This post was sponsored by Dorot. As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. Roasted spring vegetables are tossed with a delicious bright-flavored caper vinaigrette in this hearty bean and grain bowl.
So, adult food.
But with a delicious twist because even though we are officially the kind of people who do/pay our taxes FOR REAL (in a heartbreaking kind of way), almost by ourselves (but with some hardcore guidance from our significant others and a tax consultant).
We are still (and ever shall be) the type of people whose most listened to Spotify playlist is the Billboard Top 100.
John Legend on repeat.
#ThisIs27
But seriously, How To Do Your Taxes For Dummies When You Are A Student And Freelance Recipe Developer/Food Photographer/Eater.
Instant best seller. You heard it here first.
Now, just because the government is forcing us to do grownup things doesn’t mean we always want to eat grownup things.
Like, all our veggies, grains, beans, fiber, health stuff.
But what if we roast them to caramelized veggie perfection and then bathe them in an herbalicious caper vinaigrette?!
Total gamechanger.
I went all lazybones easy peasy with my vinaigrette and used Dorot and Pop & Cook frozen herb cubes, because after a long day of signing away all my money, the thought of mincing anything was too much for me to bear.
Thankfully, these little cubes retain all the flavor of fresh herbs without all the fuss. All you need to do is pop them out of their casing and give them a few minutes to come to room temp, and you would swear they had just been plucked from the ground that very day, making for a super flavorful salad dressing.
Look for Dorot’s Frozen Herbs & Spices in the frozen section of your supermarket and for Pop & Cook at you local Walmart! Or you could always check them out on facebook here and here, respectively.
- 1 lb dried pinto or kidney beans, soaked overnight
- 1 cup dried wheat berries, soaked overnight
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp + ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 cubes parsley (or 1 tbsp chopped parsley)
- 3 cubes basil (or 1 tbsp chopped basil)
- 2 tbsp drained capers, chopped
- Combine the beans and wheat berries in a large pot. Add water to the pot, filling it so that the water is about 2 inches above the beans. Salt the water generously and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, until beans and wheat berries are tender, about an hour. Drain and set aside.
- Heat oven to 400.
- Toss the cauliflower and asparagus with 2 tbsp olive oil and salt, to taste. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and starting to brown.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the red pepper flakes, parsley, basil, capers, and remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Season to taste with salt.
- In a large bowl, toss together the beans, wheat berries, cauliflower, asparagus, and dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
I’ve never seen those cubes of herbs – I like ’em! Good to know that they’re just like the real thing 🙂 I could go for this spring veggie bowl on this first day of April!
Yummm!! I love grown up veggies and all its flavor 🙂 These herb cubes look like time savers too.
I’ve never seen those before, Joanne. Imagine they are a marvelous time saver for busy young people and harried mothers. It’s amazing what’s out there now…wish all these marvelous things were around when I was young!
Great looking salad, too.
This looks delicious! I’ve never seen frozen herbs before, but since I always tend to buy a whole package of fresh herbs and only use a fraction of it, frozen sounds great!
CAPERS!! I always forget about these little salty bites. Want this bowl asap!
i love DOROT! I love love love! I have i think every frozen blended herb they carry! they are so useful and easy for cooking! Love that you made a caper vinaigrette- that sounds amazing
I love this – I need to try these products out. Thanks for making this bomb bowl too – woa!
Aaaaand – now I am craving kidney beans…and cauliflower…and asparagus…roasted …and in an “Easy peasy” bowl….JUT. LIKE.THIS. Delicious!
I remember being in college and thinking how I couldn’t wait to be an adult. But then, TAXES. I would like to go live in a dorm room again (OK maybe not, but kinda sorta).
Adult or not, I wanna down this whole bowl of veg goodness.
I’ve never seen those cubes of herbs..they are so convenient. The veggie bowl looks wholesome.
I’m loving any veggie dish right now where cauliflower is the main star! I think I would even eat this for breakfast ;)!
So nutritious Joanne! You are soooo good, but when is the next cake? With all the healthy posts I feel a cake coming! LOL!
I hate having to buy a whole package of herbs when I only need a tiny bit and then the rest usually going to waste in the fridge – frozen cubes seems like such a great idea! Good luck with your taxes!
This salad definitely makes eating like a grown-up more fun! I adore capers. Just shared a salad featuring them in fact 🙂
Those little frozen herb cubes look super convenient.
I’ve never seen those frozen herb cubes before, but love that idea already! Super convenient! I bet if I cut out the pepper flakes I can get my toddler on board with this – he’s been super bored with meals lately, but this might tempt him since he’s a fan of beans.
