POTD: HerbTofu Bowl (with Roasted Roots!)

I apologize for my lack thereof recipe postings over the past few weeks.  But frankly, most of what I have been cooking since I returned to Missoula has not been very 'photo worthy.'   For breakfast: oatmeal! rice porridge!  For lunch and dinner:  rice bowls! soba noodles!    My food is one giant mush pile in a bowl.  Not the most exciting to take a photo of— or write directions on how to make.  

Such directions would read much along the lines of this: dump a little bit of everything in your fridge into a bowl. Reheat.  Add vinegar + seasonings to taste.  Stir and scarf.

But that is what I am going to give you.  A picture of my mainstay meal for the past few weeks.  The ingredients change a little as the contents of my fridge dwindle and are replenished with new food stuffs, but in essence, my rice/noodle bowl always ends up looking much like this:

This particular week's edition consisted of:

·      crock-pot roasted carrots + parsnips

·      brown rice

·      savory baked tofu, cubed (Wildwood or Trader Joe's)

·      medley of herbs, chopped (dill, green onion and cilantro!)

·     balsamic onion jam*

·     rice vinegar

·     tamari pumpkin seeds

·     nutritional yeast

*Crazy delicious. Go make a jar right now! Caramelize 2 jumbo onions over a low heat in 2tbsp of olive oil for about 1-2 hrs.  Add a few tbsp of balsamic vinegar and water to help deglaze pan as they cook.  I made this jam in my dormitory kitchen over the weekend.  Waaaaaaaaaay more labor & hoop jumping than should every be required to use a pan on a broken oven.  But that's another story.

Nomnom.

Many of my 'meals in a bowl' inspirations have come from the lovely Kathy Patalsky, author of the Happy. Healthy. Life. blog.  Many of her 'dump everything in a bowl and mush it around' recipes can be found here.  I made a variation of here Shiitake Balsamic Mushroom Spinach bowl and Peanut Ginger Kale Spinach bowl last week to use up my two bags of frozen spinach.

Anyone else love bowls?  Perhaps its just their convenience that makes me love them. (Uni student!)  But,  in the end, a bowl allows you to mix everything that strikes your fancy together in one big mess.  End of bowl story.  

Let me know if you have a favorite meal in a bowl combination I should try out.  Next week I want to tackle  a soup.  And baked beans.  Any  meal pairing  or inspirations are welcome.

Cheers, kaite ;]