Household Blog

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?

This dish is so good I made it two nights in a row, the first night with just eggplant, then again last night I used eggplant, zucchini, sweet bell pepper and onions. I could easily see this being adapted for fall and winter veggies too. So easy. Just chop, stir bake, and serve over rice, millet, quinoa—your grain of choice.

You can substitute your favorite hot sauce for sriracha or use honey instead of agave nectar, just do so to taste as they have different potency.

Spicy Summer Vegetables

• 1.5 pounds vegetables, chopped into largeish bite-sized pieces
• 6 oz. (3/4 cup) tomato paste
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. Sriracha (depending on your heat tolerance)
• 2 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 heaping Tbsp. dried oregano, or 3 Tbsp. minced fresh oregano

Preheat oven to 400. In the bottom of a large bowl, combine everything but the veggies. Add vegetables and mix well. Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet and bake until fork tender. Serve over your grain of choice—rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, etc. Garnish with sesame seeds. Rub your belly for joy.

Serves 4 as a main course, 6—8 as a side dish.

Growing up, I hated sauerkraut. Loathed it. My mom would make sailor sandwiches and oven baked hot dogs with kraut occasionally, and from the first odors I was set against it. It was mushy, stinky, ugly, and revolting in every way. I’ve never been one for subtlety of opinion.

Well, I’m hereby changing my tune. Sauerkraut has become a favorite treat at the Purple House, regularly added to salads and soups as a condiment, taken along to cookouts to adorn all manner of grillables, and it’s not rare for me to just eat a couple mouthfuls straight out of the jar (I also do this with nut butters).

How did this shift occur? Well I’ll tell you I still don’t buy the flaccid canned mess from the store. I make my own fermented kraut at home with local cabbage and sea salt. It’s crispy, zesty, a great source of vitamin C, and of course it’s purple because we’re the Purple House people.

This is as easy as can be. The steps are pretty much the same as the kimchi, just fewer ingredients.

Purple House Sauerkraut

• 2.5 pounds purple (or regular) cabbage
• 1.5 Tbsp. sea salt
• de-chlorinated water (boil and then cool, or use distilled)

I make this in 2-quart batches. Sometimes I double it and just divide it into smaller jars for the fermentation stage. Anything more than two quarts during fermentation just seems unwieldy to me.

Shred the cabbage using the slicer of a food processor or a mandoline. I like thicker pieces because they stay crispier.

Layer cabbage and salt into a large stoneware or glass bowl and allow to sit 15 to 30 minutes, allowing the salt to start drawing salt out of the cabbage.

Use a pounding tool to pound the cabbage, pulling liquid out of the cabbage. This will be your brine. Continue pounding and stirring alternately till you have a good amount of brine in the bowl. This will take a while, so put on some good music and have fun with it!

Begin to spoon your kraut mixture into a 2-quart glass jar(s), pressing it down with your fist to drive out any air bubbles every couple inches.

Once all the cabbage and brine are in the jars and all the air bubbles have been pressed out, you’ll need to make brine baggies to weigh the cabbage down below the surface of the brine, preventing exposure to air during fermentation. Using 1 Tbsp salt per cup of water, dissolve salt in water, then pour into sealable plastic baggie(s). Place the baggie on top of the kraut mixture and arrange it so all the cabbage is submerged. Wipe the exposed inside of the jar clean with a paper towel, and put the lid on the jar.

Allow to sit out at room temperature, burping the jar 2 or 3 times a day to release gases and avoid a sauerkraut sprinkler system (ask me how I know). If you see air bubbles building up down in the cabbage, just use a clean hand to press the mixture down and drive out the air bubbles.

Every couple days you may want to rinse off and dry your baggie, wipe out the inside rim of the jar again, and replace the baggie. If the baggie breaks, no problem! That’s why it had brine in it.

Fermentation times vary, as short as 5 days in a warm kitchen, much slower when it’s cool. You’ll know it’s ready by taste and smell. If any of the cabbage gets exposed to air and discolors, just remove the affected pieces, press the mixture down again, rinse and replace the brine baggie, and wipe out the rim again.

When your kraut is ready, store it in the fridge, keeping the rim clean and the baggie in place. It will last months.

This may sound complicated but I have a tendency to be verbose and err on the side of over-explaining. Trust me: once you’ve done it and thoroughly enjoyed the end product, you’ll be fermenting everything you can get your hands on!

A great resource for other projects is the book Wild Fermentation, one of a very few food books I’ll actually read in bed.

Have fun, and feel free to send your questions and comments!

I wrote this recipe last year for Agriberry, a local Richmond fruit CSA. It’s so good, probably the best rib recipe I’ve ever had, and so I give it to you.

