chorizo-spiced potato enchiladas

I was torn between calling this dish Autumn Enchiladas or, what it wound up being named (I'm too much into calling recipes what they actually contain, I guess), Chorizo-spiced Potato Enchiladas with Black Beans and Swiss Chard. Regardless, note that these enchiladas contain fall produce: Swiss chard and potatoes.

Firstly, let me sum it up: family said this is one of the best enchiladas I've ever made, and that includes many versions of the Mexican casserole. Secondly, this is the easiest enchiladas you will ever make (except for the Enchilada Bowl with Pumpkin Cream Sauce from Vegan Bowls (Amazon, B&N)).

This recipe starts with these chorizo-spiced potatoes:

If you look at the ingredients list, you might want to skip the recipe, but there is really no reason to! Most of the ingredients are for the spiced potatoes -- spices that are actually used in making Mexican chorizo. Just grab all the ingredients you need for the potatoes before you mix it, and things go at a much quicker speed.

Although the recipe calls for ancho chili powder (which is dried poblano peppers), use any chili powder you have, but the ancho is well worth seeking out.

While the potatoes bake:

Quickly wilt the Swiss chard. If you use the stems of the chard, cook those for about 3 to 5 minutes before you add the leaves and the beans and that way there is no waste. If you aren't a chard fan, you'll be pleasantly surprised how wonderful they are in this recipe.

I strongly feel that all ingredients need to play well together and chard is well paired with black beans and the assertive spices of the potatoes. At first taste the potatoes might seem too spicy, but, like many of my recipes, it's all about balancing everything, and the spice of the potatoes is well tempered with the rest of the components.

Huge, HUGE tip coming up:

Until I started making my own corn tortillas (for Vegan Bowls  (Amazon, B&N) ), my corn tortillas always cracked when I rolled them for enchiladas, even if I warmed them over a flame or in a microwave or whatever! So frustrating!

While testing the corn tortilla recipe for Vegan Bowls, I discovered that warming the tortillas is not sufficient: the extra step is steaming the tortillas in a kitchen towel or tortilla warmer.

Warm the tortillas in a skillet or directly over a burner and then place the warmed tortilla between the folds of a kitchen towel. Keep adding the tortillas as you warm them and set the folded package aside for up to 10 minutes.

Warm all the tortillas first, set them aside and when you are ready to fill the tortillas, take one out, place it on top of a work surface (I used the towel that they were steaming in since I was washing it afterward, anyway), fill it, roll and place seam-side down in the dish. In addition to the un-cracked tortillas, the process goes super fast this way!

This is really so delicious! If you'd rather use vegan cheese instead of the cheese sauce, go for it! The red sauce is simple and easy, the potatoes are mix-and-bake and the beans and greens are minimally processed as the flavor is all provided by the chorizo spices. Simple to make - although not completely fuss-free - this is well worth the minimal effort.

Chorizo-spiced Potato Enchiladas
Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes
Serves 4 

Potato:
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons neutral oil
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chipotle puree**
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ancho chili powder (or regular chili powder)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound fingerling or new potatoes, chopped into about 1/2-inch sliced or squares

Red Sauce:
1 tablespoon neutral oil
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
1/4 cup tomato paste (not concentrate)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Enchiladas:
8 (5-inch) corn tortillas
8 ounces Swiss chard
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Cilantro, garnish
Vegan sour cream (optional)

Cheese Sauce:
1 tablespoon neutral oil
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
2/3 cups unsweetened plain nondairy milk
1/4 cup grated waxy potato
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon rinsed roasted red bell pepper
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon white miso
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sea salt


1. Potato: Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Combine the garlic, oil, broth, chipotle puree, vinegar, chili powder, oregano, cumin, paprika and salt in a medium bowl. Add the potatoes and mix well. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. 
2. Red Sauce: Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until the paste darkens, about 3 minutes. Add the chili and cumin. Mix well and add the broth slowly, whisking with a whisk to prevent lumps. Add the salt, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes and remove from heat.
3. Enchiladas. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Heat the tortillas, one at a time, for 15 seconds per side and transfer to a kitchen towel to keep warm and steam the tortillas. When all the tortillas are cooked, add the chard and beans, cover and cook until the greens wilt. Drain the greens, if needed. Combine the cooked potatoes with the cooked greens and beans. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. 
4. Transfer 1/4 cup of the red sauce to a 9x9 baking dish. Fill the tortillas with the potato mixture and lay each filled tortilla, seam side down, in the dish. Add the rest of the sauce, cover with foil and bake in the 400-degree oven for 20 minutes.
5. Cheese Sauce: Heat the oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, add the potato and cover the pot. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a small blender, add the yeast, bell pepper, vinegar, miso, paprika and salt. Blend well until smooth.
6. Add the cheese sauce over the baked enchiladas and garnish with cilantro. Serve with vegan sour cream, if desired.

**chipotle puree: Blend the entire can of chipotle en adobo peppers in a small blender. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or more. 


 © 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

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veganmofo - lime-maple roasted sweet potato tostada

Day 28 of #vgnmf15 asks which do we prefer? tacos or burritos?

