NECTARINE, TOMATO + BURRATA CAPRESE

It's a version of the same conversation we had at our old apartment when I was pregnant with Curran. As a couple, you become so used to the cadence that is just the two of you. There is both quiet and dance parties and nights when you feel like cooking and others when it's refreshing to get dressed up and go out. Before kids, it's hard to imagine how he, she, they, will fit in to a rhythm that is not always easy, but familiar. But somehow, and not without tears and grace in the adjustment, it's as if I don't remember our son not being here. I don't pine for the quieter days or cleaner floors or less expensive grocery bill. I never felt something was missing, but he makes us feel more whole. "What will it be like with another little person around here?" I ask. It's more rhetorical. I don't expect Hugh to have the answer but suppose by asking, I want him to tell me it's going to be alright, that we can do it, that we will adjust just like we did the first time and he does. 

There is a big sliding mirror behind our bathroom sink and not a beautiful one. It is heavy, hard to open and has a yellow gold trim dating it's origin to the 70's when the house was built. I stand profile to it to take in the shape of my belly. My thighs and hips are showing the lack of exercise and bean and cheese burritos that have taken the place of my pre-pregnancy gigantic green salads. Same song, one year later, I feel like I was just doing this? I was. My body has carried a child, now growing another one, and in my own self consciousness' that can often steal all of the joy from those magical feats, I remember the work that that belly, thighs and hips are doing. The growing and the nursing, your body doesn't feel like your own for well over a year and I think it's ok to find that a little crazy making. I am growing a little girl, our daughter, and vanity aside, it's the most magical process. It feels different this time - harder, hungrier, less beautiful, if I may be so honest. They are babies and then they are PEOPLE! Curran has his own language that we can sometimes understand and gives hugs with a little pat and deduces that any toy that does not move or make noise needs a battery ("mommy. daddy. bowerry?"). He waves at airplanes and dislikes the car seat and really likes to throw things "awey". I, we, are completely taken by him. How does one do that twice?!?! So much to process and anticipate but come January, we will be welcoming a baby girl to the family and I may just burst from how completely I love my babies. 

Thank goodness I do recipe development for work because it forces me to cook when I otherwise can easily talk myself out of it lately. Ashley and I have been developing recipes for Electrolux this past year and they have a seriously delicious looking collection going on over there now. Because it has been blazing hot here and the less heating elements I have to turn on, the better, I wanted to point you towards this super simple salad. I realize we're seeing the end of stonefruits and tomatoes now but they are still sweet and juicy so get to it. 

NECTARINE, TOMATO + BURRATA CAPRESE

Serves 2-4

The full recipe can be found at Live.Love.Lux. along with a heap of other great tomato recipes this month. Think of this as less of a recipe and more an assembly of produce and creamy cheese at it's best. I like this with a bit of balsamic too or pile the goods on garlic rubbed toast. 

GREENY SALAD WITH CRISPY CHICKPEAS + ROASTED JALAPENO DRESSING

Green Things Salad . Sprouted Kitchen

I deleted the words I was struggling through to sum up the responsibility I feel to Curran after listening to my cousins talk about their mom at my aunt's memorial last weekend. I'm not talking making baby food and reading him books, but the big stuff, or the in-between. I have the most intense dislike for the word "supermom" because it always seems to be used in a context which dumbs down the job of being a mother to sewing the best Halloween costumes or having the most crafts at your kids' birthday party while encouraging competition and comparing and blech. I listened to how her boys' spoke of how much she taught them through gracious discipline, humbled generosity, taking them on adventures and quiet listening. If the phrase existed before my generation of parenting, my Aunt actually would have been a textbook supermom, but her boys didn't praise her sewing or baking or gardening or crafts. They spoke of how she made them feel - how she built them up and encouraged them to find a way that made them truly happy. Our parenting is so much more relational than we see in the small picture. To nurture that is a role you don't read about in a baby book, you get a clear picture when you hear young men describe the sort of mother they knew. The honor is mine.

“You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. Be a warrior for love.” 

- Cheryl Strayed

It's been warm here this week and all the plans of stews and roasted this and that don't sound right. I have a salad in our new book that is full of all my favorite green things, and this is similar. It looks gorgeous in all it's monochromatic colors while still having contrast of texture and flavor. The chickpeas are like a teeny crouton and with the snap of the seeds, this is almost closer to a slaw with all it's crunch. Anyway, it's nice to change up the routine I've been in of roasted squash and see spring around the corner.

Green Things Salad . Sprouted Kitchen

Green Things Salad . Sprouted Kitchen

Green Things Salad . Sprouted Kitchen

GREENY SALAD WITH CRISPY CHICKPEAS + ROASTED JALAPENO // Serves 4

The smoky chickpeas adapted from The First Mess

This should yield enough dressing for a second salad. When I ate the leftovers of this, I added on some pom seeds and sheeps feta (my staples) and they work so well here. If you want a little color, sweetness and salty cheese, they're a welcomed addition.

• / smoky chickpeas /
• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed and towel dried
• 1/2 tsp. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• few pinches of sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400'. On a parchment lined baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with the maple, oil, paprika and a few picnhes of salt and pepper. Spread in a single later and bake for 20 minutes until crispy. Set aside while you prepare the rest of your salad.

• / roasted jalapeno dressing /
• 1 roasted jalapeno*
• 1 Tbsp. chopped shallot
• 1/2 cup (a handful) roughly chopped cilantro
• juice of one lime (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. agave nectar or honey
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Stem the jalapeno and remove all, half or none of the seeds depending on your spice preference (I used half and found it plenty spicy). Into a blender or food processor, combine the roasted jalapeno, shallot, cilantro, lime juice, white wine vinegar, agave, olive oil and salt. Blend until well combined. 

