Household Blog

This is a tried and true winner at the Purple House. I started making it one or two winters ago, and whenever I tell Damon that’s what’s for dinner, he gets excited. This is a lovely fall/winter dish, and as an added bonus, it goes together pretty quickly, just chop, mix, bake, and boil some pasta. I adapted this from a Rachael Ray recipe actually (for some reason I keep getting the magazine. I never ordered it. It’s weird. But whatevs.) I adapted it to make it gluten free obviously, and also to reduce the amount of pasta in the finished product—more veggie goodies!

So for the bulk sausage, we’ve tried and enjoyed hot sausage as well as sage sausage, both of which we buy from local farms—pork or lamb sausage. If you’re vegetarian, this would work fine with a marinated tempeh. Also, if fennel is hard to come by, you might try it with celery or even coarsely chopped cabbage—just be sure to let me know how it is!

Gluten Free Pasta with Fennel and Sausage

• 0.75 to 1 pound bulk spicy sausage (or sage)
• 1 large bulb of fennel, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced in half circles
• 3 or 4 carrots, sliced on an angle
• 2 Tbsp safflower (or other high heat) oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 10 to 12 oz (2 to 3 cups) quinoa pasta elbows (0r other GF pasta)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• Parmesan, optional garnish

Preheat oven to 425. Combine first 6 ingredients (through salt and pepper) in a 9 x12 casserole, tossing to combine, being sure to break the bulk sausage up into bite-sized pieces. Cook 30 minutes or till the carrots and fennel are tender.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water. Drain, shock with cold water, and set aside.

When sausage mixture is done baking, toss with the pasta and parsley. Serve hot, with a light sprinkling of parmesan or other hard cheese.

Snoopy (Snoopy is Damon’s nickname) proved himself my urban gardening hero once again last night. Arriving home from a busy and stressful day, he brought it to my sometimes-clueless attention that with the spate of cold weather and frosts we’ve gotten this week, it’s probably a good time to harvest what we can from the fall garden. Good thinking, Snoopy. I’m glad one of us doesn’t his head up one’s proverbial bum :)

So while my better half brought in broccoli heads, cabbages, a few straggling turnips, and the less cold-hardy variety of kale, I was on KP. The curly kale and collards we left in the garden—they seem to be the rockstars of the winter—and we left the roots of the harvested plants intact and well mulched with straw, in hopes that they’ll give us a head start in the spring. The cabbage will be made into sauerkraut, the extra broccoli and greens will get blanched and frozen. Yum.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, I was faced with a gorgeous 2+ pound cabbage and a hungry tummy. Based on a recipe from MarthaStewart.com, this is one meal that I couldn’t not share (sorry for the shabby picture). It’s simple, so perfect for the season, and was a cinch to adapt as gluten free. Ohhhh, you’re going to love it, guaranteed. It’s got the Snoopy seal of approval.

Cabbage and Sausage Spaghetti

• 1 lb bulk sausage—I used a sage sausage from local Keenbell Farm
• One 2+ lb head of cabbage, sliced thinly
• One large yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 8 oz gluten free spaghetti (I like Tinkyada)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• Fresh-ground black pepper and Parmesan for garnish (optional)

Cook and drain pasta.

While the pasta cooks, heat a deep skillet or stock pot over Medium-High. Cook sausage, breaking it up as it browns, once cooked, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan.

Add to the hot pan drippings 2 Tbsp water, the onion, and about half the cabbage. Add a sprinkle of salt and a liberal amount of pepper. Stir, then cover, stirring occasionally. Once the cabbage has started to soften, add the rest of the cabbage and continue to cook it, covered, stirring occasionally, until the onions and cabbage is soft. Remove from heat.

Add the cooked sausage and spaghetti to the cabbage mixture. Add vinegar and salt to taste and mix well. Serve hot, garnished with a bit of parmesan and a generous amount of black pepper.

Serves 6

Credit for this simple epitome-of-summer recipe goes to my wonderful grandparents, Buddy and Marie. For as long as I can remember, this (along with their recipe for tomato pie) has been the ultimate summer meal. Fresh in-season ingredients brought in still warm from the garden, chopped, mixed, et voila: perfection. Serve with some fresh corn on the side, and it truly is the quintessential summertime meal. For me anyway. And the amounts are not specific—sorry—the measurements are just sort of till-it-looks/tastes-right.

Tomato Basil Pasta

• Tinkyada gluten free spaghetti or fettucini pasta
• 2 cloves garlic
• sea salt
• 2 or 3 large fresh tomatoes or the equivalent amount of grape or cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped into bite-sized pieces
• a couple handfuls of fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan for garnish, optional

Smash and peel garlic cloves, and put the whole smashed cloves in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Mix in enough sea salt to coat the garlic and press garlic into the salt. Add tomatoes, basil, a drizzle of olive oil (not too much, just a tablespoon or so, max), and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside at room temperature to let the flavors develop.

Cook your pasta per usual and drain, then immediately toss pasta with the tomato mixture. Serve, garnishing with parmesan, if desired. That’s it!

What’s your favorite summertime dish?

I was craving hearty vegetarian comfort food the other day and this just hit the spot.

Spicy Tempeh Noodle Bowl

For marinade:
8 oz. tempeh, chopped into small pieces
1 T. ume plum vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. Sriracha!!! (it’s just so fun to say!)

For peanut sauce:
3/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 1/2 T. fish sauce
1/2 t. ume plum vinegar
1/2 t. soy sauce

8 oz. gluten free spaghetti or linguine (I like Tinkyada)
1 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 to 2 T. agave syrup (to taste)
handful of sprouts

In a bowl, combine the marinade ingredients and stir in tempeh till it is thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the peanut sauce ingredients until smooth. The goal is to have a thick but pourable sauce, the consistency of heavy cream. Add more warm water if necessary. Set aside.

While cooking the pasta in a pot of salted water, heat some vegetable oil or butter (a tablespoon-ish amount) in a deep skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the tempeh mixture and cook for a couple minutes until thoroughly heated through, then add the ginger and cook, stirring constantly for another minute. Add the peanut sauce and simmer 3 – 4 minutes. It will be slightly thickened. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook and drain the pasta. Toss pasta with the tempeh sauce mixture and add a handful of sprouts, if desired. Serve. Enjoy. Rub your belly in contentment.

Serves 2 to 4

What are your favorite tempeh recipes?