Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig!

We’re home - again. After spending 2 weeks in Europe we came home, did a laundry stop, repacked and headed to Chicago for a conference. Dan was the keynote speaker and one of my coworkers was speaking too. It was a fun long weekend but I’m glad to be home and we’ll be home until Thanksgiving and after that until we go to Mexico. Perhaps I will get some of that cleaning/sorting I’ve been putting off done. Don’t hold your breath. Did I mention I love to travel but hate to fly - it’s true. 

Last night I posted a picture on Facebook of our grain bowls with peanut sauce - no recipe, just a picture and I immediately got a request for the recipe. For me grain bowls are all about what you have in the pantry/refrigerator. They are so flexible and the options are limitless my conundrum is always what dressing to use. My favorite is a vegan avocado cream but I have also made vegan tatziki with tofu as a base, a southwest/taco with vegan sour cream … as I said options are limitless. 

Since my avocados were still rock hard I decided on a Siracha peanut butter sauce and it did not disappoint. First you get the sweet and salty peanut-soy flavor, and then a spicy kick from Sriracha slowly sneaks up on you. This is my favorite kind of spicy sauce — where the heat isn’t immediate. You can use this sauce to boost everything from chicken and steak, to tofu, lentils, beans, and veggies. 

After a fair amount of chopping, roasting and sautéing dinner was served - the best part, there were leftovers, which Dan had for dinner tonight! I’m still full from lunch with the girls today. 

Ingredients:

10 small beets - a one bite beet 

1 small sweet potato 

1 medium onion diced

1 carrot 

8 - 10 brussels sprouts - cleaned and cut in half

5 ounces mushrooms (I had a combo of baby portabella and white)

1/2 cucumber - sliced and quartered

2 radishes - sliced thin and cut into matchsticks

1/4 red pepper - thinly sliced

1/4 orange pepper - thinly sliced

4 green onions - cleaned and chopped 

2 handfuls spinach

8 kale leaves shredded

parsley and cilantro - chopped 

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 T soy sauce

2 T water

1 - 2 T Siracha

1 - 2 T olive oil

1 cup quinoa or brown rice or a mixture of grains 

salt 

pepper 

Instructions:

Chop all vegetables. In a medium bowl combine beets, sweet potato, onion, carrot, mushrooms, and brussels sprout with the olive oil - toss to combine. Put on a baking dish and roast at 400 for  approximately 30 - 40 minutes - turn half way through. 

While the veggies are roasting, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky), 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water, and 1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha, in a blender and mix until combined.

Cook grains according to package directions, combine the spinach and kale in a bowl. 

To assemble:

Put greens on the bottom followed by a couple tablespoons of grains. Add roasted vegetables, top with peppers, cucumbers, green onions, radishes and add sriracha and peanut sauce. 

Enjoy!