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ByNancyLindahl Correspondent Platesaresolastyear. The modern way to eat is out of a wide, shallow bowl with about a one-quart ca- pacity As I'm writing this, curled in the darkness of my mailbox sits a just-de- livered Cooking Light mag- azine with a cover story about, you guessed it, big bowls. January's issue of Sunset Magazine started out the year with an 8-page spread on Super Bowls, not the sports kind. Janek Bon- iecki from Bauer Pottery, a Southern California ce- ramics studio that's been producing tableware since the 1930s and sells inter- nationally, as well as in the United States, says his No. 1 best-selling piece is the 9-inch pasta bowl. When questioned about why, he replied, people are eating their meals out of a bowl. This could be a food trend to rival kale in its in- tensity. Pity the makers of plates. Does it say something about what we're eating now? How we've morphed from the haunch of boar gobbled by the fire to the ce- ramic plate used to frame our hunk of meat, peas and potatoes, to the bowl used to corral ever-smaller pieces of protein mixed with grains and vegetables? If so, bowl meals are probably a good thing for our individual health as well as the health of the planet. An artful bowl is lovely and appetizing to look at, and the sides give an edge to push your fork against as you pursue the pieces. You can eat at a table, as if you were eating from a plate, only with your meal elements more squished to- gether, or you can pick the bowl up and enjoy some- thing innately pleasing about the way the curve of the bowl fits into the curve of your hand allowing you to somewhat cradle the food and shorten the dis- tance your fork has to travel between the bowl and your mouth — reminiscent of the joys of chocolate pudding, chicken soup, or ice cream eaten on the couch, cud- dled up in a blanket by the TV when you're home with a cold. Composing a bowl meal is like standing in line to order at T-Bar: you pick a protein (topping), a grain or salad, and a dressing, add some yummy garnishes like avocado, julienned carrots, cucumber, daikon sprouts and sesame seeds, and cre- ate a meal. It can be hot or cold, healthy or simply an im- provement on an old stan- dard. We were in Seattle last week and Hanna ordered an upgraded version of the chopped salad at the Col- lections Café at Chihuly Garden and Glass. A sym- phony of green, the Chihuly chopped salad was com- posed of shaved romaine, grilled chicken, goat horn peppers, garbanzo beans, pickled red onion, chopped bacon, feta cheese, balsamic herb dressing and avocado. Healthy bowls usually involve a chic grain like quinoa, faro, freekeh, ka- sha, bulgur, millet or ama- ranth and a healthy dose of kale. Some are topped with a poached egg, marinated tofu, pine nuts or broccoli florets. I'm intrigued with the semi-healthy ones like this taco salad inspired bowl built on a bed of seasoned quinoa. Add a skewer of grilled shrimp, some pulled pork or grilled chicken breast, if you'd like some meat. Tacoquinoabowl- makes 4 servings Ingredients 11/2cupsuncookedwhite quinoa 1avocado 1cup cherry tomatoes, halved 2cups black beans 2cups corn 1/3 cup cilantro 3green onions 4small corn tortillas 1/4 cup lime juice 1teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pep- per 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon coriander 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon salt Instructions Cook the quinoa. In a large pot, combine 1part quinoa with 2parts water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and then allow to simmer until all the water is ab- sorbed (about 20minutes). Note: It's important to first rinse quinoa under warm water to remove the bitter coating. This is best done in a fine mesh kitchen strainer. Meanwhile, prepare the tortilla strips. You can just throw chopped corn tortillas into the bowl, but I find them much better a er being toasted. To do this, cut 3-4corn tortillas into narrow strips, and toss in a 375º oven for 8-10minutes until they just turn slightly crispy. While those things are cook- ing along nicely, prepare all the fresh ingredients. Dice the avocado. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Slice the green onions. Chop the cilantro. Prepare the corn (frozen works well). Drain the can of beans. Prepare the lime taco seasoning. Basically, this simple taco sauce will coat the quinoa and boost the flavors of this bowl off the charts. To make, combine the juice of about 2limes (if you run out of limes, feel free to top off with water) along with the listed spices in small bowl and whisk until incorporated. Toss everything together. When the quinoa is perfect- ly fluffy, remove from the heat, transfer to a large mix- ing bowl, and gently drizzle in this lime taco seasoning. At this point you can layer the other ingredients in the bowl in a colorful composi- tion, or toss everything in the quinoa bowl until evenly mixed, then divide into 4 bowls. A similar idea with a dif- ferent heritage is the Greek Couscous Bowl. Vegeta- bles are layered on top of a flavored grain, in this case couscous, with a com- pletely different flavor from the Taco Bowl. Greek Couscous Bowl – serves 4 Ingredients 8ounces Israeli couscous 2tablespoons olive oil 2tablespoons lemon juice salt and pepper ½ cup chopped fresh dill 2cups sliced tomatoes 2cups thinly sliced cucum- bers ½ cup kalamata olives, halved ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion ½ cup crumbled feta cheese lemon wedges, coarse salt, dill sprigs and olive oil for serving Instructions Prepare the Israeli cous- cous according to package instructions (omit salt). Stir 1teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon pepper into the prepared couscous. