Recipes & Remedies: Vitamin Bowl

By Sara Dahmen

In a Wisconsin January, the sun doesn’t show up often, we have nothing growing in our
gardens, and we all want to get our systems clear of the rough weeks of eating and
drinking…maybe not our best. These vitamin bowls are filled with all kinds of colorful fruits and vegetables. If you prepare all the ingredients ahead of time, you can get several meals out of this recipe – perfect for a week of lunches! This is an explosion of divine flavors that all work together; they can be eaten just like the recipe states below, or you can add some lean roasted, skinless chicken breast on top at the end.

For the bowl:
4 cups cooked and drained red quinoa
1 large sweet potato – peeled and chopped into 1” squares and roasted (see directions
below)
1 can black beans tossed with ½ each of salt, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika
1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 blood orange, peeled and sliced into round circles
4 cups fresh spinach
4 Tbsp pickled red onion
For the slaw topping:
1 cup finely sliced green cabbage
1 cup finely sliced purple cabbage
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ cup tahini
1/3 cup warm water
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

To prepare:
Heat oven to 425°. Toss the chopped sweet potato with some oil or water and lightly dust with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes.  While the sweet potatoes roast, mix the seasonings with the black beans and set aside. Mix all the slaw ingredients and set aside.
Toss the cauliflower with oil, salt and pepper and add to the pan with the sweet potato in the oven. Bake together another 15 minutes.  While the cauliflower and potatoes roast together, mix the sauce.

When the oven items are done, assemble the bowls. Start with the quinoa on the bottom,
followed by a bed of spinach, then the black beans followed by the cauliflower and sweet
potatoes. From there, add the slaw, then the blood oranges and top with the tahini sauce and then the pickled onions. If you’re using chicken, add on top or right after you place the beans.

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​About the Author
Sara Dahmen is a coppersmith, award-winning author and novelist, and entrepreneur. Her expertise is of vintage and modern cookware; she manufactures pure metal kitchenware in her Fredonia, Wisconsin workshop for her company, House Copper & Cookware. All of her current designs are based on American traditions and wares and are sourced in the USA. When unable to recreate traditional elements, she uses only small family owned and operated makers or Armed Forces veterans to help with the production of her cookware pieces. Her work also includes refurbishing and restoring old and damaged copper using vintage tools.  Learn more about Sara at: https://www.saradahmen.com/​  

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