The Yellow Table

When Anna Watson Carl was growing up, she ate dinner with her family on a big, yellow table. There was nothing particularly interesting about the table, except for the fact that it was yellow.  When Carl graduated from college, her mother gave her the yellow table. While it might not seem like such a great present, the family totem proved to be just the right inspiration. Carl began throwing dinner parties at the table. Over the years, she immersed herself in her passion, food. She wrote, edited, and took off for France, then she uprooted for New York. The economy ebbed and flowed and finally, after much consideration, the yellow table came to New York.

A short time later, the yellow table became The Yellow Table, a blog. While writing the blog, she dreamed of a cookbook and faced those daunting "cookbook questions."  Do you own a restaurant? Do 100,000 people visit your blog -- every day? Do you have a television show?  If you answered no to the preceding questions, well then, you are not going to get a book deal.

Now most folks would be daunted, well, even crushed by this prospect, but Carl, who had spent time writing, editing other people's cookbooks, and setting up photo shoots decided she could do it herself.  She began the process by offering up daily updates on her blog, she logged onto Kickstarter, and took The Yellow Table on the road...not the actual table, but, you know.

Before long, the yellow table that she colored on as a child was transformed into The Yellow Table: A Celebration of Everyday Gatherings. The book is filled with seasonal, easy recipes that you can serve on a table of any color.  "This is my go-to lunch,' says Carl, 'I call it a detox salad, because it’s packed with nutrient-rich vegetables and has protein from the quinoa. To save time, I stop by the Whole Foods salad bar and stock up on shredded carrots, red cabbage, and cooked quinoa. Feel free to toss in some roast chicken if you want a heartier meal."

Detox Kale Salad

4 packed cups chopped kale (curly, Lacinto, red, or a combination), stems removed
1 cup shredded carrots (from about 2 medium carrots)
1 cup shredded red cabbage (from about 1/8 head cabbage)
3/4 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, toss together the kale, carrots, cabbage, quinoa, and avocado.

Pour the lemon juice into a small bowl. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, or another splash of lemon if you like. Serve immediately.

Store the salad, in an airtight container in the refrigerator, up to 1 day.

This week, The Yellow Table blog got a fresh, new design. Head over and take a look.