I find that one set of spareribs, about 1.5 pounds, is good for two generous serviings. If you are feeding more people (or have smaller or bigger appetites than ours), feel free to adjust the amounts below.

Blackberry Ribs

• 1 1/2 lb spare rib
• 3 t. chili powder
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 c. fresh blackberries or more
• 1/3 c. ketchup
• 1/3 c. maple syrup
• 2 1/2 t. ginger powder
• 1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 1 t. sriracha (or your favorite hot sauce)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix chili, garlic and salt and rub into both sides of the spare rib. Place ribs meaty side up on a rimmed baking sheet and cook for about 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, place all six remaining ingredients in a blender and liquefy. Pour blackberry mixture through a sieve into a sauce pan, pressing mixture with a spatula to work the juice through. Discard the pulp and seeds. Cook the blackberry sauce over medium-high, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly once it starts to bubble. Set aside.

Once ribs have cooked 50 minutes, take out of oven and brush both sides with a liberal amount of the blackberry sauce. Return ribs to the oven, again meaty side up, and cook for another 10 minutes - no longer. Cut ribs into individual pieces, divide between two plates, and spoon more sauce over the top. Serve with leftover sauce on the side for dipping.

Apparently I’m feeling nostalgic this month. Did I tell you that I got more than a little verklempt (and more than a little pissed off) when I found out they canceled Gourmet magazine? The BEST magazine ever? Well, this recipe is a very distant cousin of a recipe in the big yellow book. Theirs is for winter vegetables in a horseradish butter sauce. Mine is a springy-er version.

Carrots & Radishes with horseradish herb sauce

• 1 bunch fresh carrots, scrubbed with ends still on (but leaves removed)
• several radishes—half as much as there are carrots
• 1/4 c. olive oil (or other oil or butter)
• 2 T. horseradish
• 1 1/2 T. white balsamic vinegar (or other)
• 1 t. honey
• 1 t. or so sea salt
• 2 T. fresh herb minced—dill, parsley, thyme, or a combination thereof
• fresh ground pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together everything except the carrots and radishes. Set aside.

Scrub your carrots but do not peel them. Trim the leaves off but leave the very tip of stubbly end. If they’re nice small carrots, you can leave them whole—otherwise cut in half lengthwise as necessary (I like to keep them long, it’s pretty). Trim the ends off your radishes and cut them into matchsticks.

Place carrots in a steamer basket. When it starts to boil, wait one minute and then add the radishes. Steam only until fork tender—err on the side of underdone as you want these a little firm and they will continue to cook a bit after you remove them from the heat.

Place carrots and radishes on a platter and spoon the horseradish sauce over the top. Serve hot or cool—it’s great both ways.

I’ve been working on this recipe for about a month now, and luckily there have been several social occasions on which I could test my variations: this torte is RICH - a small slice goes a long way. One torte could easily serve 15 or so people. That said, I’ve found that with practice and dedication, one can work herself up to being able to eat much more than just one small piece.

The inspiration for this torte comes from a chocolate tart recipe I tried out of the big yellow Gourmet recipe book.

Many thanks to my herbalism class at Sacred Plant Traditions for letting me take pictures. This was our last day of class together, and we had quite a feast. This group knows how to eat: marinated broccoli, quinoa with apple and chive blossoms, vegetarian chili, curried egg salad, and that’s just what I remember off the top of my head.

So without further ado:

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Torte

Crust:

• One 9-inch springform pan
• 1 7.25 oz. package of Pamela’s ginger cookies (yields about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
• 5 T. butter

Filling:

• 10 to 12 ounces 60% or 70% cacao dark chocolate
• 9 T. butter
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 c. organic raw sugar
• 1/2 c. whipping cream
• generous pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

Wrap the bottom plate of your springform with foil or parchment paper and assemble the pan. Preheat oven to 350 and place a cookie sheet on a lower rack to catch any drips (my springform always seems to leak a little butter from its bottom seam).

Soften the unsalted butter for the crust and mix with the cookie crumbs. If you use a different kind of cookie for the crust, you just want to make sure that it equals 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. If you don’t have enough, I’ve had good luck mixing in some shredded coconut to make up the difference. Press the crumb-butter mixture into the bottom of your springform, bringing it about an inch up the sides.

Bake your crust for about 10 minutes. It will be slightly puffy and the sides may have slumped down a bit. Set the springform on a cooling rack and use a spoon to press the sides back up if necessary. Allow crust to cool.

