Solo bowl contains a world of flavour and texture
The ultimate taste test — crunchy, creamy, salty, sweet and bitter
In her new book, Whole Bowls: Complete Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Meals to Power Your Day (Skyhorse Publishing), Allison Day, a Hamilton, Ont.-based food blogger, not only presents more than 50 nutritious and delicious recipes and beautiful photos of meals in bowls, she offers a clever formula.
“It’s just something I came up with in my own kitchen,” says Day, whose blog is called the Yummy Beet.
Here’s her blueprint: ½ cup (125 mL), grains (such as brown rice or quinoa); ½ cup (125 mL), protein (such as chickpeas, poached egg or tofu); 1 to 2 cups (250 to 500 mL), non-starchy vegetables (such as kale, spinach or leftover grilled peppers); ½ to 1 cup (125 mL to 250 mL), starchy vegetables or fruit (such as roasted sweet potatoes, grated carrots or berries); 2 tbsp (30 mL), to ¼ cup (60 mL), of sauce to tie it all together (such as vinaigrettes, sour cream or a tahini dressing); and 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL), of something crunchy on top (such as roasted nuts, chopped herbs or croutons).
“For my perfect bite, a little bit of everything has to hop onto my utensil: crunchy, creamy, acidic, salty, sweet and bitter,” says Day, 28.
She finds that bowls — from yogurt-and-fruit-topped granola for breakfast to fruit crisps for dessert — are ideal for those who live alone, as she does.
“But you can make them for entertaining, or for a family. My four-year-old niece already likes to construct her own little bowls. And you can build them in a container, for lunches.”
Of course, Day adds, rules are meant to be broken. This bowl, filled with warm southwestern flavours, includes no grains. But it’s wonderfully satisfying, with the lightly spicy walnut mixture, the crunch of romaine lettuce, creamy bright lime sour cream and the smokiness of the grilled avocado.
Both the Walnut Meat and the Lime Sour Cream can be made as much as four days in advance.