Strength and Sunshine

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Sunflower Asian Eggplant

by 38 Comments

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.

Sunflower Asian Eggplant | Strength and Sunshine

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.

Sunflower Asian Eggplant | Strength and SunshineThey 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.

Sunflower Asian Eggplant | Strength and Sunshine

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.

Sunflower Asian Eggplant | Strength and SunshineShe 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

Sunflower Asian Eggplant | Strength and SunshineIngredients: (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!

Sunflower Asian Eggplant | Strength and Sunshine

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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Comments

  6. 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

    Reply

  11. 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

    Reply

  12. 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

    Reply

  18. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

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rebecca

Meet Rebecca

Hey there, welcome to Strength and Sunshine! I’m Rebecca and I’m so glad you’re here! This is your go-to destination for delicious, fun, and (mostly) healthy gluten-free and allergy-free recipes, tips & tricks, advice, as well as celiac and food allergy coaching services!

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