Happy New Year, all! I have a very good feeling about 2014, don’t you? I am excited to meet up with you, and SCB, here once a week. Let’s make it a good one!

After the last month of fresh rolls, rich stews, chocolate cakes, buttery cookies, and the like, I was ready this weekend for something a bit more striped down.

Our own CMB came over to help me with some household projects (read: a big clear out!) and we decided to have a nice lunch before we dug into our work.

Use this as a rough starting place. Your Rice & Bean Bowls can have a anything at all that you like included. Here is what we went with for our lunch. Enjoy!

Rice & Bean Bowls
Rice
Beans
Roasted Squash
Sauteed Kale
Avocado
Salsa
Feta
Pickled Veggie (we used our old recipe to quick pickle radishes!)
Lime

We had beautiful Charleston Gold Rice from Anson Mills, from my dear friend Shari, so we boiled that up. It smelled and tasted so very good. I would encourage you to find some good rice if you have a few extra dimes to spare. It does make a difference.

We did not soak our black beans but instead went with a can of organic black beans to save time. We chopped garlic and added in some cumin and coriander. We simmered them on low, in their juices, for as long as it took to make the rice.

We roasted our squash on 450ºF tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper until it was soft.

We sauteed our kale with a bit of water and olive oil until it was just softened. You still want your kale to be a healthy shade of green.

We simply sliced our avocado, limes and feta so they could be added on at the end.

What I find so nice with Rice & Bean Bowls is that you can put it all on the table and let your guests serve themselves. Easy peasy. Bring on the next easy meal of 2014!

—MAV