Black Eyed Pea Spread/Dip

Let me start by saying this recipe was a complete accident - but an absolutely delicious one. I had a batch of black eyed peas in the pressure cooker and was planning on making spicy black eyed pea and sweet potato soup. Well, I left it on a few minutes too long and I was left with about five cups of slightly soggy beans. My husband recommended I make a sandwich spread and this is what I came up with. I have another batch of beans on the stove right now in the hopes of making soup but maybe I'll overcook these too and make a second batch of this spread. Use it on crackers, tortilla chips, or bread. It's just plain tasty. I will intentionally make this again :-)

Ingredients:

5 cups slightly overcooked black eyed peas

1 large clove (or 2 medium) FRESH garlic cloves minced

2 stalks of chopped celery

1 cup of sliced tomatoes (I used pearl tomatoes)

2 tablespoons of egg-less mayo (I love Trader Joe's brand)

small bunch of cilantro finely chopped

1 big squirt of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix it all together. Seriously it's that easy. All amounts are approximate and I'm sure you can use different beans and other veggies to suit your personal tastes.

Polenta Stuffed Peppers - campfire friendly!

We went on our first camping trip in five years this past weekend. It was our first trip with a baby, and our first trip as full-vegetarians. I scoured the internet for food ideas most of which revolved around highly processed veggie burgers and fake soy cheese. I was looking for healthier whole food options. I finally googled "Foil and vegetarian" and came across some decent options. My favorite meal of the trip was our Polenta stuffed peppers. I "veganized" a recipe to the following. I tried this recipe both at home in the oven and on the campfire, both methods of cooking produced very palatable results. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup polenta/corn grits
1 medium onion chopped coarsely
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (fresh is best!)
2 cans diced tomatoes
4 cored and seeded green peppers sliced lengthwise***
fresh basil
1 teaspoon salt
olive oil

***Purchase organic if possible. Peppers are one of the "dirtiest" conventional produce items.

Preparation instructions:
In a small saucepan heat 3 cups water until boiling. Add polenta. Cook for instructed amount of time for your variety of polenta. Meanwhile in a medium skillet heat a small amount of olive oil and saute the onion and garlic. Add mushrooms and a can of diced tomatoes. When polenta is cooked fold vegetable mixture into the polenta and add your salt.

Fill your cored peppers with the polenta/veggie mix. Pour the remaining can of diced tomatoes into the bottom of a baking dish, sprinkle fresh basil into the tomatoes and nestle peppers face-up in the pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Mix-it-up: I think almost any veggie would be good in these peppers. Asparagus comes to mind as a particularly tasty option. Use what's in season!

Campfire variation:
If preparing ahead of time you can fill your peppers, put them "back together" and wrap tightly with foil. Put all wrapped peppers in a large plastic bag and keep on ice in the cooler. At camp pour tomatoes and basil in a disposable foil pan, add peppers and cover with foil. Cook on the grid of campfire pit. Add a little extra liquid to the pan when cooking over a fire and expect the cook time to go faster. Check frequently. I found that cooking further with the foil removed was not necessary.