Buddha Bowl with Creamy Cashew Soy Sauce

Named for its big, round Buddha belly shape, were defining the “Buddha bowl” here as a one-dish meal consisting of rice or whole grains, roasted veggies, dressing, and a fat or protein. I’ve been making Buddha Bowls for awhile now. I love them because they represent a balanced meal. If ever I’m torn on what to make for any meal (breakfast included) I usually turn to the idea of a Buddha Bowl. I know these bowls are going to offer nourishment in more ways than one.

I’m always in search for the best Buddha Bowl in NYC but this one was up there with some of my favorites without spending a fortune. Some of my favorite bowls in NYC are from De Maria, Bluestone Lane, Cafe Clover, and Le Botaniste. My mom started making this bowl a few years ago and we recently changed up the sauce to be cashew based and a little spicy…

This bowl is a combination of all my favorite foods. Brown rice, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, kale, avocados, and a creamy spicy cashew dressing. This recipe made about 3-4 large Buddha Bowls.

Prep:

1. Prepare your brown rice. I cook organic Red Mills in my cast iron pan with vegetable broth, but you can use anything that is most convenient and easiest for you (frozen included).

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Cut sweet potatoes into cubes. Season sweet potatoes and chickpeas with salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Lay them on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake the chickpeas for about 15 minutes, and the sweet potatoes for about 45.

3. Sauté a big bunch of kale in a steamer, or a saucepan with a little water. Add a little salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Wait until the kale is wilted but still has that beautiful bright green color before taking it off the heat (about 7 minutes).

4. In a blender (I use my nutribullet), make the cashew sauce. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce and blend until smooth, thick, and creamy.

Ingredients:

1 can of Chickpeas

3 sweet potatoes

Bunch of kale

2 cups of brown rice

Cashews

for the dressing

3 tablespoons of cashew butter

2 cloves of garlic

1 nub of ginger

3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons of tamari sauce (or low sodium soy sauce)

Warm water to thin

Leave a comment below if you want to see more recipes like this one!

Vegetable Wild Rice with Orange Zest

This was an absolutely delicious grain bowl packed with flavor, protein, and beautiful colors. I used the zest of an orange which gave this bowl a punch of flavor like no other. #eattherainbow

This dish makes for a great side paired with your protein of choice, or for your main over a bed of greens topped with an avocado. Either way, this grain bowl was incredibly delicious and nourishing.

The wild rice gives this dish a great structure, texture, and full bodied flavor. Plus it holds a higher amount of protein and fiber than that of your typical brown or white rice.

If you don’t have all the ingredients, you can easily improvise as shown below! Make this bowl your own :)

Ingredients:

2 cups of Long Grain Wild Rice (I use Lundberg)

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of golden raisins (sub: raisins, craisins, or dried apricots)

1 1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1 1/2 cup of chopped celery

1 small yellow onion

1 cup of fresh parsley (sub: cilantro would also be delicious)

1 cup of chopped almonds (sub: chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts)

Zest from an orange

Prep:

1. In a cast iron skillet (totally worth the investment especially if you are working with grains often!) or a medium saucepan, cook your long grain brown rice. I make it with vegetable stock! This rice typically takes about 45-50 minutes to cook fully.

2. In a medium skillet, sauté the onions with olive oil, carrots, and celery with a sprinkle of salt. Add a cover and turn the heat to low until the carrots cook through. Add golden raisins and orange zest and let the flavors cook and merge together for one minute. Remove from heat and set the sautéed mixture aside.

3. When the rice is fully cooked, stir in the sautéed mixture followed by parsley and chopped almonds. Salt to taste and serve!

Barley with Green Peas and Caramelized Onions

If quarantine has taught me one thing, it’s to listen to your body. What does it want? Usually we want what out bodies need. Listening to my body has brought me to an important conclusion: I love a big bowl of grains for lunch with some kind of green, a protein, and a healthy fat. This barley bowl was the perfect marriage of ingredients and colors!

Pearl barely has a ton of fiber, not to mention it’s one of the worlds oldest and most treasured grains! I love cooking with grains in their truest form.

The good thing about grain bowls is you can always improvise! I have been taking cooking classes with the amazing Terry Walters who has taught me many ways to improvise in the kitchen. She takes great cooking classes! Check out her website and sign up for her newsletter for her latest class opportunities.

Your body with thank you too if you make this delicious bowl. Top it over arugula, spinach, or chopped romaine! Eat it hot or cold! This bowl is a great base for lots of fabulous meals.

Ingredients:

Barely (I use Bobs Red Mill, you can also use farro, long grain rice, or any other unprocessed grain!)

