Have you ever had one of those days, that’s just one of those days? The kind where you just wake up feeling bad for no particular reason, and everything is just off? Well, that was me last Sunday, and that is just crazy, because I always feel GREAT on Sunday! It’s my favorite day of the week. I don’t worry about stuff on Sunday. I don’t do chores or things that I don’t enjoy on Sunday. I always try to have fun and relax on Sunday. I just love the whole vibe of Sunday. So I have no idea what happened last Sunday, and why it started out like that, but what happened that day, turned the whole day around, and inspired this Simple Sesame Garlic Buddha Bowl too!
My husband, being the sweet (and super intuitive) man that he is, recognized immediately that I definitely needed something therapeutic to rescue the day, so he suggested that we just meander up the coast and stop when we saw something of interest. I’m ALWAYS up for a road trip of any proportion, so I threw on something comfy, packed some sandwiches and snacks, grabbed my camera, and we were off! We are blessed to live in a beautiful area that is just a few miles from the beach, so in no time at all we were driving up the Coast Highway, listening to music (I’m loving the new Anderson East record right now- SO GOOD!!) and enjoying a day that was a a perfect mix of sun and clouds (mostly clouds, but still beautiful), and a warm breeze. We had no particular destination in mind, and that was fine!
First stop – a little picnic area and park in Summerland, just south of Santa Barbara. We had our lunch and let the kids play on the playground. My husband has a drone that he likes to fly, so he played with that for a while. I kept myself busy with a patch of wildflowers and agave that were growing there, and taking shots of the beach from the cliff.
Anytime I can get out with my family and do some photography, I’m a happy girl! When everyone was ready to go, I remembered that a dear friend of mine from my photography club, had told me about a store nearby called Sacred Space. I had always wanted to go, so we decided to check it out, and that is when the day really got interesting! When we pulled up to the address we noticed that the landscaping and decor made you feel like you are in Bali or Thailand!
It is absolutely beautiful there! My son took this pic of me and I texted it to my friend who was in Bali (and had invited me to go!), and told her “I made it!” I had her going for a minute too!
Anyway, upon entering the shop, the people at the front asked if we would like some tea, and since I had heard that they had a beautiful garden in which to drink the tea, I happily accepted. We wandered around the store, looking at the precious stones, Buddha statues, candles, cards, books, etc.
When the tea was ready, our gracious host, dressed all in white, led us out to an AMAZING garden and into a little tea hut to enjoy our tea. As we sat there, with the sounds of birds and fountains, drinking our tea, I felt all of my stress and negative feelings just melt completely away. The kids amused themselves looking for fish in the pond and eating a couple of the sugar crystals that were served for the tea. I felt like I could just lay down and take a nap right there! Good etiquette, (and a tiny sign), dictated that we should give up the hut after about 20 minutes, so the next group could enjoy the space. (I must have been too relaxed to take a picture from the hut, or of the hut, so I borrowed this one from my friend, who took it on another (sunnier!) day.)
Image Courtesy of Myrna Cambianica
So we moved on and explored the rest of the grounds and the store, which is made up of a lot of little rooms, each one with a lot of stuff to look at. It was very peaceful and relaxing. If you live in Southern California, or plan to be visiting around Santa Barbara at any time, I highly recommend a stop! BTW – they have 3 teas to choose from. I had the “Love” tea, and my husband had the green tea. I ended up buying a box of each of the ones we tried because they were delicious, and I think they just transport me right back to that “sacred space”!
We finished our day with a stop at the beach. Toes in the sand, fun with the kids, some beach combing, and a beautiful sunset. My older son did some TaeKwonDo on the beach.
So that’s my story of Sunday, and how it was saved, but what does that have to do with the simple, yet incredible, recipe that I’m about to share with you? Well, everything. You see, Sunday, like all great days, must come to an end, but when you have a day like that, a day that you want to remember, and savor, you can try to bring a little bit of Sunday into Monday. I was trying really hard on Monday to keep that Sunday vibe going! So I fired up a cup of that yummy tea in the morning. I lit my new candle and let that scent remind me of the day before. When lunch time rolled around and I seemed to be missing one ingredient or another of every usual lunch I could think of, instead of getting stressed, I got a little creative!
