Café Yumm Bowl

Unless you’re in the Pacific Northwest, there is a good chance you have never heard of Café Yumm. I know I hadn’t until they opened one nearby, but it has quickly become one of my favorite healthy to-go options. It also gets huge bonus points from me for the drive-thru convenience.

Café Yumm is known for rice-and-beans-based Yumm bowls, soups, salads and wraps. They even have cauliflower rice for those trying to keep it low-carb, which is my go-to every time I order. My favorite bowl, the Hot ‘N’ Jazzy, comes with rice or cauliflower rice, red beans, jalapeno sesame salsa, black olives, tomatoes, avocado, and cabbage and carrots to keep it vegan, but what really makes the bowl special is the signature Original Yumm Sauce. That stuff is what really pulls all of the flavors together, and its absolutely delicious. They even sell it by the case on their website, but today i’m going to give you my recipe which is pretty damn close.

Along with the Yumm sauce, i’m also going to give you a recipe for their jalapeno sesame salsa. If you don’t want to go through the effort of making your own, you can totally use whatever salsa you have on hand (I’d recommend a green salsa for this bowl), but this salsa adds the perfect spicy kick, and in my opinion is worth the effort.

 

• Cauliflower rice – I used the plain Green Giant cauliflower rice packets in the frozen section, cooked according to package directions.
• Purple and green cabbage; finely shredded (I used coleslaw mix and then mixed it with purple cabbage)
• Sliced black olives; drained
• Ripe tomato; seeds and core removed and diced
• Avocado
• Fresh cilantro to garnish
• Kidney beans; drained and rinsed

Yumm Sauce:

• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup canned Garbanzo beans; drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk from a can
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves; minced
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt
• Pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Jalapeno Sesame Salsa:

• 3 fresh jalapeño peppers
• 1 fresh poblano peppers
• 1 fresh Anaheim pepper
• 3 cloves garlic; peeled and coarsely diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Small bunch fresh parsley (2-3 tablespoons if chopped)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Salt

Instructions: 

1. Make your Yumm sauce by adding the avocado oil, almonds, beans and water to a blender (I used my Vitamix). Process until very smooth, 1-2 minutes, or as long as needed.
2. Add in the coconut milk, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, curry powder, oregano, cilantro and nutritional yeast. Process again until creamy and smooth. Set aside, and when finished, store in the refrigerator in a sealed container. This will keep for a while.
3. Make your Jalapeno Sesame Salsa.
4. Remove stems from peppers and seeds for less heat (leave them in for more heat). Coarsely chop your peppers, then place all peppers, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley in a blender or food processor. Pulse to a fine mince, then transfer pepper mixture to a serving bowl. Add sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt. Stir to combine.
5. Now assemble your bowls. Start by layering cauliflower rice at the bottom of a bowl. Add kidney beans and a healthy drizzle of Yumm sauce. Follow it with all the toppings as pictured, then layering some salsa on top.
6. Enjoy!