Hatch Chiles... King Ranch!

It's Hatch chile season here. I veganized this recipe and it was super awesome. Make this right away. I used medium Hatch chiles. It was spicy and my mouth is still burning, so maybe next time, I'll go mild.

King Ranch 'Chicken' Casserole

1 1/2 packages frozen gardien, slightly thawed and chopped
6 roasted Hatch chilies, peeled, seeded, stemmed and chopped
½ large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1+ tablespoon olive oil
¼ lb. EB margarine
3/4 cups flour
1 ½ cups no-chicken stock
1 ½ cups unsweetened soy milk
1 cup vegan sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz daiya cheddar cheese
1/2 lb+ of corn tortillas, cut into quarters

Cook onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Stir in chilies and cook a minute. Set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, heat a little oil and cook gardien. When it is close to done, add the spices and cook for a minute. If the spices stick, add a little water to deglaze. Set aside.
Melt butter in large pan, stir in flour to make a roux, slowly add no-chicken stock and soy milk, and cook over low heat until thickened. Stir in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 big casserole.

Spread a layer of sour cream sauce in the bottom of the casserole. Cover with a layer of tortillas, then a layer of chicken, one of cheese, one of chilies and onions, then another one of tortillas. Repeat until casserole is full. Top with a layer of tortillas, then sauce and grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before cutting and serving.
Source
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Servings/Yield
5-6 servings

Taco Mania

Last night I made 3 different taco fillings and we had a night of Taco Mania. We ate these fillings with soft corn tortillas along with some lettuce, avocado, and tofu queso fresco. The cumin lime tofu tended to get mixed with the other fillings to make really nice tasty combinations. We also had a little bit of the chorizo potato empanada filling, that we also ate as a taco filling, making taco mania night a night filled with 4 taco fillings!!

Our favorite of the night (although it was hard to choose) was surprisingly the Tequila Spiked Zucchini Potato filling - it was also the spiciest of the bunch:

Tequila Spiked Zucchini Potato Filling

2 small Zucchini, julienned **
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Olive or corn oil
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1 small red potato, cut into matchsticks
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp mexican oregano
1 Tbsp pickled jalepeno, chopped
1 Tbsp tequila
1 Tbsp lime juice
salt to taste

Place the julienned zucchini in a strainer, sprinkle with salt, toss to coat and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, potatoes, and bell pepper. Stir occasionally. When the potatoes start to brown and little and are almost cooked, grab handfuls of the zucchini and squeeze hard to squeeze out as much water as you can and then add to the skillet. Add the cumin, thyme, and oregano. Cook for a few minutes until the zucchini is cooked. Add the garlic and jalepeno and cook for about a minute. Deglaze the pan with tequila and lime juice. Remove from heat and add more salt if needed.

** This is my new favorite kitchen gadget! The Oxo Julienne peeler. But keep your fingers well away from this.

 

Here is a pic of the black bean filling which is a staple in our house:

Black Bean Filling

1/2-1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 reb bell pepper, chopped
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalepeno, minced
2 cups black beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
1/4 cup water, veg stock, or bean broth (if not canned beans)
salt, to taste
1/4 cup cilanto, minced
1 Tbsp lime juice

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalepeno. Cook for about 5 minutes until onions are softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the beans and the bean broth (or water or stock). Cook for a few minutes. Add lime juice and cilantro and remove from heat. Add salt to taste.

 

This tofu filling was tasty, but be careful not to let it burn.

Cumin Lime Tofu Filling

12-14 oz tofu, pressed, cut into 1 in cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil

Marinade Ingredients
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cilantro, chopped

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a measuring cup and whisk well to mix in the sugar. Place the tofu in a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade ingredients. Close up the bag and try to remove any excess air in the bag. Place the tofu in the refrigerator for an hour (flip the bag over after 30 minutes).

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Before it gets really hot, drain the tofu and add it to the pan (otherwise be careful when you add it as any marinade clinging to the tofu will splatter). Cook the tofu for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally until it is browned. A splatter screen might be helpful here to keep your stove from getting too messy.