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 9 Tablespoons unsalted butter with the chocolate until completely combined and melted. Remove from heat.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, cream, salt, and vanilla, then add the chocolate mixture. Pour this filling into the crust, using a spatula to make sure that you’ve gotten every single delicious drop. Smooth the top of the torte with the spatula, then place in the oven to cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. It will not rise much. The edges will be set but the center will still be wobbly. Remove and place on cooling rack to bring to room temperature, a couple hours.

Once cooled to room temperature, place in the refrigerator to chill until the torte is firm, another couple hours. Cut into small slices and serve.

Some variations I plan on trying in the future: adding a layer of jam between the crust and the filling; mixing coconut, dried fruit, or nuts into the filling, or using half dark chocolate batter with half white chocolate batter to do a swirled torte.

Canning season has officially begun, and my first foray: strawberry jam. On toast, spread over brownies, spooned over yogurt - this stuff is divine. This is the recipe I used this year, no doubt next year I’ll have learned something new and be doing it differently, but this worked this year. You’ll need a water bath canner and clean 8 or 16 ounce canning jars with bands and new lids. Also, I never follow the directions on the box. So, yeah. There’s that. If you have experience with other variations on lower sugar water-bath canning recipes, I’d love to hear your tips - please share your experience/tips/recipes/variations in the comments.

Strawberry Jam

• 8 cups crushed strawberries (from about 5 pounds whole strawberries, cleaned and tops removed)
• 1 1/2 c. raw organic sugar
• 1 packet (1.75 oz) no-sugar-needed fruit pectin
• organic lemon juice

Heat water in your water bath canner to boiling, and make sure jars and lids are clean and warm.

Clean and remove tops from strawberries, then crush them using food processer or, if you like chunky jam like me, a potato masher. Place 8 cups crushed berries in stock pot.

Add sugar and pectin and stir well, heating to a rolling boil - even when you stir it it continues to bubble. Allow to boil, stirring constantly for one minute. Remove immediately from heat and skim any foam off the top, if necessary.

Using a canning funnel, ladle strawberry mixture into jars, filling to a quarter-inch from the top and adding about a teaspoon of lemon juice to the top of each 8-ounce jar and about a tablespoon lemon juice to the top of each 16-ounce jar. Top with lids and bands, tightening only finger tight. Note: no need to stir the lemon juice - I just add it to ensure that the jam has enough acid to prevent nastiness such as botulism. We don’t like botulism, not one bit.

Place each jar in the water bath canner rack as you fill them. When full, lower the rack into the boiling water and cover the pot, allowing cans to boil for five minutes.

Remove cans from rack and place on towel, listening for each seal to “pop.” It may take up to ten minutes for some, but usually it happens pretty quickly for me.

Store jars in cool, dark place until ready for use. Enjoy

Springtime, the farmer’s markets have reopened, glory be to the PTB! Another winter past, another year springing anew, and nothing shakes off the last residual frosty shivers like a curry. In celebration, I got more produce from the farmer’s market than one girl could possibly stand a chance of eating on her own. But I’m going to do it. With a little help from my friends of course. And here was last night’s creation.

Spring Lentil Curry

• 1 1/2 c. dry lentils
• 1 to 2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole Arbol pepper, or similar dry medium-hot pepper
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 to 4 spring onions, white parts and greens chopped and separated
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• several handfuls fresh spinach, chopped (3 cups maybe? ish?)
• 1 can organic coconut milk
• 2 T. curry powder
• sea salt to taste

I use sprouted lentils, and if doing this, be sure to start them sprouting the day before. Regardless, cook your lentils, sprouted or otherwise, in chicken or vegetable broth. Set aside, reserving a little bit of the liquid.

Heat a broad, deep skillet over medium heat. Add butter, ghee, or coconut oil for sauteing, and then add ginger and bay leaves. Cook until aromatic, about a minute. Add carrot and the white parts of the chopped onion and sprinkle with a smattering of salt, stirring until the carrot is slightly tender.

Add lentils, coconut milk, the hot pepper, and curry powder. Mix well and adjust curry to taste, adding more salt if necessary. Allow to cook and thicken a bit, uncovered, about twenty minutes. Add spinach, cilantro, and the reserved green onion. Cook another five minutes and adjust salt and curry to your taste.

Serve over rice. Rub your belly with joy and gratitude for spring.

