A Bowl Of Gratitude

This week for dinner I made a recipe for A Bowl Of Gratitude, a delicious rice bowl from Cafe Gratitude in San Fransisco. And, wow, was it good. I made it basically as this blog describes, but I was all out of hearty greens and used cilantro instead. I also used avocado rather than egg. It was like an avocado roll in bowl. So good! "I am grateful!" were the first words out of my mouth when I finished this. Here is the basic recipe copied below:

A Bowl Of Gratitude

1. Cook 1 cup of red Bhutanese rice
   
2. In a large skillet, saute onions and garlic. Add greens and a little water to steam.
   
3. In a small bowl whisk together orange juice, tamari, vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil salt, and pepper.
   
4. Add the sauce and rice to the skillet and stir together. Sprinkle on sesame seeds and serve with sliced avocado and a shredded nori sheet.

Dressing:

• 4 T. orange juice (freshly squeezed if you can get it!)
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 T. tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)
• 1 T. rice vinegar
• 1/2 t. toasted sesame oil

Rice:

• 1 T. olive oil or coconut oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
• Pinch of salt
• 4 small garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 2-3 tightly packed cups of greens (such as collards or kale)
• 2-3 cups cooked black Chinese “forbidden” rice (or other nutty rice – brown or red Bhutanese)
• 2 large or 3 small scallions, coarsely chopped
• 1 ripe avocado (or 3 eggs)

Super delicious! Makes good leftovers too.

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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!
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Inspired Salad

I just ate a wonderful salad that I must share with you. It can take a lot of effort and creativity to get excited about salad. I know how tiresome salad can be, especially when I get in a rut, always eating the same combination of ingredients. If you are having a tough time getting excited about your salads, give this one a try. You just may find yourself craving those greens again.

Build your salad using the following:

• Trader Joe's Baby Arugula Blend: baby arugula, baby spinach, baby lettuces
  
• Celery
  
• Shredded Carrot
  
• Beet Chunks (steamed)
  
• Raw or Toasted Pecans
  
• Feta Cheese (optional for vegans)
  

For the dressing, whisk together

• Juice of a 1/2 blood orange
  
• About 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  
• Dash of apple-cider vinegar
  

(Mix in the approximate ratio of 4:1:2)

Garnish with a blood orange slice. It's beautiful and delicious!

To make the meal complete, serve alongside a baked or steamed sweet potato.

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