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and dill to the couscous, stir to combine thoroughly. Divide the couscous into four bowls and top evenly with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion and feta. Sprinkle the tops of the veg- etables with coarse salt and drizzle with olive oil. Add the sprigs of dill for garnish and serve with lemon wedges on the side. Recipe by Dinner at the Zoo. These are a couple of ideas to encourage your own sense of experimen- tation. You can begin with rice, polenta, pasta, quinoa, romaine lettuce, Asian noo- dles – you are only limited by your imagination. Think of a flavor profile you like, Thai, Mexican, Greek or Italian for example, and use that as a basis for your dressing and seasoning — add your favorite fruits and vegetables, maybe a bit of meat until you have a bowl that suits your fancy. Choose a couple of bowls that speak to you. These are probably not in your cup- board. Compose your meals to fit, wash them out when you've finished and enjoy the simple life. And here's a bit of wis- dom from comedian Louis C. K. : "The only time you should look in your neigh- bor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neigh- bor's bowl to see if you have as much as them." Don't compare. Share. SWEET BASIL AND THE BEE Bowledover New kitchen creations better in bowls, not on plates PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY NANCY LINDAHL The secret to the taco quinoa bowl: Get a lot of tasty, fresh ingredients and mix them all together for a tasty, fresh meal. By Ann M. Evans Special to The Woodland Daily Democrat "The first thing you have to do is dress up in a sari to cook this food," Meera Klein tells me, who is standing at my door at 10 am dressed in a brightly colored sari. We are cooking some of her recipes from her book, "My Mother's Kitchen, A Novel with Recipes." Klein finishes each chapter with a recipe for a dish woven into the nar- rative, whether through a Hindu celebration or a family meal. For example, one story tells of a young woman to be married by ar- rangement to an older man. She escapes to the protago- nist's house after a severe beating by this man. The protagonist's mother takes in the young woman who becomes part of the fam- ily, working in the kitchen. Over time, a new marriage is arranged to someone the young woman loves and Vegetable Sambar is served at the wedding feast. The dish is made with yellow split peas, or pulses, dry edible seeds of plants in the legume family. The Food and Agriculture Orga- nization of the United Na- tions has declared 2016 the International Year of the Pulses. Pulses are an impor- tant plant protein contribut- ing to world health, a staple eaten by most of the world, and a delicious ingredient in many Indian dishes. In a nation where Hin- duism is the major religion and vegetarianism and re- ligion are strongly linked, pulses are important, as is dairy. Klein's family has been vegetarian for 500 years. Ayurvedic cooking, considered the basis of In- dian food, is a healing sci- ence. The focus is on cook- ing with foods that are fresh and pure and suited to particular physical consti- tutions, which enhance ab- sorption, assimilation and elimination. Klein says in India, it's second nature to cook following this system. For Westerners, it takes conscious thought; a book that helps is "Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners," by Amadea Morningstar. Klein begins our morn- ing by unpacking pans, coriander leaves from her year-round garden, fresh curry leaves from the In- ternational Market in Da- vis, as well as dried aro- matic spices like coriander, cumin and mustard seeds. Then come the chopped onions, garlic, ginger and such fresh vegetables from the Davis Farmers Market as first-of-the-season aspar- agus. Today, we are making ghee, tomato chutney and quinoa breakfast pilaf. She places a small metal wok type pan, deeply rounded with two han- dles, on the gas burner on a medium flame, adds one pound of unsalted but- ter, and says, "Let's get this ghee cooking." Ghee is clarified butter. The pan is like her mother's and it is her mother's kitchen where Klein experienced broken spirits and mended bodies. As the butter simmers, Klein scoops off the white foam or whey. "We could have used unsalted but- ter," she says, "but then it wouldn't have the nutty flavor." Klein says, "In In- dia, nothing is wasted, " as she skims off foam from the ghee. In India, the ghee would be served over toast or rice. The image of a ba- nana leaf comes to mind. I attended World Cam- pus Afloat in college that brought us to India. After eating one dinner in the countryside, served on a ba- nana leaf, I was told to dis- pose of the leaf through a hole in the wall on my way out, and to look behind the hole as I passed by. There, I saw elephants eating our leftovers. Reduce, reuse and recycle is a way of life there. When done, the ghee is split between a jar for me, some for the quinoa pilaf, and a silver container that was Klein's mothers. I can see tradition and memory in her daily life - the im- portance of mothers and daughters in the kitchen cooking. I'm reminded of a time an Indian friend dressed my daughter and me in saris and cooked a complete Indian meal with us, after which she gifted me with a traditional In- dian spice box. I asked Klein if she uses one. It's called a masala dabba, and she says, "No." We open my spice box together and use some of its spices for the tomato chutney, and then the qui- noa pilaf. We enjoy the meal together. As we eat, she's thinking we could have added some yogurt, and tells how in India, the farmers bring their cows on milk rounds, stopping by each house to provide fresh milk on the spot, to order. Klein is now a full-time writer and working on the sequel to "In My Mother's Kitchen." "I have a reper- toire of recipes from my childhood," she says. She's adding cumin water in her next book, which follows the protagonist, now living in the United States. Klein has lived in the U.S. since she left India to escape the life of an arranged mar- riage with her mother's blessing at 21. 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