Vegetable South West Bowl

What are you thoughts on the World Cup?  It seems like the chic, hip thing to follow.  As an uninformed American, I know little about soccer/football.  

I don't know what constitutes a foul, what the positions are, or what happens if there is a tie.  I know next to nothing.  I watched part of a game on Monday, and the players ran the entire game.  I would collapse after 20 minutes of hard running.

Four years ago, it didn't seem like the World Cup was as big a deal in the US as it is this time.   This year everyone it taking about it.  A friend's job shows the games in the conference room.  

This dish looks a little messy.  My inspiration was the sunset bowl at California Tortilla.  Theirs has meat, but I went the vegetarian route.  

The ingredients for this dish are 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, zest and juice from 1 lime, bunch of fresh cilantro, 14.5 ounce can diced roasted tomatoes, 15 ounce can drained black beans, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon chile powder, 1 1/2 cups corn, 1 teaspoon salt, a few dashes hot sauce, 3 small yellow squash, 1 zucchini,  2 to 3 tomatoes, and 1 to 2 avocados.  Whew, what a list!

I added the rice, water, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin into a sauce pan.  I covered the pan and let the rice cook over medium heat for around 20 minutes.

While the rice cooked, I chopped up the cilantro.

I added the chopped cilantro to the cooked rice.

I added the lime zest and lime juice to the rice.

I stirred the the rice until everything was evenly dispersed.  I ended up adding a little more salt.

In another sauce pan, I added the drained black beans, undrained diced tomatoes, and corn.  I used frozen corn.

While the pan heated up on medium heat, I added the spices.  The spices were cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and chile powder.  Turmeric is such a beautiful name.  It seems so exotic.  

I stirred and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  I wanted most of the moisture to evaporate.

I decided to add a little more heat with some hot sauce.

For each serving, I dished up a fourth of the rice and a fourth of the corn mixture in a bowl.  This feeds four.

I added a green onion to each bowl.

I roasted the sliced zucchini and yellow squash at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.   Before baking them, I drizzled on extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled on salt.

I added a fourth of the squash and zucchini on top of the green onions.

I added a few slices of avocado, some tomato chucks, fresh cilantro, salsa, and a lime wedge.

I squeezed the lime juice over the bowl before eating.

It was fresh and flavorful.  It's great for summer because it's filling but not heavy.  

It's ideal when foods are both appetizing and wholesome, and this dish fits that bill.  It might not be the most glamorous dish, but it's bright and eclectic.  It provides lots of different textures and flavors in one bowl.