Buddha Bowl

Father's Day weekend was full of family and food (much of which I did not capture in photos as I was temporarily without technology!), but all of which were enjoyed in the moment and will likely be remade in the near future.

Old-fashioned date squares for Poppa, caramelized onion, mushroom and goat cheese quiche with shredded potato crust for brunch, and these "lick-your-bowl-of-every-ounce-of this-amazing-peanut sauce" Buddha Bowls for dinner with Mark and the kids.

I will have to take some step-by-step photos when the kids make this one a la "sous chef" summer.  There were a few steps, but all really simple to follow through and the end result was deeply satisfying.

It was a bit like a deconstructed rice roll in a bowl.  Delicious.
The original inspiration came from this recipe found here.

I simplified the preparations by roasting the tofu, broccoli, and chickpeas on one large sheet pan and skipping the pan frying of the tofu once it was baked.



Ingredients:

Block of firm tofu, pressed and cubed
Head of broccoli, rinsed, dried well and chopped in large florets
Large grated carrot
Chopped green onions
Chopped peanuts (optional)
Can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and dried well

For the Sauce:
1/4 cup each soy sauce, natural, smooth peanut butter and real maple syrup
2 Tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of chili-garlic hot sauce

Rice noodles, brown rice or basmati

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut your block of tofu in half length wise and place on a large dinner plate lined with a double thickness of paper towel.  Set another plate on top (I used a heavy pie plate) and set 4 heavy cans on top.  Allow your tofu to drain like this for an hour or longer if you can to get out as much water as possible.  This ensures a nice, crispy texture when roasted.  Once pressed, cube and set aside.

Wash, chop, and thoroughly dry your head of broccoli.  Set aside.

Drain, rinse, and dry your chickpeas.  I spread them out on a paper towel-lined dinner plate and rolled them around a bit. Set aside.

Measure your sauce ingredients into a mason jar or glass measuring cup and give a quick zip with the hand blender to make a creamy sauce.  If you don't have a hand blender, you could also whisk or shake your jar with a lid on to thoroughly combine your ingredients, but the blender produces a silky-smooth consistency.
Taste-test to see if you need more hot sauce or peanut butter (I think I used slightly more peanut butter in mine, and we like it spicy!).

Oil a large sheet pan.
In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread on one third of the pan.
In the same bowl, toss your chickpeas with olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread on the pan beside your broccoli.
Toss your tofu with olive oil, salt and pepper, spreading on the remaining third of the pan.  Everything can be close, but not overlapping, to ensure golden roasting (as opposed to steaming) of your ingredients.

Roast for about 25 minutes.  Check and leave in a bit longer if need be until everything is golden.

Meanwhile, prepare your rice or noodles according to the package directions.  I used rice stick-noodles, which only take about 6 minutes and should be drained, rinsed, and eaten right away to avoid becoming gummy (if your timing is off and your noodles are ready too soon, leave your drained, cooked noodles in the colander and rinse again with hot tap water just before serving to warm and loosen them up).

Build your bowl!  Noodles on the bottom with a drizzle of sauce.  Add your broccoli, chickpeas, and tofu. Top with grated carrot and green onions and another drizzle of sauce. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts if you like.

I'm already making future plans with this peanut sauce... nestled inside rice paper rolls... drizzled over roasted sweet potato chunks... dressing for cold, Asian noodle salad...

This just in.  Thanks Mark.  A photo of the quiche.  The little dill trees on top are from our garden.

I also tried a DIY Rosemary, Peppermint Shaving cream for Mark that turned out amazing!  You can find the recipe and step-by-step photos here.  I followed the instructions to the letter and spooned the whipped shave cream into a glass jar for a little homemade-with-love Father's Day gift.

If you like using natural, personal care items and enjoy experimenting a bit in the process, this was really simple to make, smells delicious, gives an amazing close shave, and leaves just a hint of a tingle behind with the peppermint oil!

Mark is usually pretty adventurous and willing to test out my lotions and potions (pit putty excluded!) and gave the shave cream a "make-again" rating.