By Olivia called on a Tuesday morning, which was already a sign — she's a texter by nature, so a phone call means news. Her voice was doing that thing where it's trying very hard to be measured and not succeeding. She and Mason are expecting. October, she said. Due in early October. I sat down at the kitchen table and put my hand over my heart and said, oh sweetheart, and then we both got a little messy and emotional about it.
This will be Eleanor — I'm already calling her Eleanor in my head, though they haven't announced a name, because I dreamed that name the night before the call and now it feels true. Their third grandchild from Olivia's side. Mason is thrilled. Olivia sounds simultaneously over the moon and mildly terrified, which is exactly the right emotional state for early pregnancy, in my experience.
I immediately started thinking about food. This is how my brain works — every milestone runs through the kitchen first. What can I make for Olivia while she's in the early nausea stage? Ginger broth. Plain crackers. The peppermint tea my own mother made when I was pregnant with Ethan and couldn't look at anything else. I texted her the ginger broth recipe before I even got off the phone with Gary, who took the news with that quiet Gary satisfaction that looks almost like calm but is actually a deep, contained joy.
I made a celebratory dinner that night even though it was just the two of us — roasted chicken with forty cloves of garlic, mashed potatoes that Gary described as "aggressively buttered" (accurate), and a simple green salad with the good olive oil. Nothing fancy. Just the food I make when I want the meal itself to be an occasion. Gary opened a nice wine and we toasted to Eleanor, or whoever she turns out to be, and to Olivia and Mason, and to becoming grandparents again for the third time.
The garden is still bare but I'm planning this week. I want to grow something this autumn that I can bring to Olivia after the baby comes — something from our soil, something made with hands and attention. Kale, maybe. Or winter squash. Things that keep and nourish and carry warmth through a cold season. Things that say: you are not alone, and someone is growing something for you.
After Olivia’s call, I kept thinking about what it means to feed someone through a tender season — how food can carry joy and steadiness at the same time. I made the celebratory roasted chicken for Gary and me that night, but this Tropical Veggie Quinoa Bowl has been living in my head as something I’d make for Olivia: bright and gentle and packed with the kind of nourishment a first trimester quietly demands. It’s got that quality I love most in a recipe — it feels like someone was thinking of you when they made it.
Tropical Veggie Quinoa Bowl With Citrus Basil Dressing
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup fresh mango, diced
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame, thawed if frozen
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons toasted pepitas
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
- For the Citrus Basil Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa. Combine rinsed quinoa and vegetable broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 13–15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Make the dressing. Combine olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, honey, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender or small food processor. Blend until smooth and bright green. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Prepare the toppings. While the quinoa cools, dice the mango and pineapple, slice the avocado, shred the cabbage, and thinly slice the red onion.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide the quinoa evenly among four bowls. Arrange the mango, pineapple, red bell pepper, cabbage, edamame, and avocado over the top in sections.
- Dress and finish. Drizzle the citrus basil dressing generously over each bowl. Scatter red onion and toasted pepitas on top, and finish with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 8g | Sodium: 210mg