Household Blog

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.

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.

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 t. 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!

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?