Rainbow Black Bean Bowl

& I survived a tropical storm/earthquake combo!

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more! Learn more about my paid membership here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

Wow, I cannot believe it is the end of August… I feel like the weeks have just been blurring together. This week was bit of a doozy, though!

We survived Hurricane Hilary and the earthquake all in one day, although the hurricane had been downgraded to a tropical storm at that point and was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I was born and raised in Southern California, so rain like that in the summer is extremely unusual. However, I was living in NYC during Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Irene, so I do have a little bit of hurricane experience under my belt.

Now that summer is winding down (sad), I find myself at a weird crossroads were much of summer food has been done by now, but I’m really not ready to transition into fall yet, especially since it’s supposed to be 99 degrees next week (help)? I plan to devour as many juicy tomatoes as possible until they’re out of season and just cook whatever craving hits in the moment.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

I typically blend my matcha lattes, which is delicious, but definitely not traditional. I’ve been trying to explore preparing matcha the more traditional way by whisking in a bowl, and I recently purchased this matcha bowl because I wanted one with a spout! It’s very chic looking and was definitely affordable.

Aesop is a guilty pleasure in our household, and ever since Grant and I have switched to bar soap in the shower to be more eco-friendly, we’ve been experimenting with different brands. Surprise, surprise, we’ve been super pleased with Aesop, and we just bought their Nurture Bar Soap over the weekend. It smells amazing (with hints of rosemary, cedar, and lavender) and feels so smooth on the skin.

My queen Justine put out a recipe yesterday that had me running to the grocery store. You guys know how much I love peppers, and her Chickpea and Farro Pepperonata looks to die for. Haven’t made it yet, but plan to this week!

RECIPE!

This healthy rice and bean bowl is loaded with the goods — massaged kale, super soft sautéed onions and peppers, mango salsa, avocado, Greek yogurt, and pickled onions. Yes, that’s right onion lovers, double onions!

I love using Greek yogurt as a “sour cream,” because I always have it on hand, but feel free to use regular sour cream as well! The peppers and onions give a fajita vibe, and the mango salsa adds some brightness and freshness to the bowl.

Rainbow Black Bean Bowl

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

Bowl

• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced

• 2 bell peppers, sliced (I used red and yellow)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

• 2 cups roughly chopped kale

• 1 avocado, sliced

• 2 scoops Greek yogurt/sour cream

• 1/4 cup pickled onions

• Optional: pickled jalapeños for garnish

• Lime, for garnish

• Salt & pepper

Mango Salsa

• 1/4 finely chopped red onion

• 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes (I used 1 1/2 roma tomatoes)

• 1/2 cup diced mango

• Small handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

• 3/4 tsp chopped serrano peppers (can sub for jalapeño, use a little more!)

• Juice of 1 lime

• Pinch of salt

Beans

• 1 1/2 cups black beans

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)

• 1/4 tsp oregano

1. Start by preparing the salsa. Mix ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. If you need to prepare your rice, do it now.

2. Prepare the peppers and onions by heating 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan on just a tad above medium heat. Add the peppers and yellow onion, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 20-25 minutes until peppers and onions are really cooked down and soft.

3. Add kale to a small bowl, drizzle on some olive oil and sprinkle on a pinch of salt. Massage the kale with your hands to break down the fibers.

4. Toss the beans with spices and a pinch of salt.

5. Add everything to the bowl, starting with the brown rice and kale, followed by the beans, onion and pepper mixture, mango salsa, avocado, yogurt/sour cream, and pickled onions. Garnish with jalapeño and cilantro, and finish off with a squeeze of lime!