This is a recipe I've been
making for a long time now. It is kid-approved and delicious, nutritious, easy
to make and not expensive either.
1 Large Bunch of Kale
(or any cookable dark leafy green), washed & chopped
3-4 Carrots, shredded
4-5 Green Onions coarsely chopped
1 block extra-firm tofu, drained & rinsed, cut
into cubes (please see note about tofu at the bottom of this
post)
Salad
Dressing
Place kale (or other green),
carrots, green onions and tofu in a large pot with a steamer basket with water,
cover and steam to cook.
Cook rice of
your choice. I prefer whole-grain brown organic, but use whatever you like. You
can use another cooked grain if you prefer. Make the amount you'd need for
everyone to have it as a side dish.
Serve in bowls: place rice in bowl and then the
cooked greens, veggies & tofu on top. Drizzle with your favorite salad
dressing and serve. Yumorama!
Dressing suggestion:
I have a special dressing I make from scratch just
for this dish. It's called "You-Must-Make-This Dressing". I am not kidding,
that's really the name. I got it from the cookbook, The Garden of
Vegan and it goes perfectly with this dish. I mean perfectly. I
highly recommend it.
2 stalks
Green Onion, roughly chopped (I buy one bunch, save two stalks for this dressing
and use the rest in the Dragon Bowl recipe)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
4 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp fresh Chives (from the garden, of
course)
1 tsp fresh Dill (less if
using dried)
1 tsp fresh Parsley
(dried is OK)
1/2 cup Olive
Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until
smooth.
A Word About
Tofu:
Please don't let the tofu
in this recipe scare you. It is really very good, filling and easy to use. I
have used tofu a lot over the years and I have found that there are some things
you can do to make it work better in a recipe.
What I suggest is that you get as much of the water
out of it as possible before you use it. This way it will more readily absorb
any flavor you may add, and the texture is better. To do this, simply drain and
rinse the block of tofu, then place it in between two clean kitchen towels.
Place a plate, upside down on top of it with a can of something (like a can of
soup or veggies or sauce) on top of that. This will apply very gentle even
pressure to the tofu, which will slowly squeeze the water out, without it
loosing its shape. The towels absorb the moisture. This should be done a few
hours before using the tofu. It can also be put in the fridge, or even done
overnight.
Do this before making
your Dragon Bowl and the results will be great!