It may not be the prettiest dish in the world, but it is probably on my top ten list of favorite meals, and on the top five list for sheer nostalgia. I grew up eating Cajun’s Delight - apparently one of my dad’s patients gave him the recipe once upon a time. So hearty, warm, it satisfies all the tastes, and the textures, oh the textures! Crunchy, smooshy, gooey, firm… this is the definition of comfort food to me. And it’s pretty good for you, too. Shoot, when I was vegetarian I probably ate this at least twice a month. Now I’ve made a few alterations, improving in my opinion the taste and nutritional value. Got a picky vegetarian in the family? Give this baby a whirl…

Cajun’s Delight

• 1/3 c. dry lentils
• 1/3 c. dry lima beans
• 1 c. dry rice (I like a wild rice blend, like Lundberg’s)
• 3/4 c. celery, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 c. pecans
• 2 T. sesame seeds
• 1 t. sea salt
• 2 T. barbecue sauce (gluten-free)
• 3 T. oil
• 1 c. tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 c. sriracha!! (I’m sorry, I just can’t say/type sriracha without shouting gleefully :)
• 6 to 8 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded

For the beans and lentils, I prefer them sprouted, in which case, start them the day before (a post on sprouting will be coming soon). If you’re not sprouting them, soak them for 2 to 8 hours before you start preparing dinner.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook rice. Cook beans and lentils (it’s okay if the limas are still a little bit firm, it adds a nice texture). Drain if necessary and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients, but reserving about a third of the cheddar cheese to the side (for topping later). Mix well.

Pat mixture evenly into a 9-inch square casserole. Bake on center rack for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top, then bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving, if you can stand it. I usually end up burning my mouth in my eagerness, so fair warning.

Serves 6 to 8. Enjoy!

Each spring, along with a thorough house cleaning, I like to do a thorough spring cleaning for my body as well, flush out the toxins and cobwebs of the past year. Not only do I find that this leaves me feeling refreshed and energized physically, but I think it helps me process things emotionally as well; muscle memory isn’t only about remembering movement patterns—our bodies store emotional experiences as well.

For the past few springs, spring cleaning has meant a strict raw foods diet in combination with additional fiber and supplements. However, this past year has been a doozy for me, and my mind and body both have been yearning for a deep cleanse. In a recent herbalism class, we learned about the “master cleanse” system and I’ve decided to give it a whirl this spring. Although most references suggest doing this cleanse for 10 days, my goal is five days, although I’m going to listen to my body in case I need to alter my plans—I’m not an ascetic, after all. Also, since I’m not really trying to lose weight, I followed the advice of Elson Haas’ article on the topic and increased the amount of maple syrup in my blend. See the recipe below, and my notes of the first day of my spring detox.

Master Cleanse Recipe (64 oz. - a full day’s batch)

2 quart Mason jar or other container
12 T. fresh-squeezed organic lemon juice
6 T. organic maple syrup (I used 9 T.)
½ t. cayenne
Pure filtered or distilled water

In your 2-quart jar, add the lemon juice, maple syrup (suggestions range from 6 to 12 tablespoons), cayenne. Add distilled water (about 60 ounces) till jar is full. Shake well to mix, and re-shake it every time before serving (otherwise the cayenne sinks to the bottom). This makes 4 pint servings—I have opted to have an 8 oz. cup of the lemonade eight times a day, about every two hours, to curb my cravings. Another consideration is that the lemon juice can be hard on your teeth, so you may want to opt for drinking your servings all at once at your “meal” times, rather than sipping constantly all day.

Other than the lemonade mix, it is suggested that one drink filtered water and herbal teas or laxative teas.

So here am I on Day One. Strangely, the hunger isn’t a huge issue—the craving for food is certainly there, but it’s not that debilitating “I’m starving!” belly pang. The cup serving every three hours seems to be working to keep me from getting too antsy for sustenance. My physical energy seems pretty good, I thoroughly enjoyed some deep stretching earlier and relished a feeling of being intensely grounded and present in my body. That said, even writing this post is a bit challenging—although I have a wonderful body hum and my sense of sight, smell, and hearing got more clear and pronounced as the day wore on, I think I’ve gotten so grounded in my body that my brain is a little spacey, and both my body and mind seem to be sort of floating through the day, rather than being direct and driven as they are normally wont to be.

So first day’s notes: Make sure you have plenty to do, but nothing requiring deep analytical thought, nor anything too physically demanding. Stretching is delicious. Music is lovely. I’m planning to enjoy an evening at the Barksdale Theatre this evening, but I don’t recommend business meetings while fasting—that bit of advice volunteered by Kate of Charlottesville’s Guerilla Yoga Project, a classmate who did the master cleanse a couple weeks ago, and I concede the wisdom therein. Oh, and don’t plan on any meal dates with friends or coworkers—it’s just taunting yourself. And of course, as ever: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

One day (almost) down, four more to go…

Has anyone else done seasonal cleansing or panchakarma? What was your experience?