Vegan Chorizo and Potato Empanadas

Tonight I had planned to make Chorizo Potato tacos. But at some point in the day I was inspired to try making empanadas instead. The results turned out great. This might look hard to do, but it is actually pretty easy. If you can make pie dough, you can make empanadas!

Chorizo Potato Empanadas
Makes 12.

Empanada Dough

1 1/2 cups instant corn masa
1/2 cup flour (plus extra for counter)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold shortening, cut into cubes
3/4-1 cup cold water

Put the masa, flour, salt, and shortening into a food processor. Pulse until the dough starts to stick together and the shortening is well distributed. Pour in the water gradually while the food processor is running until the dough comes together and forms a ball. I used about 7/8 cups of water. This will vary depending on humidity and dryness of the flours. Add more water if you need to.

Turn out onto a floured surface. Form a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour.

Chorizo and Potato Filling ***
1 medium red potato, 1/4" dice
1/2 spanish onion, diced
1/8-1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper (a couple of cranks)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
6 oz Vegan Chorizo (I used Yves)
1 clove garlic, minced

Steam potatos for about 10 minutes (or boil them) until they are just starting to get tender. You don't want to cook them all the way here, we are just giving them a head start. Drain the potatoes if you boiled them, or if you steamed them, remove them from the steamer.

In a non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add the potatoes, onions, salt and pepper. Cook stirring every few minutes until potatoes are browned (about 8-10 minutes). Add the garlic and the chorizo. Stir and break up the chorizo. Cook for a few minutes until heated through and the chorizo dries out a little bit. Remove from heat and remove filling from the pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.

Assembling and Cooking the Empanadas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick foil or regular foil that has been oiled. Clean the skillet used above because we are going to use it again here.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Put 2 of those back in the refrigerator to stay cold. Divide the remaining 2 pieces into 3 pieces each so that you now have 6 pieces of dough on the counter. Take one piece and roll it into a flattened ball. On a well floured counter, roll it out into a circle about 1/4" thick. If you want to now be fancy, you can cut it with a circular cutter (I don't bother). Place about 1 1/2 Tbsp filling in in the center. Fold over and crimp the edges with a fork. * Do this for 3 of them if using cooking method 1 or all of them if using cooking method 2. Continue the same way with the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

For cooking method 1, you will want to fry about 3 at a time (see below) and then roll out the next 3, rinse repeat until all are pan fried and in the over.

Cooking method 1


Olive Oil for frying

In a non-stick skillet over medium high heat with a liberal amount of olive oil (about 1/4" deep), pan fry the empanadas on each side till browned. Now move the empanadas to a foil lined cookie sheet (pat with paper towel) and bake for 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining empanadas.

This is the method I used in the picture above. It resulted in a flaky crust that we like a lot without resorting to deep frying.

Cooking method 2

Place all empanadas on cookie sheet(s). Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. **

*Cheater hint - If you want them to be prettier semi-circles and don't have a large circular biscuit cutter, you can use this trick to shape them better. Fold the dough over the filling. Take a pizza cutter around the folded edges to make a better semi-circle shape and then crimp the edges.

** Next time we are going to try brushing the baked ones (method 2) with olive oil before baking.

*** I actually doubled this and have leftovers for taco filling later this week.

We also had some margaritas with dinner. A strawberry margarita on the rocks:

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is a traditional mexican casserole baked with tortilla chips in the casserole to soak up all of that yummy sauce. It is basically a dish that uses up leftovers (like Bi Bim Bop in Korean cuisine). Chilaquiles often contains some sort of greens like Swiss Chard.

When I was making this I had a bad feeling about it. I don't know why I didn't think this was going to be a good recipe. I was VERY surprised when I tasted it. It was so good that I had to text my husband (who wasn't home that night): "holy chilaquile, nom nom nom". The sauce is what truly makes this dish. The sauce plus a nice background flavor of lime. In a lot of the recipes that I've posted this week, I'd say you could replace the homemade sauce with some Hatch Chile Sauce, but not this recipe. Don't replace the sauce. Make your own for this dish and you will be rewarded.