I had a leftover yam in the fridge, I had some tofu, and I had some kale that I had planned to make our favorite kale bowls with for dinner. I heated up some rice for the guys, and I would eat the yam. Braising kale takes only a few minutes and I thought I’d just saute the tofu quickly with some tamari (gluten free soy sauce). I was doing such a good job of keeping that Sunday vibe going though, and feeling relaxed, that I had to be more creative than just tamari for the tofu. I had been thinking about making some peanut sauce, and I had this thought of how could I make something like peanut sauce for people who are allergic to peanuts. (That’s one thing I’m not allergic to, but this is how my mind works….) So that sauteed tofu quickly turned into something much more than what I had planned, and it only took about 10 minutes. I wrote everything down as I went, so I could remember what I did. What resulted was super yummy.
The tofu is creamy, and garlicky, salty, and tangy, and very much like tofu cooked with peanut sauce, but no peanuts! You’ll get all of the details in a minute… My family started to swarm the kitchen as I cooked the tofu, because it smelled so good. I served theirs with the rice, I had the leftover yam. I topped that with the juicy, braised kale, and then the tofu. Some sesame seeds, cilantro, and a tiny bit of sriracha sauce for me, and lots for Dave, and we were ready to dive in! You guys…. I have to apologize in advance if you are an actual Buddhist, trying to practice non-attachment, for introducing you to this recipe, because I absolutely promise that you will be irreversibly attached to this bowl!! It’s that good! If you aren’t a Buddhist, then just go ahead and change your Facebook status to “In a Relationship” with your new true love… this Simple Sesame Garlic Buddha Bowl! I’m kidding, but I am really excited for you to try this!
So you will notice from the pictures, and the recipe, that there is no rice. When I tried it both ways, I actually felt bad for my guys that I had served theirs with rice instead of yams (sweet potatoes, whatever you like to call them, use garnet yams)! They LOVED it with rice, but the yams just put it over the top! I made it again last night so I could take pictures for the blog, and everyone had yams and loved it. I hope you love it too! These bowls are packed with nutrition, and that’s probably why you’ll feel great after you eat them! The tofu provides protein, calcium, and some iron. Yams are a great source of fiber, vitamins A and C, magnesium, and B-6, and kale is a powerhouse of just about every vitamin and mineral under the sun.
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- 1 20oz. block of super firm organic tofu (I use Wildwood Brand), cubed
- 2 T sesame oil
- 4 T minced garlic (about 4 medium sized cloves)
- ¾ C Tamari (or gluten free soy sauce) Plus more for serving
- ¼ C Tahini
- 3 T Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ t onion powder
- 1 T toasted sesame seeds
- 1 C chopped cilantro
- 3-4 baked garnet yams
- 2 bunches green or purple kale (I used purple kale for this post)
- 1 T oil
- 1 T minced garlic
- ½ t pink salt
- 1½ C water
- For oven baked yams (recommended): Preheat oven to 425*. Wash yams and cut a slit in the top of each one. You can wrap them in foil, or do as I do, and line your oven wrack with foil and just set the potatoes on that (clean up is easy, just throw the foil away. Bake until yams are soft when pierced with a fork or knife, (usually 45 minutes to 1 hr., 15 minutes, depending on size).
- Prepare Tofu: Add sesame oil to skillet and heat oven a medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add tofu and stir with garlic for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and add tamari, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, and stir. Cook for 2 minutes and then stir in tahini. Simmer on low for another minute, and then remove from heat and cover until ready to serve.
- Kale: Wash and prepare kale by removing the tough, bottom part of the stems, and cut the leaves into bite sized pieces. Just before yams are done, or when you almost ready to eat, prepare your kale. In a large skillet (with lid), heat 1 T of oil, and 1 T of minced garlic, for about 2 minutes. Add kale, salt and water. Stir and then cook covered until kale is crisp tender, about 7 minutes.
- When Yams are ready, scoop out flesh and mash with a fork, add to bowl and either top with kale and then tofu or serve each, side by side. Garnish with a generous amount of cilantro, and sprinkle each bowl with sesame seeds. Serve with additional tamari and/or sriracha sauce to taste.
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Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
You don’t say the portion of tahini in your list of ingredients. How much did you use?
Forgot the “C”! It’s 1/4 C, thanks for asking!
I dont know what i did wrong, but mine didnt look like yours. The tahini adhered to the tofu and was chunky. Still pretty tasty though
HI Cat! Sometimes if the heat is high, or you cook it just a bit longer, the sauce gets really thick. Usually adding a little water will help the situation.