My sweet friend Nicki of From Scratch Fast just came out with an amazing new cookbook called Build-a-Bowl, and she and her publisher were nice enough to send me a copy as a gift! I have really enjoyed flipping through the pages and planning out some meals—everything is gluten-free and super easy and delicious to prep and cook.

The chapter that caught my eye the most, though, was the fruit chapter—maybe it’s because fall is in full swing, but warm grain bowls with delicious fruit and nuts sound so amazing for breakfast right now! I had trouble picking just one to share, but finally decided on the banana bread bowl (next on my list are the apple crisp bowl and pumpkin pie rice pudding)!

Banana Bread Bowl, from Build-a-Bowl by Nicki Sizemore

Ingredients:

• 3 medium ripe bananas

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or virgin coconut oil, plus more for serving

• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

• 1 batch cooked brown rice

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

• Your choice of milk, as needed

• Coarsely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans, for serving

• Flaky sea salt, for serving

Instructions:

1. Using a fork, mash one of the bananas into a purée.

2. Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, for 1 minute. Scrape in the banana purée and coo, stirring for 1 to 2 minutes. Slide in the rice and flaxseeds, and stir to combine. Pour in enough milk to loosen the mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Slice the remaining 2 bananas.

4. Spoon the warm grains into bowls. Top each bowl with a knob of butter, sliced bananas, toasted walnuts, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

I love these recipes because you can prep the grains ahead of time and then whip together everything when you’re ready to serve, which I especially enjoy for breakfast, when I’m not usually in the mood to cook a full meal. These banana bread bowls were seriously so good—I made a big batch of it so I can enjoy one every morning with my coffee for the rest of the week.

Congrats, Nicki! Everything looks delicious and I can’t wait to cook more!

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I personally think the best kinds of recipes are the ones you throw together without a plan and then realize it’s so good that you have to write it down so you remember how to make it again, and that’s what this is! I’m a huge fan of a delicious, slow-simmered meat sauce on spaghetti or zucchini noodles (or over rice, or with a fried egg, or some greens…really I’ll put meat sauce on or under anything), but sometimes I don’t have the time, energy, or ingredients to make it happen.

This “sauce” has like 6 ingredients and took me 20 minutes to whip up. I spiralized a couple big zucchini and tossed the noodles in a skillet, threw them in a couple bowls, and topped it with my quick meat sauce and some fresh herbs from my patio. It was a quick, easy, and delicious Monday night dinner when I otherwise might have ordered takeout.

Ingredients:

• 2 large zucchini, spiralized

• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 3/4 of a white onion, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 pound of ground beef

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste

• About 1/2 cup of water or broth (chicken, beef, or veggie would work)

• A handful of cherry tomatoes, if you’ve got ‘em

• A couple tablespoons of chopped green onion and fresh basil (optional but recommended)

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Parmesan cheese for topping (optional but also recommended)

Instructions:

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. (While that’s going on you can salt your zoodles—I recommend putting them in a colander and letting them sit with a generous amount of salt on them for at least 10 minutes.)

2. Add the beef and cook until browned, using a wooden spoon to break beef apart into smaller chunks. Raise heat slightly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour the water in and add tomato paste, stirring well to combine until smooth.

3. Add about half of the green onion and basil. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and allow them to cook until some of them start to wilt or burst. Season everything with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

4. Rinse the zucchini noodles and add to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked to your liking (I prefer mine a bit on the underdone side so they’re still nice and crunchy).

5. Transfer zoodles to bowls, top with sauce, and finish with some Parmesan cheese and the remaining green onion and basil. Serve immediately.

Like I mentioned earlier, you could serve this with regular pasta, stir it into rice, or even eat it plain (which is what I did for breakfast yesterday)—it’s pretty chunky so it’s not soupy or super saucy to eat on its own.

First of all, is there a better word than "garlicky?" I don't think there is--I love it so much.

Rob and I have been watching a few episodes of Chef's Table here and there and I really enjoyed learning about Dominique Crenn and her San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn. I also got excited about Petit Crenn, a less formal (and much less expensive) restaurant from the same chef--I'm hoping Rob and I might be able to get there for brunch one weekend soon. One of my favorite things to do is look at restaurant menus, and I was super inspired by her mushroom tartine. 

We don't really keep bread in the house much, but when we do it's always sourdough and I really love it. I had some mushrooms as well and decided to sauté them as usual (tons of butter, plenty of garlic), but instead of serving them as a side with dinner, I spooned them onto buttered toast and had them for lunch.

10/10, would make again.

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces of sliced mushrooms--whatever you like, I use baby bellas

• 2-3 tablespoons of butter

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 slices of sourdough bread, toasted

• A sprinkle of crushed red pepper (optional)

• 2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped scallions

Instructions: 

1. In a large skillet, melt about half of the butter over medium-high heat.

2. Add the mushrooms and stir well to get every side covered in butter. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until browned.

3. Add the minced garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Cook another 4-5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked and completely browned (I like them a little crispy). Stir in a little more butter, reserving some for the toast. Remove from heat.

4. Toast your bread and allow to cool slightly. Spread remaining butter onto the bread and top with mushrooms. Garnish with scallions and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, if desired.

I'm a pretty big fan of butter, especially for this recipe, but if you're vegan or dairy-free you could totally use olive oil instead and it would still be delicious.

Move over, avocado toast.