Mediterranean Rice Bowl | Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
Have you ever been in the honeymoon phase with something? Maybe it’s a relationship, maybe a new hobby. Maybe a job, maybe it’s your faith. In my youth, it was easy to think the honeymoon phase would last forever. For example, younger me thought, I know that some people stop making out with their husbands on the reg, but Alex and I will NEVER be those people. (Ha! After 9 years of marriage, some things become slightly less regular; not that they don’t happen, but it’s just…different. Ya’ll know what I mean.)
I’m a fairly passionate person, so I regularly go through honeymoon phases with people, and things other than people: like countries in Europe, Pomeranians, salsa dancing, and, of course, healthy-ish cooking. Alex and I have been running A Couple Cooks for almost 6 years now (!), so it’s safe to say that the honeymoon phase is officially over. But you know what? Even though it’s different now, there have been huge learning curves and failures and why don’t we just quit moments, the passion is still there. We love cooking. We love sharing food with people and hearing their stories and making new recipes and trying new things. We’re still here! We’re still doing it and loving it, even though it’s hard and time consuming and not every meal works out.
What gets people through the honeymoon phase in anything, be it a relationship or learning to cook, I think, is commitment. Commitment to keepin’ on keeping on even when it’s not fun anymore. To saying I’m sorry and offering forgiveness, whether it’s to a person or a recipe that failed you. To reinventing yourself when things get hard or mundane. I had no idea this would be part of learning what it means to cook, but you know what? I’m in it for the long haul. (And I hope you are too!)
Also, this Mediterranean rice bowl: so, so good and one of our favorites this year. It’s a very loose take on the Jerusalem Bowl from Fresh, a restaurant we visited in Toronto and loved it so much we bought the cookbook. We’re huge bowl fans and huge Mediterranean food fans, so it’s right up our alley: hummus, pita crisps, cucumber, red pepper, shallot, greens and rice. The rice is flavored with an unexpected twist: it’s drizzled with a lovely olive oil and dried herb mixture, made savory with just a hint of soy sauce. We created this recipe for California Olive Ranch and used their olive oil in the mix, which is our favorite since it’s so flavorful and rich (and it’s produced ethically by a caring business). And, some fun news: we’re planning on learning much, much more about olive oil when we have an expert from California Olive Ranch on the A Couple Cooks Podcast soon! Stay tuned for that. The recipe is also very versatile for many diets being vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
Let us know what you think of the Mediterranean rice bowl if you try it out. And more importantly: are you in the honeymoon phase with something or someone, or navigating through the committed phase? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
- 2 cups brown or white basmati rice, uncooked
- 2 whole wheat pitas, or purchased pita chips (optional)
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 shallot
- 1 red pepper
- 1 English cucumber
- 8 cups salad greens
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus additional for serving
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ cup prepared hummus
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup microgreens
- 1 lemon
- Kosher salt
- Prepare the rice in a rice maker or according to the package instructions.
- If making homemade pita chips, preheat oven to 350F. Brush each pita with olive oil and cut into 8 wedges with a pizza cutter. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a pinch of garlic powder. Bake for 15 minutes until browned and crisp.
- Thinly slice the shallot (into rings), red pepper, and cucumber. Chop the parsley (optional). If necessary, wash and dry the salad greens.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, oregano, dill, and thyme.
- To serve, place greens into bowls, then with rice and drizzle rice with the olive oil mixture. Add a dollop of hummus and sprinkle with paprika. Top with shallot, red pepper, cucumber, microgreens and parsley (if using). To serve, squeeze with lemon wedges (important!), a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt.
This post is sponsored by California Olive Ranch. All opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the partners who keep A Couple Cooks in action!
A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living
from A Couple Cooks http://ift.tt/1SodZxr
No comments:
Post a Comment