Black Beans Butternut Squash Brown Rice Bowl

There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of beans and rice during the cold days we have had lately.  Just thinking of it makes make mouth water.  I added butternut squash and spinach to the beans to increase the nutritional value of the dish as well as its taste and texture.  I used black beans but any other type will do. The fresh garlic with the vegetable broth are all you need to make this wonderful one pot meal full of robust flavor as you eat it with rice or quinoa. The butternut squash adds some sweetness and pairs up well with the spinach and beans.  It is an easy quick meal to prepare.

Black Beans Butternut Squash Brown Rice Bowl

• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups cooked brown rice

Heat the coconut oil in a saute pan to medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook till the onion is translucent and the garlic slightly brown but not burnt.  

Add the vegetable broth and butternut squash to the onion and garlic mixture and heat through till the butternut squash is soft but not mushy.  

Add the black beans and the spinach leaves and heat through till the spinach is cooked and the whole dish heated through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the brown rice in a bowl and ladle the black bean butternut squash mixture on top.  Enjoy.

Thai Tofu Rice Bowl

This dish definitely has the Thai flavors that one craves for once in a while and maybe all the time.  When you have to have that fix, here is a simple recipe.  I made this pretty close to being plant based except for the fish sauce which you can easily substitute tamari or soy sauce with.  The secret to attaining the Thai flavors is the trio of fish sauce (or soy sauce), lime and sugar.

This recipe was inspired by the one on the awesome Closet Cooking website which utilized ground beef instead of tofu.  I wanted a plant based recipe so I dared to substitute silken tofu for the beef.   You can also use firm tofu instead.

I love the overall result which is pretty close to the Thai flavors of the Pad Thai that I love to devour.  I could have eaten the whole recipe.  So good.  You can serve this over brown rice or with rice noodles and come up with Pad Thai easily.

Thai Tofu Rice Bowl

• 1 block (8 - 12 oz) silken tofu (or firm tofu)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green or red pepper, diced
• 2 dry red chilies, crushed
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce or tamari to be plant based)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 1/2 cup basil
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned

Saute the onion and garlic. Add the tofu, green or red pepper, crushed red chilies, fish sauce, sugar. lime zest and juice and basil.  Mix till the mixture is heated through.  

Serve garnished with green onions and carrots. You can provide more fresh basil and whole dry red chilies for the strong hearted if desired.  You can also garnish with peanuts if you like.  

Indian Baingan Bharta Rice Salad Bowl

I want flavor in my rice bowl.  Sometimes I am in the mood for Italian and I reach for pesto. Sometimes I crave something Asian and I go for Hoisin sauce.  Lately I have been satisfying my yearning for spicy Indian flavors. Luckily. I found some packaged microwaveable vegetarian food at Patel Brothers Grocery Store.

One is Baingan Bharta, a spicy eggplant dish. I place a tablespoon of it in my rice salad bowl like you would pesto and that gives that punch into an ordinary bowl of same oh same rice veggie bowl.

Below are photos of the package giving this dish' ingredients and nutritional breakdown.

I resort to this packaged food to give my plant based eating some variety and excuse the pun, spice. Give it a try. It cost about two dollars but a package lasts for several servings and meals.

Indian Baingan Bharta 

• Brown rice, cooked
• Spinach leaves, fresh
• Grape tomatoes, sliced
• Cucumber, sliced
• Radishes, sliced
• Baingan Bharta, microwaved

Arrange the ingredients in a large serving bowl. The amounts and types of vegetable is flexible.  You need only a tablespoon of the Baingan Bharta so start with that amount. It is spicy and so good no need for a dressing in your salad.

Deconstructed Brown Rice Edemame Sushi with Wasabi Hoisin Dressing

I wanted to make Vegan Onigiri which is a triangular shaped sushi but I could not make the brown rice stick together to form the triangle.  I still wanted the taste of sushi particularly the one I buy at the Giant Eagle Grocery Store that is covered with French Fried Onion from a can.  Yes the one you use for your favorite holiday Green Bean Casserole dish.

I decided to make a deconstructed one.  To recreate the sushi taste, I resorted to mixing the wasabi paste I bought in a tube at the Asian Store in Monroeville PA with the Hoisin Sauce.  I wanted a simple preparation that mimics the taste of the sushi without resorting to the use of a mayonnaise based sauce.  I follow the plant based approach in eating which as much as possible avoid even plant oils.

I gave exact measurements of the ratio of wasabi paste to the Hoisin Sauce since the first time I prepared it I did not measure anything and just squeeze an amount of this and that.  My nose really what would you say got overstimulated to put it mildly.  This is a simple rice bowl with a sushi flavor and very versatile.  You can add nuts and other vegetables but the recipe below gives you an idea how to come up with a sushi deconstructed for your convenience.  I highly recommend the edemame.  It gives the rice bowl texture and complements the spiciness of the dressing.  The French Fried Onion gives it an interesting note not found in most rice bowls.

Deconstructed Brown Rice Edemame Sushi with Wasabi Hoisin Dressing

1 serving

• 3/4 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup edemame
• 1/4 cup French Fried Onions (from a can)
• 1/4 cup tofu, cubed
• 1 tbsp dried cherries
• cilantro 
• Wasabi Hoisin Dressing (recipe below)

Place the rice in a bowl and top with the edemame, French Fried Onions, tofu and dried cherries.  Garnish with cilantro and serve with the wasabi and hoisin dressing.

Wasabi Hoisin Dressing (Note 1)

• 1/8 tsp wasabi paste
• 2 tsp hoisin sauce

Mix the wasabi paste and hoisin sauce in a small bowl and mix it with the rice bowl.

Notes:

1.  You can double or triple the amounts but do follow the proportions given or else your nostrils will cry and yes clear up.