Recipe: Italian-inspired Stuffed Bell Peppers

Last Sunday, Nathan Ng & I took a great group of yogis to Stinson Beach for a lovely retreat: good food, beautiful weather, great company and yoga & tai chi. I cooked everyone breakfast and lunch with Nathan's help. For breakfast we had oatmeal with fresh mango & blackberries, toasted sunflower seeds, ghee & soy milk. For lunch we had a simple mung bean soup with zucchini and these gorgeous peppers! They're easy to make and can be eaten with your hands, fun! The variations on something like this are endless, but here's a tasty start...

With rain in the forecast, I prepared our menu with spring kapha-friendly foods in mind. Bell Peppers are an excellent kapha-balancing food as are garlic, basil and mung beans. Quinoa is suitable for all doshas, but especially for vata and kapha (in moderation). After our filling and delicious lunch (if I say so myself) we all took cat-naps on our yoga mats while lying on our left sides then it was off for a beautiful hike. I've included some photos from our day at the end of this post. Enjoy! 

Serves 4

1 c quinoa, uncooked

2 c water

handful of cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

2 Bell Peppers, cut in half (top to bottom) and insides removed

1 large carrot, grated

1/4 shredded basil

balsamic vinegar

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium pot, toast quinoa grains until fragrant (3 minutes or so) then add water & a large pinch of salt. Bring to boil, then down to simmer, cover and cook until quinoa looks fluffy (+ or - 15 minutes). Fluff qunioa with a fork, then place cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Meanwhile, chop tomatoes in half and toss with garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper in a pan then roast for 10 minutes or until soft and garlic is browned. Remove tomatoes, but leave oven on. Pour roasted tomatoes & garlic into quinoa. In a large pot with steamer insert and cover, bring water to boil. Add bell peppers only so that there is one layer at a time with inside of pepper facing the water. Steam peppers until almost tender then remove, pour out any water inside clinging to pepper and set on a flat surface with cut side up. Water saute shredded carrot, so they're not hard. Toss carrot and basil into quinoa tomato mixture with a little extra olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper to taste. (This is where I kept saying that it needed more basil, so taste and see if you want to add more of any thing.) Spoon quinoa mixture into bell peppers and top with a little extra dressing of balsamic & olive oil mixed together. Carefully place the filled peppers on a cookie sheet and bake until heated through & ready to be served (10 minutes or so). Enjoy & don't be afraid to eat these with your hands! :) 

• V: great! Add more olive oil, carrot, tomatoes & basil.
• P: Ok in moderation. To make more pitta-friendly: sub zucchini for peppers, sub cilantro for basil, sub kale for tomatoes & minimize garlic.
• K: great! Extra garlic, less salt. More veggies, less grain.