Yumm! Sauce, with a Lemon Letter twist...

I only recently discovered the addictive Yumm! Sauce that most who have lived in Eugene, Oregon know all about. I missed it somehow while living there for 2 years. It comes from Cafe Yumm! who makes the Yumm! Bowl. I discovered first the Whole Bowl lunch cart in downtown Portland which consists of the following:

• Brown rice
• Red & black beans
• Tali sauce (secret recipe much like Yumm! sauce)
• Salsa
• Cheese
• Avocado
• Cilantro
• Black olives
• Sour Cream

It can be made vegan if specified.


I purchased the famed Yumm! Sauce at a New Seasons market here in Portland to find out what I had missed all my life. It was very good, but I wanted to make my own version substituting a couple ingredients that I find more wholesome (i.e. olive oil for canola). I also wanted to give it my own twist like the Tali sauce does. Lastly, I wanted to make it available for others to make & enjoy since the other two sauce recipes are top secret.

So here is what I have come up with for the Lemon Letter version of the Whole Bowl.

Lemon Twist Sauce:

• 1/4 C. Olive oil
• 1/4 C. Almonds (soaked)
• 2 Tbsp. Brewer's Yeast / Nutritional Yeast
• 1/4 C. Garbanzo Beans (properly sprouted and cooked)
• 1/4 C. Water
• 1/4 C. Lemon juice, fresh
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp. Sea salt
• 1 tsp. Curry powder
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Onion powder
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Blend all ingredients together to make a creamy sauce.
Keep the sauce sealed and refridgerated for storage. I suppose it will last about a week if uneaten.

Lemon Letter Whole Bowl - building instructions:
Add the following ingredients to a bowl in this order:

• Brown rice (cooked)
• Lemon Twist Sauce
• Adzuki beans (or beans of choice! properly prepared, of course)
• Fresh tomato salsa or guacamole
• Avocado
• Sprig of cilantro for garnish

How does a Whole Bowl with a Lemon Twist for dinner tonight sound?

UPDATE! May 1, 2011:

Inspired by my reader Zachary (see comments), I decided to modify the Lemon Twist Sauce recipe in attempt to get it closer to the Yumm sauce. I have been eating Yumm bowls for lunch 2 or 3 times a week since a franchise was established blocks from my work. I'm not thrilled with the use of canola oil and soy in the sauce, so I really would like to make my own using olive oil and no soy.

In this modification I eliminated the mustard altogether. Last time I made the recipe it was WAY to mustardy! I also increased the lemon juice and spice content. Even though I did a side-by-side comparison with Yumm sauce while I worked, I didn't get to an exact match. I think the use of lemon juice concentrate gives Yumm sauce a stronger punch. But the sauce is still good. This is what I ended up with:

• 1/2 C. Olive oil
• 1/4 C. Almonds (soaked)
• 2 Tbsp. Brewer's Yeast / Nutritional Yeast
• 1/2 C. Garbanzo Beans (properly sprouted and cooked)
• 1/4 C. Water
• 1/2 C. Lemon juice, fresh
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp. Sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. Curry powder
• 1.5 tsp. Cumin
• 1.5 tsp. Onion powder
• Freshly ground pepper

Please share what YOU would change!