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I am so excited to be back in my kitchen! I have been on the road for the past three weeks for work in New York City and then vacation to Europe (more on that in another post) and the one thing I couldn’t wait to do when I returned home was to cook. So much so that I woke up at 7AM this morning and went straight to Whole Foods (jet lag was partially to blame for this…) For lunch today I made myself a Spicy Soul Bowl and it was definitely spicy but really really good if you like a kick to your food.
Makes: 3 servings OR 1 serving plus leftover beans and quinoa (when cooking- just use 1/3 bunch kale, 1/2 avocado and 1 small tomato and simply heat and sauté some more greens and add fresh tomato and avocado later on for a quick meal… that’s what I did today)
You’ll Need:
- 1 14-oz can or box of organic black beans, rinsed and drained (I started buying boxed beans from Whole Foods to avoid cans)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 red onion, chopped (or approximately 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 bunch organic kale
- 3 small or 1 large heirloom tomato
- 1 and 1/2 avocado
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped (or 1/2 large)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Iodized salt
To Make: For the quinoa: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Rinse quinoa in a mesh strainer and add quinoa to saucepan. Lower to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes (or until the water is evaporated and you have nice, fluffy quinoa). Make sure to stir every few minutes to avoid burning on the bottom of the pan. 
For the spicy black beans: Drain and rinse black beans. Seed and chop jalapeno and chop red onion. Finely chop garlic. 
Over medium heat, bring 1 cup of vegetable broth to boil. Add black beans, jalapeno, red onion and garlic plus 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp iodized salt. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. For the kale: While the quinoa and beans are cooking: Rinse kale and put in a large wok or frying pan with 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp water. Cover and let the kale wilt for 2- 3 minutes. Remove lid, add a few dashes of salt and continue to pan fry over medium heat for another 4- 5 minutes. Garnishes: 
Dice your tomatoes and peel and slice avocado. Set to the side. Plating: Picture your serving bowl or plate as quarters. Scoop 1/3 of the cooked quinoa into one quarter, 1/3 of the bean mixture into another, 1/3 of the kale into the third quarter and 1/3 of the diced tomato into the fourth quarter. Top each plate with 1/2 avocado, sliced. Mix together when you eat it, the bean mixture will nicely flavor everything and the tomatoes and avocado give it a refreshing coolness. Enjoy! 
