Sunflower Rice Bowl

I took Fresh at Home out from the library and fell in love with it. The next time I buy cookbooks this will definitely be one of them. I can't remember everything that's in there but there are tons of recipes for interesting "bowls" like this sunflower rice bowl (among other things). And while it may seem complicated because there are so many components, most components are quite small so it's not too time consuming. I was astounded at how delicious this was - delicious AND healthy? A truly rare find. I try and make healthy meals most of the time and most of them are okay, some not really okay and not very often at all they're really tasty. Actually that's why my blog has mostly baked goods - because while I do cook fairly often, if I don't love it then I won't post about it. And it's hard to go wrong with baked goods. ;)

The sunflower rice bowl is a perfect combination of marinated tofu steaks, creamy sunflower dressing (with grapefruit juice), soy/ginger/lemon sauce, mixed herbs, spinach, carrots, rice and more sunflower seeds. I warn you though - don't pour on more of the grapefruit dressing than is recommended as your bowl will not be as balanced and you won't have as delicious an experience. I was also amazed at how you could marinate tofu in water - well water, soy sauce and some spices but still. Everything I've read says you must press tofu before marinading it if you want the tofu to suck up the marinade - but this way works too!

This sunflower rice bowl is also what converted me onto grapefruits. I used to hate grapefruits - now I can't get enough of them. They're SO juicy. For a while I was eating one everyday and dreaming of grapefruits while at the gym - a serious obsession you can see.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Curried Tofu Salad
Lemon Miso Tofu and Eggplant
Matthew's Delicious Tofu
Asian Beet and Tofu Salad

Sunflower Rice Bowl
Adapted from Fresh at Home

Serves 2

6 marinated tofu steaks (recipe follows)
1/4 cup filtered water
8 cups fresh spinach
3 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup creamy sunflower dressing (recipe follows)
2 cups grated carrots
2 tbsp simple sauce (recipe follows)
2 tsp mixed herbs (recipe follows)
4 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds

1. Grill or broil marinated tofu steaks for 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned.

2. Put water and spinach in a skillet over high heat. Cover and cook 1 minute, just until spinach is wilted.

3. Divide cooked rice between 2 large rice bowls, and drizzle both with half of the creamy sunflower dressing.

4. Top with wilted spinach, grilled tofu steaks and grated carrot.

5. Drizzle with simple sauce and remaining creamy sunflower dressing.

6. Sprinkle with mixed herbs and toasted sunflower seeds. Serve.

Marinated Tofu Steaks

The recipe calls for a 250 g (9 oz) block of tofu but the ones I buy are sold in 350 g. There's definitely enough marinade to do even more than 350 g. I used reduced sodium soy sauce instead of tamari. The way they suggest to cut the tofu results in big pieces of tofu so I prefer cutting them into small cubes.

1 block firm tofu (350 g)
2 tbsp coriander, ground
4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 cups filtered water

1. Cut the block of tofu into 4 1/4" thick slices, then cut the slice diagonally into triangles.

2. Combine the coriander, garlic, soy sauce and water in a bowl; mix well. Pour marinade over tofu triangles.

3. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Creamy Sunflower Dressing

2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup grapefruit juice
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup filtered water

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and frothy. Stored in a sealed container in the fridge, it will last for up to 3 days.

Simple Sauce

I used reduced sodium soy sauce instead of tamari.

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 1/2" fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 tbsp lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and cool. Serve.

Mixed Herbs

1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp dried dill
1 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp dried sage

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.