I have a story to share! It’s a story of a bowl. A big red ceramic bowl. A big red ceramic bowl from a dollar store in South Carolina. I think I mentioned this bowl back in my recap of my SC trip in April, but this bowl deserves it’s own post. I think we all have a favorite dish or bowl or even spoon. And I have to say, this one has become mine.
It was an unseasonably hot day in April down in Spartanburg, SC. Two weary travelers were exhausted form an early morning flight in from NJ and then directly walking around the Wofford College campus all day in the sun. But they knew they could not rest until they found a big enough bowl that was microwave safe. One weary traveler had a very special diet, thus breakfast would need to be eaten in the hotel room with the special mix of hot buckwheat cereal she brought with her.
They were on a mission now to find such a bowl. But it desolate Spartanburg there was nary a store that would have such a bowl. What were they going to do? As they drove around this ghost town, close to giving-up, they stumbled upon a small shopping plaza. In this plaza there was one store open and that happened to be a “Family Dollar”. Could this “Family Dollar” be the holy grail for microwavable bowls? In they went, holding their breath, crossing their fingers, and hoping for the best.
Up and down every aisle they went. But nothing was there. Until the one weary traveler skipped ahead a few aisles and came across the dishware. There in all it’s shining red glory sat the red ceramic bowl. The only bowl in sight. It was beautiful. A full-sized, durable, microwave-safe, made in China red bowl! The weary traveler turned into a happy traveler at that. Her wallet was happy too.
She met up with the other traveler with a smile on her face and proclaimed that success was had! This traveler would not starve after all. They paid for the red ceramic bowl, hopped in the car with a new found energy and decided to rest, relax, and get ready for a nice dinner out. The red ceramic bowl would get it’s moment to shine in the morning. When morning came early in the 6 o’clock hour, the traveler poured a mixture of creamy buckwheat cereal, unsweetened cocoa powder, peanut flour, cinnamon, and finally water in to the red ceramic bowl. She gave it a stir, covered the bowl with a napkin and popped it in the microwave for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The microwave shot out a loud beep when the cooking was complete. The traveler opened the microwave hopeing that the red ceramic bowl had not exploded and was elated to see everything was intact and the cereal was cooked to perfection!
Sunflower Asian Eggplant
Ingredients: (serves 4)
+ 1 Large Eggplant (thick diced)
+ 3 Bunches of Baby Bok Choy (chopped)
+ 1 Cup Baby Corn Cobs (chopped)
+ 1 Cup Sliced Water Chesnuts
Sunflower Sauce:
+ 1 1/2 TB Sunflower Seed Butter
+ 2 TB Roasted Sunflower Seeds
+ 1 TB Coconut Aminos (or soy sauce if you don’t have a soy allergy)
+ 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
+ 1/2 Tsp Minced Garlic
+ 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
+ 1/4 Cup Water
Directions:
+ Once you’ve prepped all you veggies, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the veggies, reduce heat to medium, and cook covered for about 20-30 minutes until the veggies are soft.
+ In the meantime, make the sunflower sauce. In a bowl simply mix together all the sauce ingredients.
+ Once the veggies are done, drain any excess water, pour in the sunflower sauce and give it all a good stir.
+ Serve over rice, quinoa, pasta, really anything you’d like! Or you can keep it just as a side to chicken or fish. Make sure you top it with extra roasted sunflower seeds before serving!
I really wanted some Asian food in my life, but since I have also been on the roasted sunflower seed train, I decided to combine the two. More food fusion? Thus, I decided to replace the traditional sesame flavor with sunflower instead! Was it a win? You bet! All served up in the red ceramic bowl too!
Back to the bowl story for a second. The traveler was worried how she should bring this beauty home in her suitcase on an airplane. She wrapped it up in clothing and prayed to the bowl gods that red ceramic would survive the flight. To her delight, all was well and they were able to live happily ever after.
So tell me:
+ Do you have a favorite piece of dishware or silverware? I really love this bowl. It is the perfect size for my large overflowing dinner bowls! So this baby gets a lot of use. He will be making the trek to DC with me in August, you can count on that!
+ Ever hit the jock-pot in an unexpected place like a dollar store? Surprise bargain hunting at it’s best!
*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeFridays, #RecipeOfTheWeek, #StrangeButGood, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Friday, Gluten-Free Fridays, Tasty Tuesdays, Savoring Saturdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, #Foodie Friday, Real Food Recipe Roundup, Gluten-Free Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays!*
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Deborah Smikle-Davis says
Hi Rebecca,
Awesome! Thank you for sharing this healthy and delicious Sunflower Asian Eggplant recipe with us at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I appreciate it!
