Dragon Bowl v.1 - Sesame!

I have a feeling that I’m going to make a lot of dragon-bowls in the coming weeks. What makes a dragon bowl? I'm not exactly sure, but the ones I’ve seen have consisted of a grain (usually rice), a bunch of vegetables (cooked/raw), something protein-rich (usually tofu), and a dressing to bring it all together. And it’s always served in a bowl (but that’s a no-brainer, right?). Can a dragon bowl have beans instead of tofu? That is what I'm wondering right now....

This version is for sesame lovers. It’s got rice as a base, marinated and sautéed garlic-ginger-sesame tofu, raw carrots, daikon and green onion combined with sautéed kale and cabbage, and a sesame dressing with lots of tahini. It is very tasty, salty and satisfying, and the different vegetables give it a nice combination of different flavours and textures. Yum! This photo does not do it justice…


Sesame Dragon Bowl

½ lb extra-firm tofu, pressed

Marinade:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger root, minced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon agave nectar

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 bunch kale, thinly sliced,
1 cup green cabbage, chopped
1 carrot, grated
½ daikon, grated
2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp sesame oil

Dressing:
3 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons toasted black sesame seeds (for garnish)

Marinate the tofu: The tofu must be pressed – wrap the block in a dishtowel, put something heavy on it (I used a plate with a can of beans on top) and let it sit for a couple of hours – this will make the tofu firmer and it will also absorb flavours better. After pressing, cut the tofu into ½-inch cubes. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a shallow pan, add the tofu, toss to coat, cover and put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Start cooking the rice (I’m sure you already know how to cook rice – combine rice and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 35 minutes or so, until the liquid is gone). While the rice is cooking, prepare the kale, cabbage, carrot, daikon and green onion. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. 10-15 minutes before the rice is done, remove the tofu marinade from the fridge, scoop out the tofu with a spatula or slotted spoon and sautee it in the sesame oil at medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Add the kale and cabbage and sautee for about 5 more minutes, until the kale has shrunk a bit and turned a more vibrant green.

Divide the rice amongst 4 bowls. Put the tofu mixture on top of the rice, and then the grated daikon and carrot on top of the tofu. Dollop the dressing over-top, and then garnish with the black sesame seeds. Enjoy! Makes 4 large servings.

Sunny Seedy Orange Pancakes with Maple-Molasses Sauce

Warning: only for adventurous cooks or crazy vegan health nuts.


Ok, maybe this combination is just bizarre and I’ve gone too far in combining weird-vegan-health-food ingredients (do you ever get confused and think that what’s good for you tastes good just because you know that it’s good for you? Am I the only one?), but I thought it was pretty tasty.

See, I had Sweet Potato with Cinnamon Drizzle for breakfast yesterday, and I was thinking about how using all-molasses for the drizzle made the flavour a tad strong, and it was also a bit thicker than I would have liked (not to dis the recipe – it was overall pretty yummy). However, I like molasses quite a bit and think that, with all its calcium and iron, I should include it in my diet more often.

Then I woke up this morning craving pancakes. But I also wanted something that would sustain me for a while. I find that plain vegan pancakes (as much as I love them) tend to make me feel heavy and sleepy - not exactly an energizing breakfast.

So I came up with these – the pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and chickpea flour add protein, the flax meal adds omega-3, and the orange juice goes well with the nuttiness and adds some sweetness. And there is no refined flour or sugar, and very little fat (as far as pancakes go). Orange and molasses seemed like a good combination, so I made the sauce, which adds calcium, iron, and more omega-3. So this is something that you can feel good about putting in your body. You may be thinking, ‘this can’t possibly taste remotely good, with all those weird health-food ingredients’ but I assure you that, as long as you don’t mind the idea of some seedy crunch in your pancakes and you like molasses, you will like these. And if you don’t like molasses (wuss!) then use maple syrup, apple butter or whatever else you want instead.

Sunny Seedy Orange Pancakes

¾ cup spelt flour
¼ cup chickpea flour
2 tablespoons flax meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup black sesame seeds
½ cup orange juice
1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup
cooking spray

Combine the dry ingredients (flour through seeds) in a large bowl, mixing well. Add the orange juice and give a couple of quick stirs. Add the remainder of the wet ingredients and stir as little as possible to combine everything (you don’t want gummy pancakes!).

Preheat a pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Drop ¼ cup batter into the pan for each pancake (mine fit three at a time) spreading out a bit with the back of a spoon. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the edges of the pancake darken a bit, then flip and cook the other side. Spray the pan between batches.

Serve with some orange slices and Maple-Molasses Sauce (unless you’re a wuss). Makes enough for two people (6 little pancakes)

Maple-Molasses Sauce

3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons hempseed oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and pour over pancakes. Makes enough for two people (6 little pancakes)

I’m happy to report that, having eaten these several hours ago, I didn’t feel heavy at all – these are truly nourishing, tasty pancakes. Happy Sunday!