the goddess bowl

Who doesn’t love a good bowl? I’ve had this recipe in the banks for almost a decade (<—feels weird to type that out!) from one of my fave restaurants back in Canada (Lettuce Love Cafe).

I replicated this dish at home because I loved it so much & I’m here to share it with you. I originally had it on my website back in 2013 & so excited to share it again!

I typically keep things simple in the kitchen, and prepping a few things for a meal is usually how I roll. But, with this dish, there's a lot going on, and was well worth the extra work. That's why I'd like to share with YOU how I managed to recreate the most scrumptious dish there is. Be prepared; it's no simple task, but well worth the reward (of excited tastebuds!).

the goddess bowl

The Goddess Bowl (as described by Lettuce Love): 

Braised organic Kale on a bed of organic brown rice, with gluten-free tamari, shredded raw carrots and beets, topped with a cashew ginger sauce and marinated (orange marinade) tofu then sprinkled with sesame seeds.

In my recreation, I thought it best to list all the ingredients (and how to make them) + the order of how they’re prepared for the dish:

• short grain brown rice, 2-3 cups

• tamari/soy sauce

• shredded raw beets and carrots

• braised kale, 1 bunch (recipe below)

• orange marinated tofu, 1 pack extra-firm (recipe below)

• cashew-ginger-cilantro dressing (recipe below)

• sesame seeds

• sliced avocado

Now let’s get to making this dish!

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1. PREPARE THE MARINADE FOR THE TOFU SO IT CAN SIT FOR (AT LEAST) 30 mins - a FEW HOURS.

Orange Marinated Tofu

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra-firm tofu, cubed

• 1 tbsp ginger, minced

• 2 large garlic cloves, minced

• zest from 1 large orange

• juice from 1 orange (~1/2 cup)

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or sub in vinegar of choice)

• 1 tsp tamari sauce

• 1 tbsp oil

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients (minus tofu) in a large bowl and whisk.

• Place cubed tofu in bowl and place in fridge to marinate (or keep on counter if doing a 30-60 min marinate).

2. MAKE YOUR DRESSING.

This is super simple to prepare. Bust out that blender and once prepared, move to the fridge until ready to serve. This dressing also works beautifully on salads - so make enough that you'll have leftovers! (Keeps for a little under a week because of the fresh cilantro in it.)

Cashew-Ginger-Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews (flash soak them in boiling water for 30 mins to soften, then drain and continue on with recipe)

• 1/2 cup water (for a thinner sauce, double the amount of liquid)

• 1 tbsp ginger, minced

• 1/2 tsp tamari sauce

• 1/4 tsp agave syrup or maple syrup

• 1 tsp seasoned rice vinegar

• salt and pepper, to taste

• generous handful of cilantro

Directions:

• Place all ingredients EXCEPT cilantro in a high-speed blender and process until smooth.

• Add in cilantro and pulse to keep the sauce white with specks of cilantro or blend on high to turn completely green.

• Move to a container and let chill until ready to serve with meal.

3. SHRED YOUR CARROTS AND BEETS.

This is easy enough. Grab your grater and shred one large (peeled) beet and 3-4 carrots. You could also slice up your avocado at this time, as well!

4. GET RICE BOILING/IN THE RICE COOKER.

I use organic short grain rice. Make enough so that there are some leftovers (depending on how much rice you think you'll eat). I make a nice base of rice for this dish, so I make 6+ servings of rice, typically, which is around 2-2.5 cups dry.

5. PREHEAT OVEN TO 350-425F FOR TOFU.

Once the oven is preheated, add tofu to a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat (I like baking on silicon sheets like these) and put in the oven for 15-25 mins, turning halfway through. For a crispier/more cooked tofu, set the oven closer to 400-425F. For tofu that's heated, but not crispy, set closer to 350F. When you turn the tofu halfway through, add a bit of the marinade to infuse more flavour.

6. GET FRYING PAN TO BRAISE KALE. (THIS SHOULD ALWAYS BE YOUR LAST STEP.)

Since kale does not take long to braise/wilt/cook at all, make sure you're doing this when your rice and tofu are almost done cooking. 

Braised Kale

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5 heads of kale, stems removed and torn into pieces

• 2 garlic cloves, minced or garlic granules

• oil

• splash of veggie broth

Directions:

• In a frying pan over high heat, add oil (or water) and garlic, if using. Sauté for a few minutes until garlic is cooked.

• Add some vegetable broth, and then add in kale (+ garlic granules if using instead).

• Continue sautéing for another few minutes, adding more vegetable broth when needed, until kale begins to wilt (~5-7 minutes).

• Remove from heat once kale has softened/wilted a bit (but not overly cooked).

HOW TO ASSEMBLE:

In this order:

1. Put rice as your base (spread a layer across the bowl). Sprinkle on some tamari sauce.

2. Add the raw beets, raw carrots and braised kale. (I do it so they are in three rows - if you can kind of see in the picture above; beets on the left, kale in the middle and carrots on the right.)

3. Add your tofu

4. Drizzle on dressing (as much or as little as you'd like).

5. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.

6. Top with sliced avocado (if using).

I call this dish a nutritional powerhouse. It really has everything you need to know that you're fueling your body super awesomely. Plus, you feel great after eating it!

If you can just get past the initial shock of how much goes into making this dish, and actually make it and shove it in your mouth, then you'll realize that it was well worth it. PLUS, as you make it more & more it doesn’t take nearly as long to prep as the first time. And even then, we're talking less than an hour if you prep everything at once (marinade, dressing, shredding and slicing veggies)—first OR hundredth time. Just do it, you'll thank me. Then we can both work up to being able to prep in our sleeps ;).

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What's one of your absolute favourite dishes and why? What makes it so tasty to you?!