Chilaquiles

1 recipe red chile tomato sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp mexican oregano (or substitute mediterranean oregano)
1 cup corn kernals, preferably fresh
1 bunch of chard, stems removed, chopped
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 cups crushed sturdy tortilla chips
1/2 cup vegan parmesan, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until softened and starting to brown. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the corn and cook for another minute. Add the chard and a tablespoon of water, cover and cook for a minute or so until wilted. You can stir the chard in the middle of this cooking time. Add cilantro and lime and remove from heat.

Oil a 7x9 casserole. Layer the fillings and sauce and chips like a lasagne. Add 1/2 of the tortilla chips followed by 1/4 of the sauce. Add 1/2 of the greens mixture and 1/2 of the pinto beans. Add 1/4 of the sauce. Add the other 1/2 of the greens mixture and the other half of the pinto beans. Add 1/4 of the sauce. Add the other half of the tortilla chips. Top with the vegan parmesan and then drizzle over the remaining sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with crema, tofu queso fresco, avocado (or guacamole), and more chips.

Here is a pic of the Chard filling. All of this green goodness went into this casserole along with about 2 cups of pinto beans:

Red Chile Tomato Sauce

This sauce is basically the same as the red chile sauce, except that is has the addition of the tomatoes and sugar. This sauce will be used in the next recipe: Chilaquiles.

Red Chile Tomato Sauce
3 dried Guajillo chilies *
3 dried Ancho chiles*
3 dried Pasilla chiles*
4-6 cups of water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp cumin
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp masa harina

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp sugar

Cut the tops off of the chiles and discard the tops. Shake out the seeds. Cut the chiles open with a slit down the side and shake out any remaining seeds. Rinse the chiles to remove any dust/dirt. Cut the chiles in half. Bring 4-6 cups water to a boil in a pot and turn off the heat. Put the chiles into the hot water and allow them to soak for 30 minutes.

Drain the chiles and discard the soaking liquid. Place the chiles, cumin, garlic, pepper, and 1 1/2 cups water into a blender. Puree the mixture in the blender. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer or cheesecloth. You may need to push the liquid through with a spatula. Put the strained liquid into a pot and add 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

Add masa harina with a whisk to thicken. Remove from heat.

Place tomatoes in a blender along with the red sauce. Add 1/2 tsp sugar. Blend until pureed.

* Feel free to substitute other dried peppers here. The peppers you use will make the spicyness level change and the flavor change ever so slightly.
* You can get dried chiles cheap at your local mexican grocery store. You can also order them online (not as cheap) from Penzeys.com.

Black Bean and Plantain Tostadas

Black Bean and Plantain Tostadas

6 corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups refried beans (canned or homemade)

1 1/2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed
1 spanish onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Mexican Oregano
1/2 cup vegetable stock
kosher salt

2 ripe plantains
kosher salt

corn oil

Toppings:
sliced romaine
crema or vegan sour cream
queso fresco
guacamole
tomatoes, diced

In a large skillet over med-high heat, heat up corn oil (a pretty large amount, enough to cover a tortilla). One at a time, place a tortilla in the skillet and fry till the edges start to brown. Flip the torilla over with tongs. Let it cook for another 30 seconds or so, checking for doneness. When the bottom is also browned, move the tortilla to a plate lined with a paper towel. Continue to cook each tortilla separately and place them on the plate with paper towels between each one. Set aside. Remove the skillet from the heat.

In a small saucepan over very low heat, reheat the refried beans and keep them warm (Note - you can also microwave them near the end of cooking the vegetables and beans).

Slice the ends of each plantain. Slice the plantain into 3 pieces. Cut a slit in the skin down the side and peel each piece. Cut each piece into lengthwise quarters and then slice into 1/4-1/3 inch slices. You should have nice bite size pieces.

