Too Yummy for my Tummy

Last summer the family & I went to a restaurant in Eugene, OR called Cafe Yumm.  A little place that, at first glance, seemed a little strange.  A healthy menu, order at the counter with table service.  I've been dreaming of a Yumm Bowl ever since and now with the great benefit of GOOGLE, I was able to make our very own Yumm Bowl.  This comes as a great benefit because it was either replicate it or buy a franchise into Cafe Yumm, and the beloved husband was having none of it!  I guess a close duplication is better than investing $250k in something that perhaps not everyone on South Hill would appreciate as much as we do.  So tonight we tried them and I would say it will do... until my next trip to Oregon, that is.  You can buy the sauce by the case from the company, but I modified the recipe just a bit to make this as healthy as everyone knows I eat (most of the time).  You will see my changes in parenthesis.  Try one for yourself.  You may be pleasantly surprised.  

YUMM BOWL!

For the Yumm Sauce:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grape seed or canola oil  (omitted)
• 1/2 cup almond meal or finely chopped almonds (used whole)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans (omitted)
• 1/4 cup cooked soybeans or 1/3 cup tofu (used 1 c. cannellini beans)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro

For the original Yumm Bowl:

• Brown rice, cooked
• Black beans, cooked
• Shredded cheddar cheese (omitted)
• Salsa
• Diced fresh tomato
• Sliced fresh avocado
• Sliced black olives
• Sour cream (omitted)
• Fresh cilantro sprigs
• (subbed in cucumber)

directions

For the Yumm Sauce:

• 1
  In a small measuring cup, mix together the water and lemon juice. In a separate small measuring cup, measure out the appropriate amount of oil. Set both aside.
• 2
  In a blender or food processor, process the almonds, nutritional yeast, garbanzo beans, soybeans or tofu, garlic, salt, curry, oregano, and cilantro together until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds.
• 3
  Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With the machine running, add the oil mixture in a steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until the sauce is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
  (who reads instructions?  Not me... I just threw it in the VitaMix & blended til smooth)
• 4
  Transfer the sauce to a clean bottle or jar, cover, and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend.

To assemble the Yumm Bowl:

• 1
  Place a scoop of brown rice in an individual-sized serving bowl, then layer a scoop of black beans over the rice. Drizzle the rice and beans with a desired amount of Yumm Sauce, then sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the rice.
• 2
  Spoon a dollop of salsa in the middle of the bowl, then spoon the tomato, avocado, and olives around the perimeter. Place a dollop of sour cream in the center of the bowl, garnish with some cilantro sprigs, and serve.