It is book festival weekend! We have our paper schedule all marked up and will spend the rest of today narrowing down our final slate of sessions to attend. There is an awesome historical fiction panel on Saturday at noon, Latinx stories hear, YA sessions to peek into, and oh so many things food to check out!
Click through to read about Julie Turshen and to preview a recipe from Feed the Resistance.
I gushed a bit about Julia Turshen in my newsletter a few weeks ago after she wrote an opinion in the New York Times (linked way below) and her book, Small Victories, has come into regular rotation in my kitchen in the past few months. I love it for its focus on home cooks and accessibility… yes, everyone can have made-from-scratch caeser salad dressing on their table and no, it is doesn’t take a long list of obscure ingredients or hours of labor to achieve. She’ll be at the Central Market Cooking tent on Sunday at 11AM to demonstrate one of the recipes from her new book Feed the Resistance and to talk about the role that food plays in our civic action. Our food purchases may be our single most powerful way to exercise choice in our day to day lives and although that may feel loaded with pressure, it also creates daily opportunities to exercise your voice. I can’t wait to hear more!
The weather should be gorgeous on Sunday (and Saturday) so pack yourself up for a day on the Capitol grounds. The gigantic oaks make for perfect picnic spots and this recipe will stock your food stash with healthy and delicious food to replenish you in between sessions.
Roasted Broccoli Quinoa with Curry Cashew Dressing
Excerpted from Feed the Resistance by Julia Turshen. ©2017.
Reprinted with permission.
SERVES 4
This is such a simple vegan meal, but really nourishing and quite delicious. Each component (the roasted broccoli, quinoa, and cashew dressing) can be made in big batches and stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week. That way you can assemble these bowls whenever you’re hungry or use the components separately (use the cashew dressing as a dip for vegetables, make a roasted broccoli omelet, and treat the quinoa like rice and stir-fry it with peas, eggs, and soy sauce). Taking a little time to stock your fridge with healthy, homemade food is an act of self-care that will serve you well while you’re busy resisting. In other words, it’s important to take care of yourself so you can better take care of the world. Note that if you can only find roasted cashews that aren’t salted, just season the dressing to taste with salt.
1 lb [453 g] fresh broccoli, tough stems discarded, cut into large florets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp kosher salt, divided
½ cup [65 g] roasted and salted cashews
2 tsp curry powder
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2¼ cups [540 ml] water, divided
1 cup [180 g] quinoa
Preheat the oven to 425°F [220°C]. Place a sheet pan in the oven to heat up.
Meanwhile, place the broccoli in a large bowl, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with ½ tsp of the salt. Toss everything well to combine.
Once the oven comes to temperature, place the broccoli on the hot sheet pan in an even layer. Roast the broccoli, stirring it now and then, until it’s softened, browned, and crisp on the edges, about 30 minutes total.
Meanwhile, place the cashews in a blender along with the curry powder, lemon juice, and ½ cup [120 ml] of the water. Blend until smooth and reserve the mixture.
Lastly, rinse the quinoa in a fi ne-mesh sieve and then place it in a medium saucepan set over high heat with the remaining 1 tsp salt and the remaining 1 ¾ cups [420 ml] water. Bring the mixture to a boil, decrease the heat, cover, and simmer until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water and is softened, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and put a kitchen towel between the pot and the lid and let the quinoa sit for 10 minutes (the towel will absorb excess steam). Uncover the quinoa, fluff it with a fork, and divide it among 4 serving bowls. Top with the roasted broccoli, and drizzle with the cashew dressing.
Serve immediately.
Texas Book Festival Sessions on my list:
- Family History, Family Destiny with Min Jin Lee, SAT 12PM
- Writing Through the Noise with Lisa Ko, SAT 1:30
- Black Poets Speak Out, SAT 2:30
- Food for Thought and Action with Julia Turshen, SUN 11AM
- Why Our Stories Matter: The Latina/Xicana Perspective, SUN 12:30
- The President’s Kitchen with Adrian Miller, SUN 12:15
Be sure to check out the Texas Book Festival schedule to see what else is going on!
aneelee 
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