In the same skillet, you should have some remaining oil (You will want about 1-2 Tablespoons of corn oil. Pour out any extra or add some if needed), heat up the skillet if it is not hot over medium heat. Add the plantains. Don't stir them too much but stir them occasionally to flip them over. When the plantains are nicely browned remove them to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Set aside.

Add a 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned. Then add the garlic and oregano and cook for about a minute. Add the black beans and about 1/4 cup stock. Cook for about a minute. Add salt to taste. If the beans are too dry, you can add another 1/4 cup stock.

Assemble: Place a tortilla on a plate. Smear about 2 tablespoons of refried beans on the tortillas (this creates a nice sticky base layer). Add about 2 tablespoons of the black bean mixture and then some of the plantains. Top with about a tablespoon of the queso fresco. Then top with lettuce, tomato, and guacamole. Drizzle with the crema.

Vegan Crema

Crema is like a sour cream drizzle, so this is pretty easily veganized by using Tofutti Sour Cream (or some other suitable vegan sour cream). Again, I didn't pay much attention to proportions here, so this recipe is still under development. This looks very pretty drizzled over dishes as a finishing touch.

Crema
1/2 cup tofu sour cream
1/4-1/2 cup soy milk

Mix sour cream with soy milk with a fork. Add the soy milk a tablespoon at a time until the consistency is runny (can be drizzled with a spoon).

Tofu Queso Fresco (recipe still under development)

I've topped a lot of recipes with this tofu Queso Fresco this week. Queso Fresco is (supposedly) a mild non-melting crumbly cheese with a texture like feta. I'm guessing that this is what it would taste like. I added miso and tahini to give it a little kick and a slightly fermented flavor. And because I was drinking margaritas while cooking and not paying much attention, I am not entirely sure of the amounts I used here. I can't remember if I used 1 or 2 tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast. I'll make sure to make note next time I make this. If you make this, be sure to taste it as you go along. Let me know how your proportions turn out.

Queso Fresco

12-14 oz extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp light miso
1 clove garlic
salt
pepper
2-4 Tbsp soy milk

Crumble the tofu in a bowl. Add tahini, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp of each). Use your hand to mix well. Add in a couple of tablespoons of soy milk and mix with hands to make it moist and kind of sticky.

Use queso fresco crumbles as a topping.

Annatto Spanish Rice

The spanish rice in this picture was made using Annatto oil. Annatto has a very mild flavor to it and adds a really nice color to the rice. This rice came out a little oilier than I'd like, so I might cut back on the margarine next time.

Annatto Spanish Rice

2 tablespoons Earth balance margarine
2 tablespoons annatto oil, see recipe below
1/2 jalepeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium Spanish onion, diced
1 bay leaves
1 cup long-grain white rice
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups no-chicken stock or vegetable stocl

Melt the margarine with the annatto oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook till soft. Add the jalepeno chile and garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Add the bay leaf, rice, stock, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer until the rice has absorbed the stock, 12 to 15 minutes. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Annatto Oil

1/4 cup annatto seeds *
1 cup corn oil

Add the annatto seeds to a pot and heat up the pot over medium heat. Give it a shake occasionally. The seeds will toast and start to smoke. Add the oil. Bring the oil to a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

* You can get these at your local mexican grocer or at Penzeys.com. They are also called achiote seeds.

Red Chile Seitan and Carmelized Onion Tamales

Red Chile Seitan & Carmelized Onion Tamales

I used foil instead of corn husks because foil is easy to find, and easier for first time tamale makers to use. Also, the corn husks I bought were moldy (sad). If you want to use corn husks instead, be sure to soak them in boiling water for an hour or two before using.

The sauce, filling, and batter can all be made ahead of time and then assembled before cooking.

Ingredients:
1 recipe Red Chile Sauce (you can make this ahead of time)

1 1/2 cups seitan (store bought or homemade), cut into 1/4 in pieces
1 onion, sliced and then slices cut in half
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
1/8 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil

5 ounces vegetable shortening, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups instant corn masa
1 to 2 cups no-chicken broth or vegetable stock
8 12" pieces of foil
corn oil

Directions:
Make the red chile sauce as directed in link above.

