Yummm...!

Brittany and I have lately gotten into the habit of trying to recreate meals that we love from restaurants and the like. Chipotle burrito bowls have been pretty successful so far.
However; even greater than Chipotle bowls in the pantheon of brilliant lunch bowls, are the perfect balance of flavors and textures that culminate in the Yumm bowl.

If you are unfamiliar;Yumm bowls (from Cafe Yumm!) consist of brown rice, black beans, salsa, tomatoes, olives, cheese, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and the secret, magical ingredient that transforms this average health-foody dish into culinary crack: Yumm! Sauce.

Now, in true Portlander  fashion; the first experience I had with this dish came from a local food cart called The Whole Bowl that was located on 12th and Glisan in the Pearl.  Since that time (2004) they have established a permanent location on Hawthorne and 44th and another one downtown somewhere. Same meal, more local feel. Worth checking out.

Anyway, enough chat, lets get to the sauce:
You can buy bottles of the stuff at Cafe Yumm! for something like $15 a bottle. Or, for significantly less you can make it in minutes.
I adapted this recipe from one I found on Peas and Thank You

1/4 cup almonds (or almond meal for smoother sauce)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (bulk section at fred meyers)
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano (I didn't add this because I didn't have any at the time)
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
2-3 dashes hot sauce (tapatio for me)

Blend the almonds, oil, chickpeas, and water until smooth.  Then add everything else and blend until uniform.  If you want thinner sauce add a little more water.  I don't remember exactly what oregano tastes like so I'm not sure what the difference would be if I'd added it, I plan to try next time.  This stuff is so easy to make, it's easy to keep the ingredients on hand.  The recipe I read said this stuff will keep 7-10 days in the fridge but all the ingredients are dry or canned and will keep forever.