We’re in the process of doing our taxes. I’m self-soothing with chocolate and cookies all week. But sure, this veggie bowl works too!
Look amazing Joanne! I love capers and basil!
Taxes as a freelancer vs. an employee make me sick to my stomach. But I do believe I could get over it to try this recipe. A seriously good combination!
I never heard of frozen herb cubes – that’s awesome! Looking for healthier recipes these days so I will certainly bookmark this one. Oh, yeah…taxes suck. Such a drag to fill out those forms.. 🙁
I’ve never tried the frozen cubes before what a great way to get fresh herbs in the winter. Love the veggie bowl.
I never know what to do with leftover capers. I’m bookmarking this for next time they sit on my shelf.
Huge fan of Dorot, unfortunately here they are hard to find… I used to buy the basil, cilantro and ginger all the time
as to Spotify, I recommend playlists from Buddha Bar – fantastic, we are on a roll with those at the moment… If you like songs from all over the world, hard to beat it.
What a great veggie bowl Joanne, love the use of pinto beans here. Looks amazing! Yeah, taxes are not are my lets have fun list that’s for sure but it’s something we all have to do, grumble, grumble.
Oh sigh. This bowl looks heavenly…and I still need to pay our taxes. We’re almost done but we haven’t written the check yet. Boo.
Gotta love American ingenuity, frozen herb cubes! But that salad sounds delicious, as well as healthy.
Our tax man retired, so we are temporarily stuck.
I absolutely live roasted cauliflower and I’m sure that the zing of capers soaks right through the cauliflower . As far as lazy food goes, this looks yum x
This salad looks like something I’d truly enjoy! What an amazing combo of flavors going on here!
I absolutely love roasting my veggies. And this veggie bowl of yours looks beyond fantastic. Yummo!
This bowl looks delicious! I love Dorot frozen herb cubes – my freezer is always well stocked with the garlic cubes!
What a great idea. I have to find me some frozen herbs!
Mmm. Love all the veggies in this bowl!
A veggie bowl salad is just the perfect way to welcome spring!
Loving this big bowl of healthy, Spring time yumminess! I could use some right now 🙂
So glad that I did my taxes a few weeks ago! I have a feeling I would have put them off to the last minute, and forgotten. But yes–a very unfortunate side effect of being an adult, that’s for sure.
This looks deliciousssss!
I never remember to use my frozen herbs!
Great idea to write a tax guide for blogging, Joanne, but please can you write one for the UK, too? 😉
The dish looks so healthy … I’m loving asparagus at the moment. And we all know you can’t go wrong with roasted cauliflower!
Grown up and easy peasy? Perfect!
I think after signing away all my hard-earned money I would be phoning for takeaway. You did well to put on a meal after a harrowing experience xx
You just reminded me that I STILL need to do my taxes. Rabble rabble rabble bleh 🙁 I love this recipe with all my veggie-loving soul! Adult or not, I’d eat a ginorm bowl of it in a heart beat. MUST get my hot little hands on some herb cubes, stat!!
sounds good! Love the idea of cubed frozen herbs! Why didn’t we think of that?
Hiring my own accountant this year felt like a huge adult step. Coming in with 15 different W9s and W4s and not having a clue what I was doing felt a little more like being a kid again. Whew. I don’t want to be an adult yet. But if it could include meals like this on the regular, maybe I’d settle…looks great!
You had me at Caper Vinaigrette. Genius. Also taxes = Terrible. I still remember the year I graduated college, got married, lived in 3 different counties, and changed jobs twice. Taxes kicked my butt that year.
I always thought grown ups had it easy.. I still do because I won’t have to be one for a while yet 😛
Lovely way to relax after though with this veggie bowl lets see some kid like me make that!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Love this Joanne. I have Dorots listed on my fridge now for a few weeks…been meaning to look for these cubes in the grocery store. How convenient!
Those herbs are so handy! I will be looking for them. All those roasted veggies make this extra enticing! Great comfort food after paying taxes.
never heard of john legend but you wouldn’t want to know half of what we listen to (I don’t even know who they are – just mysterious people E finds in obscure corners) – I do have capers to use – beans and cauli sounds like a great combo to me
I love these frozen herbs- perfect when you need something for just one dish, or a small amount. and I did my taxes this past weekend- horray!
The frozen herbs would be very handy to have. Love your dish.
Totally agree! I will gladly pay someone else to do my taxes- so much easier than me doing them myself 🙂 This bowl looks amazing! Love the caper vinaigrette- can’t wait to try it!