Meanwhile, make the tamale batter. In a food processor, add the shortening, salt and baking powder. Run to combine and beat the mixture to a fluffy texture. Add 1 cup masa to the food processor and run the food processor to combine. Add the other cup and run to combine. Add 1/2 cup stock while the food processor is running. Add more stock if the mixture is too crumbly. Check the lightness of the batter by checking to see if a dollop of batter floats in water. Add more stock if you need to, you want the mixture to be soft but moldable - not runny. Refrigerate the batter for an hour in a bowl well covered with plastic wrap.

To make the filling, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sugar (the sugar will help them carmelize). Cook the onions over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are carmelized. Don't rush this. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, till fragrant. Then add the seitan and cook till the seitan starts to brown, stirring occasionally. Add about 1/2 cup of the chile sauce. The mixture should be lightly coated but not running. Allow it to cook down for a minute if runny. Remove from heat and set aside.

To finish the tamale batter, remove from the refrigerator and place the mixture in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup stock and mix on medium speed. Remixing the batter and bringing it back to the right consistency gives the tamales a better texture. When the batter looks soft and moldable but not runny, you are ready to make tamales.

Take a piece of foil and use a paper towel to lightly oil it. Take 1/3 cup batter into your hands (hands seem to work better here than any utensils I've tried) and shape it into a pancake shape and then place it on the foil. Using your hands spread the mixture out some more (but try not to get too thin on the edges) until it is about 5 in square. Add 1-2 Tbsp filling to the middle. Using one edge of the foil, roll 1/2 the batter over the top. You might need a spatula to help ease the batter off the foil. It might stick a little, but be patient and slow and it will roll over. Then use the other edge of the foil to roll over the other side of the dough. Fold up the bottom edge of the foil, fold up the top edge of the foil and then fold in the edges. Repeat with the remaining foil until you have no more batter. Note - I will try to take pictures of this part next time.

Place the tamales standing up in a steamer. Steam for 1 1/4 hours. Add more boiling water to the steamer about halfway through the cooking time. Remove the steamer basket and allow tamales to cool for about 10 minutes.

To serve, remove the tamales from the foil and drizzle with remaining chile sauce.

Red Chile Sauce

The first recipe I have to post to be able to make the yummy mexican food I've been posting is the red chile sauce. It is a base in many mexican recipes. I'm posting it separately so that I can link back to it from other recipes.

Red Chile Sauce
3 dried Guajillo chilies *
3 dried Ancho chiles*
3 dried Pasilla chiles*
4-6 cups of water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp cumin
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant corn masa

Cut the tops off of the chiles and discard the tops. Shake out the seeds. Cut the chiles open with a slit down the side and shake out any remaining seeds. Rinse the chiles to remove any dust/dirt. Cut the chiles in half. Bring 4-6 cups water to a boil in a pot and turn off the heat. Put the chiles into the hot water and allow them to soak for 30 minutes.

Drain the chiles and discard the soaking liquid. Place the chiles, cumin, garlic, pepper, and 1 1/2 cups water into a blender. Puree the mixture in the blender. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer or cheesecloth. You may need to push the liquid through with a spatula. Put the strained liquid into a pot and add 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour, whisking occasionally.

Add masa with a whisk to thicken. Remove from heat.

* Feel free to substitute other dried peppers here. The peppers you use will make the spicyness level change and the flavor change ever so slightly.
* You can get dried chiles cheap at your local mexican grocery store. You can also order them online (not as cheap) from Penzeys.com.

I declare this week... Mexican Week

Day 1: Black Bean and Plaintain Tostadas

These are black beans and plantain tostadas with crema (sour cream and soy milk), tofu queso fresca, guacmole, lettuce, tomato. We made our own home fried tostadas. Served with Annatto Spanish Rice.

Day 2: 'Chicken' Seitan and Carmelized Onion Tamales


Tonight's dinner was tamales filled with seitan and carmelized onions and red chile sauce, topped with red chili sauce. Served with Leftover Annatto Spanish rice, and homemade refried beans.

