Rice and Veggies with a Spicy Cilantro Sauce

We tend to stay minimize grains, whole or otherwise,  instead preferring to focus on veggies, fruits, beans, seeds and nuts. However, today we had a brutal thunderstorm roll through which dropped the temperatures from 90 something to 71 in a matter of minutes. When it is cool like this I tend to want comfort food. For me meals with grains scream home and comfort.

I started with the idea of making a vegan bibimbap and ended up making a spicy cilantro sauce instead. I really do have difficulty staying focused on a meal. This is why I am never successful when I write menu plans. I seem incapable of sticking with them. For some reason I need the flexibility to change my mind when it comes to food. Who knows what deep seated psychosis is causing this, LOL. Here is what I made tonight for dinner:

Rice and Veggies with a Spicy Cilantro Sauce
Serves 2

Sauce ingredients:

¼ cup cilantro (stems and leaves)
1 tablespoon lime juice (or lemon if you don’t have lime)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon white miso
1 teaspoon sriracha, or more if you like things hot ;-)
¼ cup raw sesame seeds (or tahini if not using a high powered blender)
¼ cup water (or what is necessary to make a smooth sauce)

Other ingredients:

2 cups cooked brown rice, warm preferably
½ pound baby spinach, chopped
1 cup marinated mushrooms (1 cup of any type mushroom that you tossed with a 1 tablespoon of liquid aminos and a pinch of stevia and refrigerated for at least 1 day, drain excess liquid before using)
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced,
2 cups snow peas
1 tomato, diced

Directions:

Combine the sauce ingredients in your blender and process until smooth. You may need to add a little water to get everything to process.

To serve plate the greens first, top with rice and veggies and drizzle with the sauce. Alternately you can toss the rice with the sauce and then top with veggies. Either way you will need to give this dish a stir on your plate to distribute the sauce and veggies like you are eating bibimbap. This is good with hot, warm or cold rice. I prefer the rice warm in this dish.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 472.85
Calories From Fat (22%) - 103.3

Total Fat - 12.32g
Saturated Fat - 1.85g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 988.08mg
Potassium - 1683.66mg
Total Carbohydrates - 77.79g
Fiber - 15.18g
Sugar - 12.95g
Protein - 17.72g

Comment:

Both Dan and I really liked the spicy cilantro sauce. That will definitely be making repeat appearances at our house. This is a winning combination the warm rice and cold veggies with a lightly spicy sauce. I have always believed that sauces make the meal. This particular meal would have been very boring were it not for the sauce.

Each serving of this recipe contains approximately 21,650IU of vitamin A, 200mg of vitamin C, 390mg of calcium, 9.9mg of iron, 4.6mg of vitamin E, 1.2mg of vitamin B6, 350mg of folate, 590mcg of vitamin K, 470mg of phosphorus, and 290mg of magnesium.

Unrelated notes:

So far I still love the new dumbbells. I have not found anything not to like about them yet. It is great to have so much flexibility in terms of weight. I can tell I am getting a better work out because the DOMS has reached a new level. Yay? Unlike my friend Heather I have never learned to love the pain. Something tells me I never will, LOL. But hey, it works so what the heck.

Tomorrow I am planning to make something for Dan in the kitchen. I have not decided what that means yet. I may make seitan sausages since he loves those and I don’t make seitan very often or it could be a dessert. Who knows maybe I will do both. ;-)

I hope everyone had a great Monday. Talk to you tomorrow.