* To roast the jalapeno, coat the outside in oil and roast at 400' for 20 minutes. This can be done while you're baking the chickpeas. 

• 4 packed cups baby kale
• 2 cups shredded brussels sprouts
• 3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 1 cup finely diced cucumber
• 1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1 avocado, peeled and quartered

 In a large salad bowl, combine the baby kale, shredded brussels, green onions, cucumber and half of the pumpkin seeds. Toss with desired amount of dressing and top with the remaining seeds, crispy chickpeas and avocado. 

Green Things Salad . Sprouted Kitchen

MARRAKESH CARROT SALAD + BOOK PRE-ORDER!

Carrot Salad . A Bowl Food . Sprouted Kitchen

A few months back I had a lunch date with a wise friend of mine and we got to chatting about this recent cookbook project. She's the sort of friend I don't give general answers to - she asked how I was feeling about it and I immediately shared my insecurities. You see, people have expectations when they buy a cookbook and it is tough, absolutely impossible really, to meet all of them. We are all different cooks with different experience, definitions of easy, too healthy, not healthy, creative, complicated, difficult-to-find ingredients and such. As I told her about the recipes and my worries about how they'd be received, we realized they made sense with what was simultaneously happening in my own life. I was pregnant and moving into our first house and those big life events were affecting how I was cooking. Some recipes were coming up simpler to save time and I seemed to find whipped cream appropriate for each dessert which I blame on the tiny person I was growing in my belly. I became muddled in the trying to do it *right* for positive feedback and lost sight of it being mine. Her encouragement stuck with me and changed my perspective, and I see me, us, in each of these pages. The beautiful thing about blogs, and cookbooks that come from blogs, is that there is more we can know of the story than just instructions on how to make food. Perhaps you become invested in the narrative and the food becomes personal. I think that's pretty unique.

So, if I may direct your attention over to the side bar you will see the cover of our cookbook that comes out at the end of March. March! Three more months! Ah!

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm stealing a paragraph from the overview:

The seed for this book was planted by an indirect compliment from my husband Hugh about my cooking. Knowing I was an enthusiastic home cook, someone had asked him what my “specialty” was. He and I both know I don’t necessarily have a favorite cuisine. Through trial, error and money wasted, I’m mediocre at cooking meat. I am too unconventional for perfect baking and err on the side of health nut for classical dishes. What I do well, is what I care most about, which is produce. I have an affinity for seasonal vegetables and whole foods with bold dressings or sauces. I crave healthful, colorful foods that taste good. My specialty, per se, is food in a bowl - combinations of vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, big salads - texture and flavor that go together to make a simple, nutritious meal that makes sense composed in one vessel. “Bowl foods” was Hugh’s answer to the question. First I took offense, then I laughed about it, and after telling the story, I came to realize that this is the way a lot of whole foods focused eaters cook. A dish colorful enough to serve when friends are over for dinner, the kind of meal you can bring to the couch with nothing but a spoon or fork, or where leftovers can be packed up easily for the following day. One could argue that food in a bowl has an aesthetic gentleness to it that falls stark on a plate. Ingredients nestled within each other, tangled to make sense as a sum of their parts. I am using the bowl as a point of inspiration for the recipes shared here.

--

There are breakfast bowls and dips and salads and full meals with a whole grain, protein, vegetables and sauce (like you see on the cover) and a brief sweets chapter with a frequent appearance of whipping cream :) The recipe below is one of the side salads. To make it a full meal, we make these herby falafels to have with it. I made the salad here with pretty purple carrots and lentils where the one in the book uses vibrant orange carrots and chickpeas. I think it could be a holiday side if that's what you're looking for but it's also nice to have a bowl prepared in the fridge to keep you from the sweets when you need a nibble. Anyway, it is one of my favorites. Bowl + Spoon is different than our first book in a way I can't quite describe outside of it having a theme. All I know is that I'm super excited for you all to see. I will update the book page after the holidays once I have a hard copy and some more information on events and such. 'Til then, preorder is available at these booksellers:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Google Books

ibookstore

Indie Bound

Powell's

Carrot Salad . A Bowl Food . Sprouted Kitchen

Carrot Salad . A Bowl Food . Sprouted Kitchen

MARRAKESH CARROT SALAD // Serves 6

This may be a good time for the grater blade on your food processor. It'll save you time. Go with a firmer lentil, like beluga or Puy, so they hold shape in the salad. Chickpeas are written in the original salad so use what you have or prefer. Though you could still make this without, I suggest the good feta cheese, one made with sheeps milk, not cow. It may be an extra dollar or two but it's worth it. Trader Joes sells an incredible one by Pastures of Eden in a yellow and green package. 

• 4 cups grated carrots
• 3/4 cup cooked lentils, rinsed and drained
• 7 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 5 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup toasted pistachios
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of two limes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Carrot Salad . A Bowl Food . Sprouted Kitchen

Carrot Salad . A Bowl Food . Sprouted Kitchen

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, lentils, dates, red onion, scallions and cilantro. Break up any bits of dates that are sticking together.

In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, zest and juice of the limes, cumin, nutmeg, tumeric, red pepper, salt and pepper. 

Pour the dressing over the carrot salad and toss to coat. Give the pistachios a rough chop and sprinkle on top along with the feta cheese. Serve as is or cover and chill in the fridge. 

Carrot Salad . A Bowl Food . Sprouted Kitchen