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Green Chili Sauce from Portland's Famous Prasad Restaurant
I’d like to think of myself as a global yogi-foodie jet-setter. I travel often twice a month leading workshops and always make it my duty to explore the local gems of the cuisine world wherever I go. I ate my way through Cleveland stopping at many of Michael Symon’s joints, feasted on King Salmon in Juneau and most recently found a precious vegetarian pearl of a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, called Prasad, right in the heart of the yoga studio I taught at—Yoga Pearl.
Prasad is nothing less than exquisite. The lovely owner, Karen Pride (pictured above), shared her vision with me:
"Prasad is about serving healthy food. Food made from fresh, seasonal, pure, quality, organic ingredients that are treated with creativity, care, and love. Food has the power to nourish the mind, body and soul. Serving this sort of food with loving intentions can do that, while providing an abundance of energy. I want to help people learn to listen to their bodies, to be able to take care of it and simply thrive. The better we all feel throughout out day the more positive energy we're going to inflect into the world. I do my best to keep the menu simple and therefore inexpensive so as many people as possible have the chance to eat at Prasad."
Amen to that. I had such withdrawal after leaving Portland that I begged her to share her recipe for the tantalizing Green Chili Sauce she used as a dip for the Freedom Wrap (pumpkin and sun garden pate, sprouts, cucumber, avocado and pickled daikon radish rolled in collard greens) and as a dressing for my personal favorite, the Chili Bowl (quinoa, roasted garlic chili, steamed greens, avocado, scallions, green chili and garlic tahini sauce). Honestly, I’m starting to get a bit emotional thinking of her food as I write this—yes, it was that good. Weekend trips to Portland to get my fix would prove to be a bit expensive, so I took her generous offer to share her Green Chili Sauce and did my own spin. I’ve created 2 dishes that I’ve found to be quite divine with her sauce and encourage you to try them or create your own.
Cheers to feeling and eating our best!
Green Chili Sauce (raw)
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 to 2 anaheim chilies - start with one and add more as necessary to reach level of heat
1/4 cup + 2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 + 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp. red chili flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper
*seeded jalapeno may be substituted for Anaheim chilies
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
Chill and enjoy!
*the amazing Chili Bowl at Prasad
Quinoa with Garlic, Kale and Sun Dried Tomato
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cup organic broth (veg, chicken, your choice)
1 T extra virgin olive oil + dollop for your quinoa
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, chopped into bite size
1 can sun dried tomatoes in oil, julienned
Green Chili Sauce to drizzle on top
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat a medium sauce pan with the dry quinoa. Shake every 20 seconds until the quinoa is nicely toasted. Add broth, dollop of olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Bring to boil. Stir the contents, reduce to low heat and cover for 15 minutes or until quinoa is nice an fluffy.
Wash and chop your kale into bite size pieces and place aside. Finely mince the garlic cloves and place aside as well. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan adding the garlic. Heat occasionally stirring until slightly browned. Add kale and mix well letting the leaves wilt. Add sun-dried tomatoes and stir. Keep on medium heat, stirring occassionaly for 5-8 minutes.
Add cooked quinoa to kale/tomato and mix well. Keep on low heat allowing the quinoa to absorb the oils and flavor for 1-2 minutes.
Serve while warm drizzling green chili sauce on top.
Traditional Macrobiotic Bowl
Hard to go wrong here. Clean and satisfying and you can switch up your bean and veg according to your mood!
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa or brown rice
1 3/4 cup organic broth (veg, chicken, your choice)
1 bunch dark leafy green (kale, chard, collard greens)
3 red beets, peeled, steamed and diced
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup beans (e.g. white bean, black-eye, garbanzo)
Green Chili Sauce to drizzle
sesame seeds, sliced green onion ends and salt to garnish
Instructions:
Cook your quinoa the same as mentioned in the above recipe or brown rice according to the package.
Steam your chopped leafy greens for about 5 minutes or until bright green.
If you have time, soak and cook your own beans. If not, make sure you rinse your canned beans well to help the digestive process.
Scrub your beets well and peel if necessary. Place in steamer for 20-30 minutes or until easily pierced by a fork.
Slice the avocado into thin slices and sprinkle with sesame.
To serve:
Place the quinoa/rice in the center of bowl. Make a small bundle of the greens followed by the beans and beets. Place the avocado slices on top, drizzle with Green Chili Sauce and garnish with sesame, salt and green onion ends.
Kathryn Budig is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher and author known for her accessibility, humor, and ability to empower her students through her message, "aim true." The Kansas native graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelor's degrees in both english and drama before moving to Los Angeles, where she trained at Yogaworks under Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller. She is the author of Aim True: Love Your Body, Eat Without Fear, Nourish Your Spirit, Discover True Balance! and travels around the world teaching.