Happy Bell Pepper Day and Wild Rice Week!

Blogger of the Day: April at Epicurean Vegan

Best things about bells:
• They're colorful...you'll find them in a bold rainbow of colors from green to red and even purple!
• They're plentiful...which means they're cheap, especially if you grow your own.
• They're flavorful...greens are mild, yellows, oranges and reds are sweeter.
• They're healthful...jampacked with vitamin C, plus loads of A and B6!
• They're stuffable!  :)

Wild rice FYI:
• True wild rice is considered a sacred gift by tribal cultures in North America.
• It's pure, natural, unmodified and harvested by hand in the upper midwest according to strict standards that preserve the environment and the tradition.
• It's a fascinating process that honors the earth and your good health too!  :)
• Rich in nutty flavor, it makes yumful stuffing!  :)

April is a treehugger, a writer, an illustrator and an animalsaving vegan. If you leave her alone with an empty pepper, you'll get a crazydelicious veghealthy dinner!  ;)

Wild Rice, Mushroom and Spinach Stuffed Peppers

Wild Rice and Blueberry Salad

Potato, Bean & Lentil Burritos with Cashew-Curry Sauce

Veggie Sushi Rolls

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Field Roast, Ricotta and Spinach

Breaded Tofu with a Creamy Spinach, Tomato and Bell Pepper Sauce

Manicotti Stuffed with Butternut Squash, Spinach & Ricotta

Potato-Filled Spinach Ravioli with Mushroom-Truffle Sauce

Vegan & Gluten-Free Mini Quiches

Lemon-Pecan Waffles

Sugar-Glazed Zucchini Bread

More of April's riotous rices...
Wild Rice-Stuffed Portobellos
Wild Rice & Potato Stew with Field Roast
Creamy Wild Rice Soup
Tofu Avocado Wild Rice Bowl with Cilantro-Ginger Cashew Sauce

and plumpedout peppers!
Barley-Stuffed Bell Peppers
Mushroom and Barley-Stuffed Peppers
Quinoa Mandarin-Stuffed Peppers
Quinoa Tetrazzini-Stuffed Peppers
Rice and Field Roast Stuffed Bell Peppers
Zucchini and Field Roast Stuffed Peppers
Rice and Spinach-Stuffed Bell Peppers with Cilantro Sour "Cream" Sauce

 You can find true wild rice in stores and online from:
• national companies like Eden Foods
• individual tribes
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Cass Lake, MN
Native Harvest/White Earth Land Recovery Project, Callaway, MN
Nett Lake Wild Rice/Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Nett Lake, MN
• independent distributors
Manoomin
Native Wild Rice Coalition

What would you stuff in an empty pepper? How do you wild up your rice? When was the last time you hugged a tree?  ;)

Find more feasts in our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!