Black Beans & Rice with Apple Salsa

I found another delicious recipe that I had to try, and guess what? It was actually a healthy one! This recipe is from Our Best Bites blog and is sort of a latin dish, Black Beans & Rice with Apple Salsa. I was drawn to this recipe because I wanted to try the apple salsa and it was so easy. I will definitely be making this again.

This dish calls for chicken and you can prepare it anyway you would like. Grilling chicken on the barbecue would be tasty and I want to try this next time, but I was in a rush, so I went for the rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  

If you read Sara's original post, she recommended adding less broth and I couldn't agree more. I ended up probably adding about 10 ounces instead of the full 13.5 ounce can - you can decide though.

See below for the ingredients and check out the recipe from Our Best Bites:

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa
Adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2012 

Feel free to play around with the quantities in this recipe, like I did.  You can add more onion to the salsa, or increase seasonings in the beans.  Taste as you go and make it your own!

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
2 limes
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 13.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 grilled chicken breasts
4-6 lime wedges

Bottle vs. Box - David Hill Winery

Generally, when I hear "boxed wine", I think of college parties, Franzia and my grandparents.  But, David Hill Winery is changing the way Willamette Valley wines are contained. This weekend my family and I tried their Farmhouse Red, both from the box and from the bottle. To my surprise, no one could really tell the difference. Some people argued the color was slightly different but no one could identify which was which.

bottle vs. box

Though I am not going to rush to replace all my wine bottles with boxes, this is still pretty neat. The box wine is tasty, sustainable, easy to travel with and holds four bottles of wine. In fact, it is cheaper too. 

If you decant this wine...I bet you can trick your family and friends. They might never know the difference. Give it a try!

David Hill Winery

46350 NW David Hill Rd

Forest Grove, OR 97116

503.992.8545

Oven & Shaker

I love pizza. I really do and I have fallen in love with a new pizza place - Oven & Shaker in Portland's Pearl District. They had me at "three-time James Beard nominated chef Cathy Whims (Nostrana), veteran Northwest bartender Ryan Magarian, and ChefStable visionary Kurt Huffman." I mean come on, read that line up.

fennel sausage pizza

Oven & Shaker is a fun restaurant with high energy, rustic ambiance and fantastic food. The menu is not over the top, the cocktails are spot on and the service was excellent. We sat up at the bar, which is most of the restaurants seating. There are bar seats facing the window, high seating with bar stools and only a few low banquette seats. The bartender was knowledgeable and offered several suggestions. There was four of us and we decided to dine family style by ordering four different pizzas to share.  

collards pizza

We ordered the Collards, Salami, Wild Fennel Sausage and Chicory pizzas. Yes, those are four different pizzas...check out the full menu. I would say my two favorites were the salami and chicory pizzas. What really made the pizzas was the salami pizza was flavored with honey and chicory pizza was made with aged balsamic. I was very impressed with the flavors and the combinations.    


Good news: Open seven days a week, local microbrew selection, local wines from the barrels, creative and unique pizza menu, attentive and friendly staff, comfortable ambiance   
Not so good news: No reservations accepted and not much seating for large parties.  
Tip: For ginger lovers, try the Pineapple Trainwreck cocktail...it is turning into their signature drink. 

Oven & Shaker

1134 NW Everett Street

Portland, Oregon 97209

503.241.1600

Open: 7 days a week, 4pm - midnight

Happy Hour: 10pm - midnight