Pulling together leftovers into a grain bowl is made into magic with a warn tangy Orange Asian Dressing.
I feel like the holiday madness has already begun. Am I alone in this? The darkness is coming on quickly these days and there is the steady drumbeat of the looming holidays. When those hectic nights sneak up on me I turn to some tricks that I keep up my sleeve. One result can be this Brown Rice Bowl with Warm Orange Asian Dressing.
One of My Favorite Secret Weapons
Years ago, when I ran my wedding cake business, I used to make a hot meal eat day for my staff for lunch. At one point I had 14 employees and we all worked hard and closely together. Most of the gals were doing their best to save money, and I didn’t like the idea of everyone disbanding midday to head out and seek some lousy lunch. So for not too much money I would make something like a big stir fry, veggie pasta, or roast off something along with a salad. Together everyone would clear away what they were working on, set the big long table that ran the length of the room, and together we would relax and enjoy a hot meal. Then after we were finished and had a nice relaxing chat together, everyone would pitch in, clean up with a flourish, and then get back to work. It was bonding and a bit old-worldish.
Since then I prefer a hot lunch whenever I can, including the summer months. Even if I make a big salad I often cook off a veggie burger, sear some tofu, or warm up some grains- and that leads to my secret weapon.
In my freezer I always have a batch of some type of cooked grain. I use my Instant Pot to make rice, barley, wheatberries, farro, quinoa, etc. It’s easy to make a decent batch-if I am going to make some I might as well make more. I then portion the grain into 2 serving containers so they are easy to store and defrost.
I also always keep frozen spinach (some for my smoothies) and edamame in the freezer too. This is a pretty good foundation for any grain bowl, to which I can add in any bits and bobs I happen have in the veggie drawer.
A Favorite No-Oil Dressing
To me finding a good no oil dressing is always a challenge. I am constantly coming up with new recipes, but this one is by far my favorite. It actually comes from a cookbook I read many many years ago written by a catering company- which sorrowfully I cannot remember. It was one of those books that was lovely, but this was really one of the only good recipes in the book. I am pretty sure I have been making this dressing for at least 25 years now. (!!!) It’s a dressing that is a bit of a sauce too- and can be eaten both warm and cold. I keep a bottle in my fridge and it keeps for several weeks.
So there you are. TWO secret weapons really. And btw- you may or may not have noticed that the spinach in the bowl above is from a previous post. I told you cooking up a batch and storing it will come in handy!
Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and mix until consistent. Add all the ingredients, including cornstarch slurry into a small saucepan. Over medium heat bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Allow to cool and serve. Reserve remaining dressing in a jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. This dressing is lovely warm, but is equally delicious cold. It's great over tofu, steamed vegetables, stir fry anything. It's a great staple to have on hand.
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