Soooooooooooo Northstar Cafe.
Heaven. Delicious. Foodgasmic. Incredible. Droolworthy. I die. Go way too often.
Need I say more?
Northstar has no flaws. But if I had to think of one, or if my wallet had to think of one, it would be the prices. They are totally justifiable given the huge portions, but I easily walk out of there fifteen dollars lighter every weekend. I mean the coffee...the big burrito....the veggie burger....the village salad....the Buddha bowl--THE BUDDHA BOWL.
I just can't.
The Buddha bowl is quite simple. It's freshly steamed organic broccoli florets, cabbage and carrots over a bed of brown rice with your choice of tofu or chicken. I go with the 'fu of course. The big deal with the Buddha bowl is the sauce. I mean it really should be on the drink menu with the rising star juice and blueberry smoothie. Yes, that darn sauce, in all it's perfectly sweet, peanut buttery glory....it gets me. That darn sauce gets me good. It really should be illegal.
So whaddayaknow, my frugal self and I decided to recreate the Buddha bowl. I steamed broccoli and carrots in the microwave, heated up my pre-cooked frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's, whisked together some peanut butter and friends and voila...the copycat Buddha bowl was birthed.
Copycat Northstar Buddha Bowl
Copycat Northstar Buddha Bowl
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 3 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and pressed (or chicken)
- 1-2 heads of broccoli, chopped
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (I used Trader Joe's frozen)
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp agave/pure maple syrup/honey
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cube drained/pressed tofu and place on a sprayed baking sheet in an even layer. Sprinkle with salt and spray again. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Meawhile, steam broccoli and carrots and cook rice according to package directions.
- Whisk together sauce ingredients (peanut butter through soy sauce).
- Layer rice, vegetables and tofu and drizzle liberally with sauce
That Buddha guy knew what he was talking about.
