eat well, live free

The Whole Bowl

Happy Vegetarian Awareness Month!  The Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge is well under way in Sacramento and we will be hitting up our first restaurant tonight to try out what the local chefs have come up with.  In honor of this very special month, I decided to make a dish that could easily satisfy the most serious of meat eaters.  I wanted to make something filling, with recognizeable ingredients.  Something enticing that would encourage folks to eat more vegetarian food.

I first ate this dish two years ago, in Portland at The Whole Bowl food truck.  I ordered their one option for lunch which looked simple enough.  It was a bowl of brown rice, black beans, olives, cheese and some other fixings.  It also featured what is known on the street as “crack sauce”- poured over the base layer of brown rice.  The sauce is a creamy lemony garlic blend, that pulls the entire bowl together with a smooth wave of flavor.  Best of all, it’s vegan!

The Whole Bowl
3 servings

the bowl
3 c cooked organic brown rice
1 1/2 c cooked black beans (Fresh is best! Canned will also do.)
1/2 avocado sliced
3/4 c local organic cheddar cheese (Stonnetta is a favorite local)
1/2 c sliced black olives
1 1/2 c chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
3 tbls creme fraiche or sour cream
Aardvark habanero hot sauce (available for sale at Sugar Plum Cafe)

the sauce reverse engineered by the Improbable Farmer
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c almonds
1 1/2 lemons juiced
3 cloves garlic
1/4 c garbanzo beans
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 c nutritional food yeast
1/4 oz water
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp onion powder

To make the sauce, pulverize the almonds in the food processor until reduced to a fine consistency. Be careful not to Get carried away or you will make almond butter. Add oil, lemon juice, garlic, beans, mustard, yeast and water. Blend until smooth. Add remaining seasonings and blend thoroughly.

To assemble, layer a shallow bowl with 1 cup brown rice. Spoon sauce evenly over the top of the rice. Using a measuring cup, scoop 1/2 c black beans into one side of the bowl. Then scoop 1/2 c tomatoes next to the beans. Add avocado and 1/4 c cheddar cheese next to the tomatoes. Top with black olives, cilantro and creme fraiche. For the full Portland Whole Bowl experience, top with Aardvark Habanero Sauce from the Secret Aarvark Trading Company. It is a beautiful thing.

Vegans: Drop the creme fraiche and use soy cheese.
Raw foodies: Sprouted grains? Raw cheddar. You can use small garbanzo beans and soak them for a few days until they are soft enough to use in the sauce. Sorry, I’m not a raw expert but please post ideas for conversion! Definitely use the dressing elsewhere!