SWEET N' SALTY FALL APPLE BUDDHA BOWL

Finally that time of the year has come, that special season......and no I'm not talking about tax season......I'm referring to the fall. Phew! Aka where sugar and spice and everything nice appears all around you in the form of overpriced goods like pumpkin spice lattes, cinnamon sugar candles and those tiny but adorable wooden pumpkins you will only use to decorate your house for three months out of the year.....me included! Staring at this picture I feel dumbfounded as to why I crave a buddha bowl at the onset of the cold season, even though I never seem to care for them during the summer (the time of the year that Instagram foodies tell you these bowls are necessary to be cool). As I looked in my refrigerator and saw a plethora of apples inside I decided I need to concoct a fall recipe.

Often I see buddha bowls (and macro bowls too) online filled with a random assortment of vegetables, sauerkraut and other pickled items or a sauce that just doesn't seem to fit well. What I like about this recipe is its simplicity and cohesiveness. The tingle of the cinnamon in your mouth, the sweetness and saltyness dancing off your tongue and the teensy little kick of spice to keep you on your toes. Yes I decribe in detail the pleasure my food gives me, but you need to understand that for me cooking and eating is like a romantic experience and I only hope to share that feeling with you!

Below is the recipe for the sweet n' salty apple and garbanzo beans. Also pictured is lettuce, a homemade black bean hummus, quinoa and radishes.

GARBANZO BEANS

--- Ingredients ---

1 apple

1 can garbanzo beans

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1 teaspoon (almost 1) sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

A dash of cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Step 1 ----

I forgot to write down the precise recipe as I made this, but I can explain to you what I remember. So first place a medium sized pan on the stove over medium heat. Next open one can of garbanzo beans and rinse and drain the beans over a colander.

Step 2 ----

Then cook the garbanzo beans on the heat for 7-10 minutes first. After add one more tablespoon of coconut oil and the rest of the ingredients (except the apple) to the pan and mix around well to make sure the garbanzo beans are all evenly coated with the ingredients. Let the beans cook for another 10 minutes, and adding one chopped apple to the pan for the last five minutes ofcooking time. Throughout the process as the beans are cooking I'd suggest tasting one to see if the beans are starting to dry out yet. You're goal isn't to get the beans crunchy (that's really only something that can be done in the oven) but just to dry them out for the most part and turn them slightly crispy on the outside.

Step 3 ----

Assembling this bowl for me was easy for me, because I just added some precooked rainbow quinoa, already made hummus and raw vegetables. As long as you don't add anything that will not go well with the sweet and saltiness of the garbanzo beans then this bowl will turn out amazing! Keep in mind that I always make my black bean hummus with a light amount of garlic so it can be used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. If you have a hummus that is very savory, such as having too much garlic in it, it might not be the right fit for the recipe above. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

BLACK BEAN HUMMUS

--- Ingredients ---

3&1/2 cups black beans

2 teaspoons tahini

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

1 clove garlic

Step 1 ---

Either use canned black beans or fresh for this recipe. I soaked and cooked black beans but you can do whatever you like. I ended up soaking the beans overnight and they took about 45 minutes to cook on the stove. Next just add everything into a blender and blend well. So I added a tiny bit of raw garlic, but you could add roasted garlic, or more raw or no garlic if you prefer. I would suggest just a little garlic of you're going to add it to this buddha bowl recipe, so the hummus doesn't clash too much with the sweetness of the beans.

Honestly after making this I think I prefer black bean hummus to garbanzo bean, because black beans have more of an earthy/nutty/mushroom flavor. Well that might not make sense to you.....but I hope you enjoy this recipe!