Mediterranean Bowl

Mediterranean Bowl (page 267)
Bulgur, roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, and Caesar Chavez Dressing (page 43)

Another Bowl to Go! Except that I ate it at home.

I figured you can't go wrong with the Caesar Chavez Dressing here. Once I actually assembled the bowl, however, I realized this was going to be a very monotone meal, unless I did something about it. It was all varying shades of beige/cream. Mmmmmm. So I went out to the backyard garden, snipped a bit of fresh parsley and sprinkled it on the top. Better.

This was good, but as we were eating our dinner, we thought of a million ways to make it better. This is supposed to be a Mediterranean bowl, right? How about some Mediterranean-type ingredients, beyond the chickpeas and bulgur? Like olives! Chopped tomatoes! Thinly sliced fresh basil leaves! An extra squeeze of lemon!

I was also missing my leafy greens with my dinner, so I thought maybe a big serving of baby spinach would be a smart addition here, too. But then, I suppose it might be more like a salad than a "bowl"... so maybe big salad to go with the bowl, to keep the integrity of the "bowl" concept.

Anyway, I'd certainly make this one again, but I'd also dress it up a more.

Peanut-Lime Tofu Bowl

Peanut-Lime Tofu Bowl, page 267
Quinoa, steamed broccoli, tofu, Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing (page 34), and peanuts

I'm renaming this the Peanut-Lime Dragon Bowl, because that's more fun to say! This is basically one of the bowls suggested on page 267 of Appetite for Reduction, except with broiled and glazed tofu, instead of sauteed tempeh. We just went to Costco this weekend, and there's a drawer-ful of tofu in the refrigerator.

Quinoa, steamed broccoli, broiled tofu lightly glazed with a bottled Thai sweet chili sauce, that wondrous Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing, and a sprinkle of dry-roasted peanuts. How can you go wrong with this combination?!?

So, so, so good. And incredibly easy to put together, with uncomplicated components. This time around, for the dressing, I whirled all the ingredients in the blender for several minutes until smooth, instead of leaving a few chunky peanut-ty bits like last time. It was great!

Supergreen Bowl

The Supergreen Bowl, page 266

Sigh. I really don't like being over-busy, but this is One of Those Weeks. With Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day, the girls have three different ballet folklorico performances this week, in addition to practices. Piled on top of that are a few medical appointments, cleaning and laundry from the last camping trip and preparations for the next one, and all the usual schoolwork, errands, grocery shopping, housework, etc. etc. Again, sigh.

A bowl dinner seemed like a good grab-and-go option for tonight. I went with the Supergreen Bowl since I already had some quinoa in the refrigerator, some edamame in the freezer, and I loves me some o' that goddess dressing. The broccoli and greens were easy enough to chop up and steam in the microwave, and before I knew it, these bowls had practically assembled themselves. I tossed them in a soft-sided cooler and hauled everything along with us for the evening. After the girls were done dancing tonight at a community performance for Cinco de Mayo, we headed to a nearby park and enjoyed our bowls while watching the various ducks, geese, and other waterfowl in the creek.

With the quinoa and edamame, these bowls were not only delicious, but packed with plant-powered protein. I used roasted garlic in this batch of Green Goddess Garlic Dressing, and I think it turned out perfectly. I really liked this bowl combination, and will definitely eat it again.

Has anyone else tried any of the suggested bowls from Appetite for Reduction? Do you have a favorite?

Supergreen Bowls, packed and ready to go in the 'fridge

Mexicana Kale Bowl

Mexicana Kale Bowl, page 266
Brown rice, steamed kale, steamed sweet potato, Red Velvet Mole (page 134), and cilantro
Wijic the cat wonders if he'd like it, too.

Greens and sweet potatoes are a favorite combination of mine; adding some black beans and a smoky mole sauce makes it a tasty and nutritious full meal that I would happily eat again and again.

This is not my first mole sauce, but this is a good one to add to the repertoire. It's easy to make with mostly common ingredients, and it has nice smoky undertones from the smoked paprika. I deviated only slightly from the ingredient list, using a broken up tortilla in place of the tortilla chips while simmering the sauce, since that was what I had available.

El Hombre suggested it would be better to chop the greens more finely, and I agree. The greens tonight were a little unwieldy, and it would have been nice to be able to mix them in more with the rice, beans, and mole sauce.