Strength and Sunshine says
Thank you 🙂
Laura@Baking In Pyjamas says
Sounds great. We’d love you to add our link party to your link up list 🙂 Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
Strength and Sunshine says
Its there like it always is!
Diane (@SimpleLivingEat) says
It is quiteta bowl and quite a meal. Thanks for bringing it to foodie friday.
Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks Diane 🙂
Stephanie says
Looks delicious! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks as always Steph!
Honest Mum says
Looks super healthy! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks girl 😉
Deborah Smikle-Davis says
Hi Rebecca,
I just hopped by from Healthy Vegan Friday to explore your delectable Sunflower Asian Eggplant. The ingredients in your sunflower sauce sound amazing. I can’t wait to make this heavenly dish. All the best, Deborah
Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks Deborah! I’m glad you found it interesting 🙂
GiGi Eats Celebrities says
I ADORE water chestnuts but I haven’t eaten them in forever, same goes for eggplant! I MUST change this, ASAP! Those baby corns though, scare the CRAP out of me!
Strength and Sunshine says
I love water chestnuts too! I used to hate them as a kid but now you’ll all ways find cans and cans of those babies in my pantry 😉
As for baby corn though….love them always!
overwhelmed heart says
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it out!
Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks girl!
MS_AimeeC says
Lovely ode to a dollar store bowl ! 🙂
I don’t LOVE eggplant, but how you’ve prepared it looks delish!
Strength and Sunshine says
Haha, thank you 😉
You won’t even notice your eating eggplant!
Astrid says
That’s such a lovely story! I totally understand you’re delighted with your bowl.
Strength and Sunshine says
Haha I felt compelled to tell the story 😉
Kris says
Awww, I love this! I DEFINITELY have a favorite dish–a turquoise bowl that I picked up at a secondhand goods store for $2. It’s the absolute perfect size for oatmeal, smoothies, salads, hippie bowls, EVERYTHING. And it doesn’t get hot in the microwave, either!
That recipe looks incredible, by the way. I’ll plan to whip up a batch of that sauce for dinner tonight!
xoxo
Strength and Sunshine says
Special bowls make eating so much fun, haha!
Let me know how it comes out! Sunflowery goodness 😉
candies & crunches says
LOVED the story of the bowl. Loved the happy ending too haha! I also have a couple of cups that I absolutely adore. And if I ever have to share them with anyone else, it has to be absolutely someone who means a lot to me haha! Weird? I know!
I absolutely love anything with eggplant (especially, eggplant parmasan… yum!) Your dish sounds worthy of trying, thank you for sharing! xoxo
Strength and Sunshine says
Haha, not weird! I won’t let anyone touch this bowl or my other special “photo” plates 😉
Yay for eggplant 🙂 Happy eating!
Casey @ Casey the College Celiac says
Wow! Another delicious looking recipe! And I loved the story – and can totally relate on many levels because of this roadtrip of mine! 😉
Strength and Sunshine says
Hahaha, you always make special “dish” relationships when out on the road! 😉
hungryhobby says
This is so creative and unique, I love it! I can totally see how sunflower sauce would be a delicious compliment to eggplant!
Strength and Sunshine says
I wanted to do something different with the seeds so an Asian sauce it was!
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon says
I need to snag some sunflower seeds for salads and topping beautiful bowls like this! Yum! I have half an eggplant to use up so I will definitely be trying this sauce. Happy Wednesday!
Strength and Sunshine says
Sunflower Seeds always come in handy 😉
Linz says
yum!! i love eggplant but never know what to do with it!
Strength and Sunshine says
Eggplant and all veggies go great with sunflower seeds 😉
cottercrunch says
maybe my husband will like eggplant if i make it this way!
Strength and Sunshine says
Yes! Eggplant really doesn’t have a big flavor to begin with and the sunflower just takes it home anyway 😉
Tina Muir says
Oooh great idea….well actually multiple great ideas….I was looking around target for blogging props yesterday, but couldn’t justify the price! This would be great though, and love the idea of the dish….especially as you can have it on a number of carbs! Yum! Great runner recovery food here!
Strength and Sunshine says
You’d be surprised what you can find at the dollar store! I did just buy tons of new dishware at BB&B, but I only picked the clearance stuff so each piece was under 5 dollars…and I think that cheaper stuff looked 100% better than the more expensive!
It is the perfect recovery meal! Well rounded with veggies, fats, protein, and your carb choice!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I love the sounds of the sunflower sauce – really unique.
I have a floral red bowl that is my favourite, as we brought it back from Mexico. It has a bit broken off of it now though 🙁
Strength and Sunshine says
O no 🙁 Well if it’s still usable, cherish it and keep it in a special “bowl-only” place! Treat that thing well!