Broccoli Rising Substack Swap — Meet Nava Atlas!

Nava Atlas was already a vegan visionary and a prolific cookbook author when I first interviewed her for my Meatless Monday column in HuffPo, so I was kind of in awe and agog.  But Nava has a way of inviting you in and putting you at ease, so our interview became like chatting with a friend.  

I came to look forward to Nava’s new books so we could speak about vegan food, sure, but also about art, literature, life, and everything else.

I’ll always be Nava’s fan girl, but I’m also lucky to call her my friend for real. So when we had a Zoom catch-up the other day and Nava invited me to do a Substack Swap (when two Substackers guest post and switch audiences for a day), I was in. I love introducing my friends to each other, so welcome Nava and her bevy of beautiful Buddha bowls.

Get to know Nava better by subscribing to her two Substack newsletters, The Vegan Atlas and Literary Ladies Guide.

I’ll be back with Broccoli Rising next week. Till then, be well and be kind.

10 Beautiful Buddha Bowls

No recipes needed, just riff from the photos & enjoy a cool meal

Most of the US has officially entered Too Hot territory just as summer is almost official. In the kitchen, Too Hot often translates to Too Hot to Cook, whether or not there’s AC.

Even here in the beautiful Hudson Valley, we’re rivaling Texas. We’re competing with Saigon. This is not normal, and it’s not good. I’m not a heat person; are you? [New subscribers, here’s your promised perk: Setting Up Your Plant-Based Kitchen.]

Here's a selection of beautiful vegan Buddha bowls you can make without a recipe. Other than the occasional grain to cook or tofu to prep, there’s very little or no heat involved. Some are 100% cook-free, perfect for sweltering days like these.

An ideal one-dish plant-based meal

Basically, Buddha bowls are compositions of raw and/or lightly cooked vegetables (and sometimes fruit), tofu, and/or legumes, pleasingly arranged. Sometimes they include cooked grains (or to a less extent, noodles). They’re fantastic for lunch or dinner.

The bowl shown above is pretty typical, featuring a few commonly used ingredients for Buddha bowls — cucumbers, tofu, edamame, carrots, sprouts, seeds, and avocado.

There are no hard and fast rules for making Buddha bowls. The concept started out pretty much plant-based, so perhaps it's a play off of "Buddha’s Delight," a frequent meatless option on Chinese restaurant menus (that’s really easy to copycat at home). But I wouldn’t swear to that.

Buddha bowls are especially great for solo eaters and couples, since you get an array of different flavors, textures, and colors without a lot of prep. Yes, there's a bit of chopping involved, but for one or two eaters, it doesn't take much time at all. 

It's almost silly to follow a recipe

Much depends on the size of your actual bowls (a shallow, wide soup bowl is ideal), what ingredients you have on hand, and how hungry you are. Almost as important as using good ingredients is making the arrangement look almost too pretty to eat — though of course, you won’t be able to resist.

Good ingredients for vegan Buddha bowls

You're not limited to these ingredients; these are basics, and likely, many are staples you likely already keep on hand.

• Grains & noodles: Rice (any variety), quinoa, white rice and quinoa combo (can be cooked together), fine rice noodles, spiralized zucchini noodles.

• Protein: Tofu (extra-firm and baked), chickpeas, lentils, beans, edamame (fresh green soybeans).

• Vegetables: Baby spinach (and other baby greens) bell peppers, beets, broccoli, carrot, celery, cucumber, potato, sweet potato, radish (including watermelon radish) tomatoes (especially cherry or grape tomatoes), winter squash.

• Fruits: Apple, avocado, mango, watermelon.

• Condiments & extras: Chili peppers and pickled peppers, lemons, limes, mushrooms, pickles, olives, pickled ginger, seaweed, sprouts.

• Nuts and Seeds: Sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, and hemp seeds; peanuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, etc.

• Fresh herbs: Basil, cilantro, parsley, scallion — any fresh herbs you like.

• Dressings: Vinaigrette (including balsamic vinaigrette; bottled or homemade), sesame-ginger (bottled or homemade, tahini dressing (bottled or homemade), dressings with strong herbal notes. A couple of recipes suggest Vegan Ranch. Honestly? Whatever dressing you prefer. In many cases, a good olive oil and mild vinegar or lemon juice do quite nicely.

Now, let’s go bowling …

This all-raw bowl is a rainbow of colors, with zucchini noodles, broccoli, pickled peppers, bell pepper, carrot, grape tomatoes olives, and red cabbage. You can vary it according to what you have on hand. Dressing suggestion: vinaigrette, or a drizzle of good olive oil and red wine vinegar or lemon juice.

If you're craving all things green, this is the bowl for you. Make a base of baby spinach (or other baby greens), then arrange zucchini noodles, edamame, sprouts, and half of an avocado per serving. Top with a sprinkling of seeds (sesame or other). Dressing suggestion: An herbal dressing or tahini-based dressing; or keep it simple with good olive oil and lemon juice.

Here's a vegan poke-style bowl. In these kinds of bowls, watermelon serves as a visual ringer for the tuna traditionally used in poke bowls. It’s delectable and refreshing, but provides no protein, so add a bowl of edamame on the side. Dressing suggestion: Bottled papaya-poppyseed, or just plain lime juice.

Watermelon radish adds a lovely color to bowls, but if you can’t find it, any kind of radish or turnip will do. Rice or a rice blend, avocado, beets, pickled cabbage, and red cabbage round out the bowl. Seaweed, hot red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds are optional embellishments that can be passed around. Dressing suggestion: Vinaigrette or sesame-ginger dressing.

This hearty bowl features quinoa, cucumber, and avocado and introduces lentils to the Buddha bowl concept. I have no quarrel with canned lentils to reduce time spent and heat expended. Add parsley or cilantro and top with a sprinkling of seeds. Dressing suggestion: Tahini-based dressing or vinaigrette.

Here's a bowl with four sources of protein — chickpeas, white beans (you can vary the beans if you'd like), tofu, and quinoa. Use baked tofu, if you'd like. Crisp up regular tofu in the air fryer, optional. Cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, radishes, and avocado round things out nicely, and it's all quite flexible. Dressing suggestion: Vinaigrette, vegan ranch, or tahini-based dressing.

Mango adds a sweet surprise to savory bowls. The usual suspects are in this plentiful bowl — rice, tofu (sautéed this time), carrots, radish, avocado, plus we go a bit further afield with seaweed and sprouts (both optional). Dressing suggestion: Sesame-ginger dressing or olive oil and lime juice.

Here's a tasty idea for a substantial bowl — sautéed new potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, and avocado. A bed of arugula is quite compatible with the potatoes. It’s summer, so use canned lentils and cook small new potatoes in the air fryer. Dressing suggestion: Vinaigrette.

Cookbook break …

Explore my many cookbooks. They went vegan more than 20 years ago, when I did.

This almost all-raw bowl is made more dramatic with watermelon radish, plus the more common chickpeas, radishes, cucumber, carrots, and celery. No watermelon radish? No problem. Just use extra radishes or sliced turnip. Dressing suggestion: Sesame-ginger dressing, vinaigrette, or vegan ranch.

Another example of a bowl that offers ample protein, this one keeps things simple with grated carrot, bell pepper, edamame, and toasted cashews, all on a bed of quinoa. Dressing suggestion: Sesame-ginger dressing or vinaigrette.

Thanks for reading this post by Nava Atlas. Enjoy. Next week, Broccoli Rising returns to its regularly scheduled green vegetable content.

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