I choose...tostadas! Yes, I'm going to be "that person," the one who has to be stubborn and contrary. But if you really think about it, tostadas are a bit of both, but look much prettier. If you consider, a tostada is actually a large one-serving nacho plate. No need to share with anyone.

I made these Lime-maple Roasted Sweet Potato Tostadas with Black Bean Mash, Avocado and Pickled Jalapenos and they were awe-some! Indeed, the recipe has quite a few components, but nothing too difficult or hard to do. Just follow the recipe in the order written and you'll have this dish done in about 30 minutes.

The pickled jalapenos were really tasty, but my jalapenos were very spicy this time around; it is difficult to tell when you'll get a batch that is out-of-this-world hot and when the batch is mild. I recommend pickling Fresno peppers instead if you are not a spice-head like me. Fresnos are ripe New Mexico-type chiles and are much milder than jalapenos.

Of course, if you want to be a stickler about following directions, stuff the toppings into a tortilla and roll or fold.
I'm good either way.

 

Lime-maple Roasted Sweet Potato Tostadas

Makes 8 tostadas

Pickled Jalapenos:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Ground black pepper

1/4 cup minced cilantro

2 medium jalapeno or Fresno peppers, sliced very thin using a mandoline

1 garlic clove, minced

Sweet Potatoes:

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice

1 tablespoon mince garlic

1 tablespoon neutral oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

Sea salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Beans:

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 (15-ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup water

Sea salt and black pepper

1/4 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional)

Other:

3 tablespoon oil

8 (5-inch) corn tortillas

1 medium ripe Hass avocado, sliced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Jalapenos: Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, oregano and black pepper in a medium bowl. Stir well to melt the sugar and salt. Add the cilantro, peppers and garlic. Set aside to pickle for at least 20 minutes. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

2. Sweet Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400-degrees F. Combine the potatoes, garlic, oil and 1 tablespoon lime juice on baking sheet. Season with salt and black pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until tender. Stir in the rest of the lime juice and the maple syrup. Continue to bake until the syrup is thick and absorbed, about 5 more minutes.

3. Beans: Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onions, cover and cook until becoming golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and water and cover. Cook until the onions are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the cheese, if using. Stir to combine and melt the cheese. 

4. Tortillas: Heat the oil (3 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet. Add a tortilla and cook until almost crisp, about 1 minute, turning once. Set aside to drain. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. After the sweet potatoes are cooked, bake the tortillas on the oven rack until crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes. 

5. Assemble: Spread beans on a tostada, top with sweet potatoes. Add a few slices of avocado tossed with the lime juice and seasoned with salt and pepper. Top with pickled jalapenos and serve. 

© 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

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vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

roasted corn and lime tortilla soup

Ever had the feeling that your head is running in a thousand different directions and your body is needed in a thousand more? We all have! Especially in this day and age, we find ourselves being pulled hither and thither. When your kids are hungry and lunch or dinner needs to be on the table in less than half an hour, what can you do - besides literally phoning it in?

With the writing of my cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats (available for pre-order ;) complete, life is just beginning to get back to normal at the Dever house. While writing I was able to foist off driving the kids to their activities and making snacks, quite comfortably onto the shoulders of my husband, but now I've no more excuses to get back to cooking. As my family would remind me, it is actually my job, since I am a cook and cookbook author.

Be that as it may, there are times when I can spend luxuriating in the kitchen, there are times when I can spend making comfort foods that everyone enjoys and then there are times that food just needs to be ready in a hurry!

This is a soup I came up with for lunch today, knowing that it had to be ready in under 30 minutes. It has roasted corn, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, is thickened with baked tortilla chips and is enhanced with a splash of fresh lime juice. As fast as it came together, it was just as delightful.

ROASTED CORN AND LIME TORTILLA SOUP PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Remember how I said I 'd keep posting more pics from the cookbook? Here is a sandwich that would have been quite wonderful with the soup above, and just as quick to throw together.

CALIFORNIA CLUB SANDWICH

And if you haven't entered the giveaway for Robin Robertson's revised edition of Vegan Planet, do so right HERE. Unless you already have the book, why not? It's an amazing volume that has stood the test of time, now with revised recipes as well as 50 new ones. Contest ends April 11.

Also, be sure to let your friends and family know that the great Meatout is March 20th (tomorrow!). Eat vegan for one day and help the animals and the planet. Pledge HERE.


I am also linking to these recipe parties! The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

The blog hosting Gluten-Free Fridays is Vegetarian Mamma.

I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons since, well, it will be Wednesday soon enough!

food trucks! koi fusion

Koi Fusion Food Truck is based out of Portland, Oregon. They dish up Mexican-Korean fusion food, with tofu as an optional protein. They started back in 2009 when the prospective owner contacted Kogi Food Truck owner in LA for some advice since he didn't know exactly where to start, but he knew he wanted to operate a food truck. The guy from Kogi was nice enough to advise Bo Kwon and help him get going.