Red onion

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt

Peas (frozen are fine)

Feta Cheese (you can leave this out if you’re vegan, or use goat cheese!)

For the dressing:

1 cup of olive oil

1/2 juice from a lemon (or 1/2 cup of store bought lemon juice)

Zest from 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

1 tablespoon of honey, sugar, or maple syrup

Salt

Prep:

1. Cook your barley. It really depends on which pan you’re using based on how to cook it best! I use an iron saucepan, so I combine 1 cup of barely with 2 cups of water, and a little salt. I bring this to a boil, and simmer on the lowest heat for about 30 minutes. Turn the heat completely off and let it sit. The grains hold their shape best without mixing while its simmering/cooking!

2. In another medium saucepan, add chopped red onion with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and salt to caramelize. Cook on medium for about 10-15 minutes, or until the onions are very soft. I didn’t want them to brown so they keep their color and flavor!

3. If you’re using frozen peas, thaw them, and boil them in boiling water. Pour them into a strainer and blanch them under cold water.

4. In a small bowl, mix together your dressing. 1 cup of olive oil, 1/2 juice from a lemon and it’s zest, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard, and salt.

5. Combine ingredients and mix well!

Carrot Risotto

This weeks spotlight: carrots. They’ve always been one of my favorite root vegetables. I snack on them raw sprinkled with a little salt, juice them, and add them to most of the soups I make.

Carrots are one of the more popular root vegetables and for good reason. They are filled with antioxidants and vitamin A, which is known to help boost your vision & bone growth. I have been finding it super easy to find organic carrots in the market during this time, hopefully you can too!

I originally wanted to make a big batch of carrot ginger soup and freeze half of it. I add ginger whenever I can to my soups. I find that it always adds a healing, powerful, fresh element to everything! If you’re looking for more ways to add it to your recipes, try this red lentil ginger soup.

Instead of sticking with the soup route, I poured half of the mixture over brown rice to make a creamy make-shift risotto. I added roasted pumpkin seeds for crunch and Parmesan cheese for a nutty flavor. The improvisation was a hit.

Improvising in the kitchen has been a blessing for me. I used to have an extremely rigid set of “rules” that I would swear by when it came to how I prepared and ate my foods. During quarantine, I have been embracing the beauty of improvising more than ever! Hopefully you can too.

I hope you’re all enjoying this time to step back, and have fun improvising. I’d love to hear from you with any comments or feedback whatever that may be!

Let’s talk about c a r r o t s. I have been finding them super easy to find during quarantine, so I’ve been trying to incorporate them into lots of my meals. I’ve always loved carrots. I snack on them, juice with them, and love adding them to my soups. For this soup, I decided to use them as the main ingredient.

They’re rich in antioxidants, Vitamin A, and potassium. One of my favorite root vegetables, and the star of these two delicious dishes!

I originally made this as a soup! The texture was so velvety and creamy from the coconut cream so I decided to try using it as a risotto. I loved it both ways!

Quarantine has forced me to get creative with my meals and start improvising! I encourage you to do the same, because you never know what you’ll come up with :)

This soup recipe made about 8 servings, so I decided to use it over rice as a risotto to switch it up!

Ingredients you’ll need:

For the soup

10 medium sized carrots (washed and peeled)

2 inch nub of ginger (peeled with a spoon)

3 tablespoons of coconut cream (you can also use coconut milk if that’s all you have)

1 yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic

3 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon on cinnamon

3 cups of vegetable broth

Salt and Pepper

Immersion or regular blender (If you don’t already have an immersion blender, it is the best kitchen tool you’ll ever buy. I have this one.)

Additional delicious toppings: pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, parsley, or cilantro.

To make into risotto

Brown Rice

Parmesan Cheese (1/4-1/2 cup)

Pumpkin Seeds (a handful)

1. First, cut, wash, peel, and chop your carrots. Peel and chop the yellow onion (doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s going to be blended up anyways)! Peel and mince garlic, store bought minced garlic is also fine! Use a grater to grate the garlic.

2. In a large pot, heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, cumin, and saute for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Turn down the heat to low, add carrots, and cook for another 10 minutes stirring often.

4. Add vegetable broth, bay leaves, coconut cream, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are soft (you can poke them with a fork to test)

5. Get out your immersion blender and blend ingredients together! You can also transfer this mixture into a blender. Then, your soup is complete! I garnished mine with parsley and toasted pumpkin seeds.

This soup was delicious. It was creamy, velvety, and light. The pumpkin seeds added great crunch, and the parsley added a great fresh flavor!

To make this into a risotto, add it to your favorite rice with a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, and a little Parmesan cheese! I used a long grain brown rice.

The color of this risotto was my favorite thing about this meal…such a beautiful color orange from the carrots!