welcome.html  

It was such a treat to feel like we were in the middle of nowhere, Mayberry. There are Adirondacks set up over looking rolling hills of green just inviting you to sit and slow down.      Take 1/2 of a day and lose yourself in this one block, gem of a town. You will not regret it.

http://www.visitleipersfork.com    

   

3 Minute Homemade Hummus

We’ve got a wedding in less than two weeks! Julia is getting married on May 30th and since I am the Matron of Honor so I am determined to be as healthy as possible in the coming days.

For lunch this week I decided to whip up a quick batch of homemade hummus and put together a plate of veggies with turkey and hummus. Easy as can be wether you are eating at home, on the go or at the office.

   
   3 Minute Hummus

1 Can of Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas, drained and rinsed

1/4 c. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Tahini (optional — tahini is sesame paste and available in the international aisle of the grocery store, by Greek items)

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp. Salt

2 Tbs. Water

Sprinkle of Paprika and/or Red Pepper Flakes for serving

Combine all ingredients to mini-food processor and purée until desired texture. Add a touch more of olive oil and water if for a more smooth texture.

    

    

Enjoy!!

Curry Chicken Salad

You cannot go wrong with this chicken salad. It is the perfect go-to weekday lunch, weekend at the lake/beach sustenance or appetizer.

This Curry Chicken Salad is one those recipes that Julia, my mom, and I have been making for years. Tried and true. 

Our recipe can be made Dairy Free if you remove Greek yogurt and add more mayonnaise. It can also be Gluten Free depending on the chicken you use. While it’s very easy to use a rotisserie (most of these cannot be trusted to be completely gluten free unless it specifically says so), you can also use leftover roasted or grilled chicken or you could bake some of your own.

   

Curry Chicken Salad

1 Rotisserie Chicken, Shredded

2 Tbs Mayonnaise

2 Tbs F Free Plain Greek Yogurt

4 Chopped Green Onions

1/3 c. Chopped Cilantro

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1/3 c. Chopped Golden Raisins

1/3 c. Shredded, Toasted Coconut

1 Tbs. Curry Powder

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Black Pepper

2 Tbs Mango Chutney (optional)

Combine. Refrigerate for two hours before serving.

Excellent served over greens, on pita or tortilla chips, on top of baby romaine leaves, or with crackers, etc. Yum.

Enjoy!!