Medaling With My Food

WARM AND ROASTED

WINTER

Power BOWL

BY TRACY STUART

MEDALING WITH MY FOOD

Tracy is an Olympic medalist and has a Chef’s Diploma from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.

Do you have a certain dish at your favourite restaurant that you just can’t help but order every time? Even when that little voice inside your head says, “Oh come on, try something new”? In my case, this happened at a fabulous little vegetarian restaurant in Victoria that I would frequent called ReBar. Every visit without fail I’d vow to try something new, but when it came time to order, sure enough I’d crack, “I’ll have the ReBar salad please.”

Fast forward eight years and my family is in the midst of a move. I typically prepare my own lunches, but as we get closer to moving day, meal prep has become frustrating to say the least. I’ve honestly packed and unpacked the same kitchen box five times looking for something that I need. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve thrown in the towel and have accepted the fact that it’s going to be take-out meals for the next few days. It has been a delight! During this past week I feel like I’ve been awakened to the culinary bliss that is in our own backyard that I have somehow completely overlooked. The best part is I have found a close replica to my beloved ReBar salad. We discovered Copper Branch and the power bowls there are to die for; one bite into my first power bowl I was transported back in time. It amazes me how food can do that. Instantly, I was in Victoria enjoying my go-to salad.

This rediscovery, in a sense, lead me to search for the ReBar recipe. I have a copy of their cookbook, so I thought I might find it there (yes, I unpacked yet another box). No such luck, even after an extensive internet search I came up empty handed. The actual ReBar salad recipe is apparently under lock and key, top secret for kitchen staff only. I did stumble across several bloggers who have recreated the salad and have added their flare, so I decided to take a stab at it myself, taking a little inspiration from my new-found power bowl too.

The salad that I have created is a great example of how I love my salads (or power bowls) in the winter: warm, hearty, bursting with flavour and nutrition. I don’t know about you, but my desire for a cold salad in the winter is next to nil. Keeping all of these comforts in mind, my take on the ReBar Salad with an east coast winter twist has been born.