Brown Rice with Veggies and Tahini Sauce, Eli's Miso Soup (both GF and Vegan)

I watched the movie "Forks Over Knives" (highly recommend you watch it, too!!) and immediately ordered the book to find some of the recipes from the show. I found one recipe for Steamed Veggies and Tofu with Brown Rice.  It looked really good, but I didn't have time or ingredients to make it just as listed.  So I "mommed" it a little bit, turning it into a fast and easy meal for a busy Monday night.

My son, Eli, loves miso soup from the sushi restaurants and decided to make his own version last night to go with our rice dish.  These two recipes are credited to others, but have our own personal touch to them. 

For those that are not familiar with Tahini, it is a sesame seed paste found with the health foods or sometimes with peanut and other nut butters.  It has a peanut butter-like flavor, and can be used as a peanut butter substitute for those with allergies. (A friend has used it to make puppy chow snack for kids with peanut allergies and said it was really good.) If you like peanut sauce at your local Asian restaurant, you will like this dish. 

BROWN RICE, VEGGIES AND TAHINI SAUCE
RICE
1 1/2 c. brown rice
3 1/2 c. water for steaming
1/4 t. fine sea salt

Combine all in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and let cook 45 minutes.  Turn off heat and let sit 10 minutes.

VEGGIES
1 large bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 brick firm tofu, cut into chunks or triangles

Steam veggies and tofu in steamer for about 8 minutes or until hot.

SAUCE
1/2 c. tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. veggie broth or water (or more to make it "sauce" consistency)

Serve veggies on rice and drizzle with sauce.  Top with chopped green onion, pine nuts and/or sesame seeds.

ELI'S MISO SOUP
5 c. water
3 green onions, chopped small
1 1/2 T. miso paste dissolved in 1/4 c. warm water
1 T. soy sauce
1/3 brick tofu, cut into tiny cubes
1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach

Bring water and onions to a boil for about 5 minutes.  Turn down heat to a low simmer, add miso, soy sauce and tofu and cook until hot. Do not boil. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Serve hot.