The Shared Buddha Bowls / October 7, 2016 by Amy Cantu

Buddha Bowl with Quinoa, Roasted Vegetables, Tofu, and Peanut Sauce

Everyone has this moment. I open up the fridge, and all I have are leftovers that I don't particularly want to eat. And so I pull them all out and look at them: roasted butternut squash, spinach, and mushrooms, (the accompanying roasted chicken finished off during the last meal). I poke a piece of butternut squash with a fork. I wonder if my family will notice eating it for a third time in a row. I imagine myself trying to eat them yet again. I really don't want to. I make this low growly-groan sound that everyone in my family recognizes as "CrAmy" (Cranky Amy), and I decide to make the best of it. Fifteen minute quinoa, tofu cubed and roasted in the oven in under 30 minutes, a peanut sauce whizzed up in the blender, and suddenly we have a Buddha Bowl that even my five-year-old THANKED me for cooking. In these moments, I feel as if I've stumbled upon a miracle, however small, because a delicious, quick, healthy meal made from leftovers is something to celebrate in my house.

Autumn Harvest Buddha Bowls

The Shared Bi Bim Bap / May 31, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

Last week, I was out of town for four nights to celebrate a dear friend's wedding and to accompany my husband on a work-related trip. For two nights, we celebrated our friends in idyllic Tiburon. For another two nights, my kids and I relaxed and played (while my husband worked) in Monterey, California. It was such a fun-filled getaway (and dare I say), it was luxurious. For those five days and four nights, I didn't have to shop, prep, cook, serve or clean up any meals! We ate in restaurants and hotels for the entire trip, and I was the most relaxed I've been in a long, long time. But, I started feeling sluggish on the third day, and I knew I had overindulged one too many times. (My kids, however, were very content to eat cheesy pasta and pizza for nearly every meal.) The morning after we got home, I went into a cooking rampage and roasted every vegetable we had, and cooked off pounds of brown rice and wheat berries. I threw them together for every meal since, and it only took a couple days to feel back to normal.

As soon as I got back, Amy left for a long weekend to Nashville to reconnect with friends, visit the sites, and EAT. So, to continue my healthy gut week and to support my friend when she gets back from a long weekend of food destinations and cocktails, I decided to make us Bi Bim Bap. Bi Bim Bap is a Korean mixed rice and vegetable dish that is completed with beef, a fried egg, and a sweet and spicy sauce. I hope that this light and nutritive surprise aided in the recovery of her overindulged tummy.

Bi Bim Bap with Beef and Spicy Sauce