FOOD | HEALTH | SPIRITUALITY

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The Sacred & Delicious Food List

The Sacred & Delicious Food List is an addendum to the cookbook, Sacred & Delicious. Author Lisa Mitchell decided to distribute this comprehensive list of the foods through her website so that she would be able to update it more easily. These are foods found in most modern kitchens. The list organizes the foods into categories to reflect how they fit in your diet from an Ayurvedic perspective.


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Salads for a Light Summer Meal

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian, this gluten-free Bean & Corn Salad is a perfectly satisfying dish for these relentlessly hot days. It can be stand on its own as a colorful evening meal, or you can serve it as an enticing side dish. And oh, how delicious it will be accompanied by a tasty summer soup!

My first choice would be the Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk in Sacred & Delicious: A Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook (page 99.) You may also love some of the summer soups on the Sacred & Delicious Blog including Creamy Zucchini Soup, Cucumber and Coconut Milk Soup, or this yummy Peanut Butter & Cucumber Soup.

Canned / Frozen vs. Fresh Cooked vs. Raw

You may be tempted to open a can of beans, especially during a heatwave like this, when you don’t want to be working at the stove. However, I much prefer beans that were freshly cooked after an eight-hour soak because I find such beans much easier to digest. If you cook beans in an Instant Pot on the chili or pressure cooker setting, the heat will not escape the pot except briefly when you open it to strain the cooked beans. As I’ve mentioned in other blogs, cooking beans in a pressure cooker neutralizes lectins—which is what makes the beans easier to digest.

Nutritionists proclaim that frozen vegetables are just as healthy as fresh, but Ayurveda disagrees! Freezing foods deadens the prana, the life force. In my opinion fresh corn also tastes better than frozen but suit yourself.

If you’re tempted to use only raw vegetables—I get it! According to Ayurveda, many people can get away with eating raw veggies during the summer because our agni (our digestive fire) is naturally stronger during the hottest months. However, I sauté all of the vegetables for just a few minutes to soften them for ease of digestion, based on Ayurvedic guidance and my own experience eating raw food.

Thanks to My Muse!

I’ve been super busy this year between work and play, which is why you haven’t seen many new recipes from me. Fortunately, I’ve had a few meals with my friend, Rani Margolin, whom I will credit as my current cooking muse. One of her potluck offerings was a big hit at our recent women’s gathering, and her delicious dish inspired my spinoff recipe.

Rani’s version was more corn than beans, but I switched the ratio to make it more of a high-protein entrée. Rani had used some purple hull peas she’d found at the farmer’s market. These are similar to black-eyed peas and were quite lovely with the corn. I used navy beans because that’s what I had in my cupboard, but I think this recipe will work with any kind of bean you may have on hand.

Whatever way you choose to assemble this dish, you will want to add this colorful (and delicious) Bean & Corn Salad to your repertoire of easy and memorable summer meals!

Print

Bean & Corn Salad
Vegan, Gluten-Free

Preparation Time:  1 to 2 hours, depending on the pot
Includes cooling time for the beans
Serves 4 to 6

1 cup dried black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, navy beans, or lima beans
1 medium or large leek bulb plus an inch of the light-green shank
1 small red pepper
4 to 6 ears of corn
1 tablespoon avocado oil (optional)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 large clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons mineral salt
1 handful of cilantro or ¼ cup fresh dill
1 handful of parsley
1 ripe avocado

Cook’s Tip:  1. You can steam the veggies instead of sauteing them. In that case, add the spices to the olive oil mixture. 2. Start the beans a few hours before serving time, if you can, so that they have more time to cool to room temperature. Or serve the dish warm to save time.

1. Soak the beans in water 8 hours before cooking. Strain the beans, rinse them a few times, and place them in soup pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes to an hour (depending on the type of bean), until the beans are just tender. If you cook the beans in an Instant Pot, only cook them for 15 minutes. If using a traditional pressure cooker, release the pressure 5 minutes after it’s come to high pressure, so the beans aren’t overcooked.

2. While the beans are cooking, prep the vegetables. Clean and slice the leek lengthwise and slice into thin rounds. Slice and dice the red pepper. Using a sharp knife, cut the corn kernels off the cobs.

3. Heat the avocado oil on medium-low in a large sauté pan. Add the cumin, coriander, and sliced leek. Stir and cook for about a minute. Add the red pepper and corn. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes until all the vegetables are just tender. Set aside to cool until the beans are ready.

4. Chop the cilantro (or dill), parsley, and mint. Whisk the olive oil with pressed garlic, juice of 1 lime, and 1 teaspoon salt.

5. When the beans are tender, strain them and let them cool for about 30 minutes. To complete the dish, combine all the prepared ingredients. Peel and slice the avocado into bite-sized pieces and add the avocado at the end. Toss and taste, adding more lime and salt as needed. Serve immediately at room temperature.

Add 1 pinch of GF asafetida (hing) to the spices to support digestion, or add 1 teaspoon or more of freshly grated ginger.

5 Responses

  1. Karin Michele Anderson says:

    Boy is that a beautiful salad! Anything with avocado wins my approval 😉 In Texas we call this sort of salad Texas Caviar.

  2. Linda Lusk says:

    I made this last night and it was delicious. I had to substitute some of the ingredients because I didn’t have them. I used canned black beans and it still came out great.

  3. Marie Iddings says:

    I will be making this salad this weekend as it looks fabulous! Can’t wait!