THRIVE RESTAURANT PLUS HOMEMADE QUINOA POWER BOWL

How often do you go to a restaurant, try a dish and then want to make something similar at home?

For me, it happens a lot.

This week I met five lovely gals for lunch — many of us hadn’t seen each other in ages and we were overdue for a proper catch up.

We met at Thrive — the food cart/caterer who’s moved on to a brick and mortar in Beaumont in the former Alameda Cafe spot.

One lunch here and I can understand why they’ve been able to graduate to a store front — they’re making some great grub.

In the starter section, we got the Crispy Polenta Squares (served with sauteed greens and Romesco sauce).

Holy cow — delicious.

And then as my friend Elona pointed out, just when you think you’re tired of kale salads, you come across a new version of the dish that has the ability to draw you back in.

Like this Italian Summer Kale Salad.

I know the combination sounds like a hot mess — plums, ricotta crumble and sundried tomatoes — but somehow it worked out beautifully. There was such restraint and savvy understanding of flavors in this vivid combination that I cannot stop thinking about it — even two days later.

And then there are all the bowls.

Here’s a glimpse as to how they do it — and all the different paths they are prepared to take you on.

So you start with the rice bowl (or quinoa) and buy a plane ticket to your desired flavor destination.

For a couple dollars more, you can add a protein of your choice (tempeh, chicken, pork belly, hangar steak or fish).

One of us opted for the Mexican Bowl.

The tomatillo-avocado salsa and creamy lime sauce made for a beguiling companion to the beans and veggies.

A couple of us ordered the Kashmir Indian Yogurt Bowl.

While it was just a tad too cabbage heavy for my likes, the curry was delicious and I loved stumbling upon the tasty roasted veggies under the thick yellow cloak of sauce.

A generous serving of roasted cashews sealed the deal.

The restaurant was doing a brisk business and I appreciate another interesting dining option in the neighborhood.

Back at home, I looked at the menu I’d nabbed and saw that you could swap out quinoa for the brown rice and that got me thinking.

If I could make myself a dream bowl of my favorite ingredients and flavors, what would it be?

We eat burrito bowls a lot (as well as an occasional Thai larb one), but where else could I go with this bowl thing?

Thrive had me thinking more internationally.

I had some leftover brown rice and I made some quinoa to go with it; did you know quinoa cooks in just fifteen minutes or so?

Do you love quinoa but hate how pricey it’s become lately?

Do what I often do; make a pot of brown rice and then another of quinoa early in the week.

Brown rice is about one-quarter the cost and together you get the attributes of both — at a much cheaper price.

With these in the fridge, you have the foundation for loads of good eating: bowls, wraps, an interesting beginning for a homemade soup and a fantastic addition to salads like spinach or arugula.

Okay, with the quinoa started, I moved onto my protein and vegetables. With the oven preheated to 450 degrees, I was ready to rock it.

I started with a piece of salmon.

I gave it a lot of TLC, rubbing it with Meyer lemon (both juice and zest), cumin, and a bit of garlic oil, and into the oven it went.

It came out fragrant and garlicky, and it was all I could do but stop myself from eating it all straight out of the oven.

A chiffonade of basil and a squeeze of lemon and salt was all that was needed.

I cut up broccolini and cauliflower and gave it a spirited Indian send-off.

I mixed up a fragrant Garam Masala blend with orange juice and more garlic oil and drizzled that all over the vegetables. I salted liberally and then it was oven-ready.

The quinoa was now done. I knew my salmon and veggies would be in the oven about fifteen minutes — just enough time to whip up two quick sauces for my bowl.

I wanted both a creamy sauce to pull it all together and a tangy herby partner to spike it up.

I made them both in fifteen minutes– and that included running out to my garden to snip some basil, proving my ineptitude for new math homework and time spent searching for the tahini in my pantry refrigerator (note to self: why on earth do I have so many sauces in there?)

The sauce on the left was roughly equal parts lemon juice, water and tahini (with a bit of garlic, cumin and salt added) and the end result was both creamy and luscious.

The raita was made with a half of a chopped English cucumber, about two cups of Greek yogurt, a small bunch of cilantro and a big handful of basil, lemon juice, a little chopped shallot and salt and pepper.

My pal Vitamix made quick work of them both.

I grabbed two last ingredients — sliced lemon (because  I love it squeezed on almost everything I eat) and fried Fava beans.

Do you need this hard-to-find ingredient? Absolutely not– I just had leftovers from a recent cocktail party and thought that their salty crunch would made a welcome addition to the bowl (chopped almonds could easily stand in their stead).

Ripe avocado? I thought might as well extend an invite — invariably my green pal knows how to play nice and get along with almost anybody.

Time to pull it all together.

I broke up the salmon into manageable chunks and called over my two sauces.

I spooned a good amount of each sauce throughout the bowl, and gave it a toss.

I seasoned the mixture with salt, squeezed in more lemon, and then added Sriracha for an extra karate chop of flavor.

Houston, we have lift off.

Will this mixed bowl win any beauty contests? No.

Will the flavors rock your world? They should.

My husband I loved it so much that we’ve eaten it two dinners in a row (and he hates most leftovers). I also ate it for lunch.

Rare is the dish that feels both so healthy and crave-inducing; this salmon quinoa bowl with assertive flavors had it going on.

Quinoa, brown rice, salmon, roasted vegetables, carrot, avocado, and Greek yogurt. Doesn’t that sound like a nutritionist’s dream line-up?

Do you enjoy a good bowl? What’s your favorite– either from a restaurant or your own kitchen?

Spill it, friends — inquiring minds want to know.