Of course, what is Mexican food without Margaritas!!



One more pic, I loved how beautifully red this annatto oil came out. This oil was used to make the spanish rice:

Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole

Isn't this casserole beautiful. It made the house smell as good as it looks.



This is a Pumpkin Black Bean Casserole, recipe from Fat Free Vegan. It has layers of thinly sliced pumpkin, layers of a mexican chile flavored black bean mixture with tomatoes and corn, and then a cheesy sauce. It tasted like a spicy, cheesy chili. Since it was pretty spicy, I think I may have goofed and added more Ancho or Chipolte than it called for. I'll be making this again so I'll know the answer next time if it doesn't come out as spicy. This goes great with some blue corn chips.

Things that I think I will change next time: I think I will saute the onions first. My onion was really really strong and overpowered things a bit. And, I think that 1/2 way through the baking time I will add some crushed blue corn chips to the top. Now I can't wait to make it again. You may see this one again next week!

Mexican Hash on Tortillas

I looked in the fridge and pantry and realized that I was overrun by CSA potatoes, peppers, onions, and corn. I orginally thought I'd make a potato hash. Then right before I started cooking I started adding things in my head like black beans, chili powder, guacamole, and torillas. And then, we had mexican... hash. heh. Anyway it is an easy to make meal that you can modify to fit whatever you have on hand. You can use zucchini instead of corn or throw in cilantro at the end if you have it.

Ok. This isn't the prettiest picture on the planet, but it was pretty tasty!

Mexican Hash

1.25 lb baby red potatoes, 1/4 in dice
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large red onion, diced
2+ Tbsp olive oil
1 jalepeno, seeded, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ears of corns, kernels cut off the cob
1 14oz can black beans, drained, rinsed
2 tofurkey italian sausages, chopped into 1/2 in dice (soyrizo would work here too)
1 bunch spinach, destemmed and rinsed well
1.5 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp mexican oregano
1.5 tsp ancho chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp lime juice
12 flour tortillas
guacamole
salsa


In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oiive oil over med-high heat and then cook the sausage until it starts to brown. Remove it from the pan and set aside.

Heat another 1 Tbsp olive oil in the same skillet, and add potatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are nearly done. If they start to stick, add some water or olive oil. If the potatoes aren't cooking fast enough, cover with a lid for about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, jalepeno, and corn. Cook for a minute or two. Add the spices and salt. Cook for a minute. Add the sausage back in, add the black beans, and add the spinach. Add about 1/4 cup water and the lime juice and cover the skillet with a lid to let the spinach cook. Cook for a minute or two until the spinach is wilted.

Serve with tortillas, guacamole, salsa, and chips!

Serves 4-6.

13 Bean Vegan Crockpot Chili

I kind of suck because I didn't manage to take any pictures of the chili. I kept meaning to and then all of the sudden the chili was gone and it was too late. Anyway, we really liked this chili. The spice was mild, but that probably depends on the jalepeno strength. Feel free to add some cayenne to this to kick it up a notch.

13 Bean Vegan Crockpot Chili
1 lb. 13 dried bean soup mix ***
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalepeno, minced
1 Anaheim Pepper (or another jalepeno), diced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp thyme, crumbled between your fingers
1 tsp mexican oregano**
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tsp chili powder (the mix of spices that includes cumin)
1 tsp ancho chile powder
28 oz diced tomatoes
~4-5 cups boiling water
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen corn*
3/4 pkg natural boca crumbles
2 tsp+ salt to taste.

Sort for pebbles and rinse the beans. Soak them overnight or use a quick soak method. Rinse thoroughly after soaking. Throw away the spice packet that might have come with your beans.

Get all of the spices measured out and place them in a small bowl.

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add the bell peppers, onions, anaheim chile, jalepeno pepper, and carrots. Cook until soft and slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the spices and cook for another minute. If the spices start to stick to the pan, deglaze it with a little water.

