From our new Purple House contributor, Damon:

As anyone who’s spent any amount of time at the Purple House knows, food is pretty important around here. My knowledge and passion for food has increased dramatically since being introduced to it. Not only does this serve as my first post to the PH Blog, but it is also my first post to any blog whatsoever. I’m honored to have the chance to cut my teeth on behalf of a home and its inhabitants whom I love so greatly.

As promised, here’s an old stuffed pepper recipe of mine that’s undergone some modifications since joining the Purple House. Most any of the ingredients can be substituted—meat can be added, grains or herbs substituted, different cheeses used, etc. This recipe is just a framework from a recently successful batch. Look around at what you have on hand and what’s in season and
experiment!

Stuffed Peppers

• 4 bell peppers
• 1/2 cup dry rice, soaked and/or sprouted, then cooked
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 8 oz feta
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• fresh herbs to taste: marjoram, thyme, rosemary, you choose
• salt
• parmesan

Prepare the sprouted rice first by cooking it while prepping the stuffing. Dice tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add salt to taste. Coarsely chop about your fresh herbs—I used 1/4 cup fresh marjoram, 1/4 cup fresh thyme, a tablespoon of fresh rosemary. Crumble the feta cheese and add it and the herbs to the tomatoes. Toast sunflower seeds till golden brown and add to tomato mixture, combine, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375. Choose 4 peppers that stand upright nicely and have large bodies, wash them, and cut out their tops. Shake out the seeds and remove ribbing on the inside carefully with your fingers or a spoon.

Add the cooked rice to the tomato mixture and combine. Don’t be worried if the rice is still a bit hard—it will cook further in the oven. Use a spoon fill each pepper to overflowing and top it with a sprinkle of shredded parmesan. (Any extra stuffing goes great in omelets!)

Place peppers in the casserole dish and add 1/2 inch water to the bottom of the dish. Bake for about 1 hour or until the peppers are just barely starting to brown and wilt slightly. Consider a side of steamed greens and a piece of cheesecake for dessert. Dern tasty…

Why? Well, as Sharon Astyk points out, you don’t always know what foods will be available down the road, or what energy will be available for food preservation or preparation; keeping your culinary muscles and tastebuds limber and stretching your kitchen creativity regularly gives you many more resources for adapting to the unforeseeable.

Secondly, as a person traversing the dietary terrain of living gluten free, I understand the importance and honor inherent in being able to prepare food for those with their own allergies and intolerances. I love to cook for my people. Being able to feed them well according to their individual needs? That’s how I honor their place at my table.

So a couple weeks ago I came up with this recipe – vegan and easily adapted to being raw (and obviously already gluten free), and my dinner companion and I unceremoniously inhaled them.

NOTES: To make it an all raw dish, simply substitute some raw dehydrated flatbread or collard leaves for the taco shells. Also, I make my own kimchi, but you can buy it at the store as well, just make sure to taste it for spiciness so you can balance out the flavors. My most recent batch isn’t very spicy, so I add a pinch of cayenne to the tempeh, but if you have a really hot kimchi, you may want to skip the cayenne. And finally, your fresh veggie and herb mixture can be whatever you like. The one pictured has cucumber, parsley, and Thai basil, and previously I used arugula, cilantro, and tomatoes. Basically, use whatever’s on hand.

Tempeh & Kimchi Tacos

• A dozen taco shells or raw substitute (see notes above)
• 8 ounces GF tempeh
• 1 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 Tbsp. GF tamari
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seed oil, flax seed oil, or hemp seed oil
• pinch of cayenne (optional)
• Fresh chopped veggies & herbs (see above notes)
• kimchi
• optional garnish with lime wedges

Whisk together the molasses, tamari, oil, and cayenne in a medium-sized bowl. Add tempeh, mix well, and set aside for at least ten minutes.

Finely chop your preferred mix of fresh vegetables and herbs. Some suggestions: cucumber, radishes, carrots, spinach, scallions, arugula, tomato, thai basil, chives, cilantro, parsley… you get the picture.

Into your taco shells, layer in your tempeh mixture, veggie/herb mix, and kimchi. Bet you can’t eat just one.

Favorite wacky taco combos?

I have a new favorite dessert. It’s summer, and I’m avoiding sugar, as well as anything else that contributes to heat in the body—caffeine, meat, salt, etc. I run hot already, and to stay cool and happy, adjusting my diet to the season helps. I still eat moderate portions of meat and a bit of salt or sweetener here and there, but it’s drastically reduced (probably a good thing regardless) and more and more of my meals consist of raw foods made from fresh fruits and vegetables and some sprouted grains. Who needs recipes this time of year? All you have to do is pick it off the vine/tree/bush, wipe it off on your shirt, and dive in. Sun-warmed and divine.

But, well, you might still want this recipe—it’s raw, vegan (except for the honey, but you could substitute agave nectar), and of course gluten-free! a cheesecake that actually tastes like cheesecake, except that it’s much easier, much less expensive, you don’t have to worry about it cracking across the top (if you’ve ever made homemade cheesecake, you know what I’m talking about), and you don’t end up heating your kitchen up unnecessarily by running the oven. Perfect.

I found this recipe originally in The Complete Book of Raw Food cookbook—a favorite of mine, filled with creative ideas for eating a raw diet. The original version, if you’d like to check it out, is titled “Just Like Cheesecake.” Below is my version, altered only slightly to lower the amount of sweetener (honey) and allow for more variation. If you don’t want to do the topping as prescribed, you can just use fresh fruit or low- or no-sugar jam to top it. Trust me, we took it to our friends Robbie and Jeff’s last night for dinner (great polenta pizza, Robbie!) and it was a hit, shown above with some of our watermelon t’ej as dessert wine. Life is very, very good.

Raw Vegan Cheesecake

Crust:

• 2 c. nuts (I liked pecans best, but walnuts and brazil nuts were good, too)
• 1/2 c. dates, soaked and drained
• 1/4 c. dried, unsweetened coconut

Filling:

• 3 c. raw cashews, coarsely chopped and soaked for at least an hour
• 3/4 c. lemon juice
• 2/3 c. honey
• 3/4 c. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

Topping:

• 1 to 2 c. fresh or frozen fruit
• 1/2 c. dates

Place all the ingredients for the crust into your food processor. Pulse until thoroughly chopped and well mixed—it should be sticky and slightly crumbly. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate or springform pan. Set aside.

Drain the water off the cashews. Place all filling ingredients in a high-powered blender or a food processor. Blend just until smooth. (If using a blender, do not run it too long or you may overheat the engine). Pour the filling into crust—it may not be perfectly smooth, but it’s okay. Cover and put in the freezer for at least an hour to set up. Once it has frozen—or at least gotten thoroughly chilled—you can move it to the refrigerator. It will have the consistency of regular cheesecake.

Combine topping ingredients (I’ve used raspberries or blackberries with dates, but some no-sugar jam would be lovely…) in food processor and pulse till smooth or thoroughly combined. Spread over the top of the cheesecake before serving.

Eat just one slice if you can, I dare you. But then again, not much guilt if you eat more than one piece *grin*  Enjoy!

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.

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 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!