Yumm!iness

A couple weekends ago, while down in Eugene, my mom and I went to one of my favorite Eugene places, Cafe Yumm. While Yumm is normally on my list for places I must visit while in town, it just didn't quite hit the spot this time. Something seemed almost (gasp!) processed about it. The cheese tasted like they'd sprinkled it from a plastic bag of cheese shreds. The tomatoes had no flavor whatsoever, and the avocados were clearly not yet ripe. What had once been one of the tastiest cheap and easy eats in Eugene was succumbing to the pressures of being a quick-food restaurant in a tanking economy.

But what Yumm still has going for it is its namesake ingredient, Yumm Sauce. Yumm Sauce is a non-dairy, non-gluten, non-sugar, non-wheat creation, which makes it perfect for the Eugenian culture--but also, fortunately, for those of us who just love simple, delicious food. Yumm Sauce is an essential part of the Yumm bowl, and if you buy a little package and keep it in an ice chest through your five hour drive home, you can make your own quick, healthy, cheap meals.

This is my homemade yumm bowl:

Typically a deluxe Yumm bowl has black beans (they used to have red, too, but they stopped that), two types of rice, black olives, avocado, tomato, cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream, and Yumm sauce. I raided my pantry and garden and made one with black beans, brown rice, three types of tomatoes, Emerald Valley medium salsa, a few Mediterranean olives, feta cheese (the one in the photo is fresh grated Tillamook cheddar however), and Yumm sauce.

I highly recommend this for quick summer lunches. A can of black beans (no, I didn't have any soaked and cooked, I do deeply apologize) and one cup of brown rice is enough for two large bowls. Top with some sriracha hot sauce and enjoy.