Move the vegetables to a large crockpot. Add the beans, tomatoes, corn and enough water to cover and give the beans an inch or two of extra water for expansion. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (but note that we will add more stuff to the pot about 2/3 of the way through). Stir about 1/2 way through if you are around.

After about 6 hours, add the boca crumbles and stir. Add a little more water if necessary.

When the cooking time is done, add salt to taste.

Serve over rice or polenta.

Serves a zillion.

* We had grilled frozen corn that we had put away from the CSA overabundance. Grilled corn is fabulous in this.
** You can substitute regular oregano
*** or a mix of beans

Dinner disaster recovery & Spanish Rice recipe

Last weekend we made Kale and Potato Enchiladas from Isa Chandra Moskowitz'z new book Vegamonicon. I used some bad judgement and used the huge bag of baby russian kale I had just picked up from the CSA farm. Since it was small, I couldn't remove the stems and thought it would be fine anyway. I got done making the filling and had potatoes with chewy nasty looking kale stems. We tasted it and gave up on dinner. This made us really sad because the sauce we'd already made was yummy and we also had mexican rice in the rice cooker. I wanted to save it but was having a hard time coming up with ideas. Finally it dawned on me to use a can of refried black beans in it. I picked all of the kale out of the potatoes and stirred in a can of refried black beans and used that as the filling. We also heated another can of refried black beans as a side. I actually think this turned out way better than it would have if I'd used kale. It was great. I topped it with some grated Cheezly (vegan cheese from the UK) that I had gotten from Vegan Essentials on the web.



Rice Cooker Spanish Rice

I took Isa's recipe for Mexican Millet and turned it back into a spanish rice recipe and threw it into the rice cooker. We loved it.



1 cup of brown basmati rice (or 1 rice cooker cup)
2 cups vegetable stock (or enough stock for your rice cooker)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 small yellow onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1 sm roma tomato, seeded and diced

Rinse and drain rice and add it to the rice cooker along with the veggie stock. Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and jalepeno and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion mixture to the rice cooker.

Stir the rest of the ingredients into the rice cooker - tomato, tomato paste, salt, cumin. Cook according to rice cooker instructions. I set mine to the brown rice setting on my rice cooker.

Mexican Salad on Grilled Totillas

Tonight we made a nice summer dinner: Mexican Salad with grilled corn and avocado served on a grilled tortilla with arugula and tomatoes. The recipe is from Jack Bishop's, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen (not much vegan in this book, but this recipe is really good). Here is a picture:



And because I knew you wouldn't be able to see the black bean salad under the arugula, here is a picture from before I added the arugula:

Tacos Tacos Tacos

My friend Chris accused me of never posting anything. In my own defense, I have been out of town taking care of some family business. But, here's a post! Tonight we made quick tacos. Here is the recipe. You will have several pots to manage. Make the various parts and assemble. This looked great on the plate, but I forgot to take a picture.

Tacos (serves 4)
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~ 10 soft corn tortillas
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove of garlic, pressed or minced
1 package of mexican flavored baked tofu (pre-baked, seasoned), chopped in 1/2" pieces
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 bunch collard greens, destemmed and chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, or red wine garlic vinegar
pepper
guacamole (I like the Whole Foods store made kind that is found in the produce section)
salsa
chips
1 tomato, chopped
olive oil

Black Beans: Put the black beans in a small pot with the garlic and cover with water. Heat while working on other items.

Peppers and Onions: Add 1/2 tbs olive oil in a skillet and cook red onion and pepper until soft and browned. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Greens: Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot. Add the greens and about 1 tbsp water. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and pepper to taste and remove from heat. Move greens to a bowl.

Tofu: Heat tofu in the skillet and then move to a bowl.

Tortillas: Wrap 5 or 6 tortillas in a paper towel a sprinkle with water. Microwave for about 45 seconds. Heat more in a seperate batch if needed.

Assemble tacos to contain black beans, greens, peppers & onions, tofu, tomatoes, and guacamole and eat. Serve with chips and salsa.