No, this truck wasn't on the Great Food Truck Race. On any season. They were featured on the show Food Truck Revolution back a few years ago, but there are so many popular food trucks that not all of them can be on The Race, for sure.

This truck dishes up burritos, tacos, quesadillas, rice bowls and sliders. Although you can pick chicken, beef, ribs or tofu, if you are looking for vegan, or even vegetarian, you should ask for your dish without the kimchi.  Kimchi is the Korean version of sauerkraut. As it happens, kimchi, unless vegan, is made with fish sauce, so check ingredients and ask questions.

I made a variation on their K-Fusion Burrito. This dish has rice, marinated in soy sauce and gochujang , cheese, meat, kimchi, pico de gallo, bean sprouts and a secret salsa. That secret salsa I interpreted as a Korean Salsa. This is where the imagination I mentioned the other day comes into play.

Gochujang is a Korean, spicy, pungent, fermented flavoring made from chilies, rice and soy sauce. If you can't find any, or don't want to spring for a package, you can use something that all vegans have in their kitchen - Sriracha. Use less of the Sriracha since it is spicier, but be aware that the taste will not be the same, as the fermentation lends its own set of unique flavor.

This burrito was good, we really liked it, but, I'll be honest, it was equally very different. Which is good, since you want food from a food truck that IS different - something that pushes you beyond your comfort zone for at least a single meal. No commitment needed. Don't like it? Don't get it again. What are you out, a few bucks? As for making it at home, it might be a bit riskier, but then again, we should all live on the edge once in a while, ey?

K-Fusion Burrito Printer-Friendly Recipe

king ranch casserole + "nut butter universe" winner

King Ranch Casserole Recipe

The above is a King Ranch Casserole, a Tex-Mex favorite, typically made of well-seasoned chicken, layers of cheese, and tortillas all in a creamy sauce. 

I used black beans instead of a chicken substitute because I thought it would work well -- and it does. It has layers of cheese, beans, tortillas, onions, chilies and sauce. Then to finish it off, it is topped with tortilla chips and baked until it is hot and bubbly. 

Really good, partner.  Overall, this is a very flavorful, quick and easy casserole to assemble. 

Cost Breakdown

beans: $4
tortillas: $2
cheese, tomatoes, onions, milk: $4
seasonings: $.25

Total to make 6 servings:
$10.25

As for other business...

As some of you know, today is the day Random.org chooses the winner of Robin Robertson's brand new cookbook, "Nut Butter Universe," published by Vegan Heritage Press. You have got to love a publishing company that is vegan run! 

Here are a few more pictures from "Nut Butter Universe," 

in addition to the pics on the last post:

Power Ball Energy Bites

Peanut Butter Biscotti

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Pasta with Cauliflower-Cashew Alfredo

West African Peanut Soup

Mouthwatering, right?!?

If you are not the winner, please check back in case the first winner doesn't respond. 

Also, FYI, this book is available on Kindle as well! Neat!

I have to say that vegans have got to be the most creative commentators around! It must be all the BS we have to put up with daily defending the animals. You guys rocked with your nutty comments; I was literally laughing my head off. Well done!

Without further delay, the winner out of 45 comments is...

Comment Number 33 - Sambycat!

"A peanut sat on a railroad track,
His heart was all a-flutter.
The five-fifteen came rushing by--
Toot toot! Peanut butter!"

Please email me by March 3rd at veganaide at yahoo dot com.

Congratulations!

Robin Robertson is also hosting a Nut Butter Universe Blog Tour! Head over to this link and be sure to check out other ways to win a copy of the book or get more inside info!

loaded nachos

Back in Texas, before we were vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter, David was supremely fond of Chili con Queso, cheese sauce with chilies. Having grown up near the border, he tends to be particularly fussy regarding Mexican-style food - especially this cheese sauce. 

I have been working on making a cheese sauce that does not utilize commercial brands of cheese such as Follow Your Heart and Daiya and still tastes like cheese; this is just what I have come up with. David was extremely happy and satisfied with this recipe, and if you have fond memories of creamy, velvety, cheese sauce, I encourage you to give this a try. 

The sauce is great as is, but because he was a dedicated fan of the Chile con Queso, I made this version with diced tomatoes and diced chilies. 

 The recipe uses roasted red peppers, which have a tendency to mold before being used all up, so after giving this recipe a try and deciding that it will be a regular meal ingredient, measure out your three tablespoons portions into ice cube containers or just mounded on a cookie sheet. Freeze and move the frozen mounds of red pepper into a freezer bag. Thaw a portion a bit before making a batch of the sauce and you won't again be reaching into your fridge only to find ruined red peppers.

We wound up licking the bowl clean and making it a requirement that the kids learn how to make this in order to ensure them a more delicious future. The sauce is easy enough to make and truly worth the effort.

Cost Breakdown

beans: $2

chips: $3

olives, onions, jalapeno, lettuce, avocado: $2.50

sauce: $2

tomato and chili: $2

Total to make 5 servings:

$11.50

flautas and taquitos

Is it a Flauta or a Taquito? 

The two Mexican food dishes can be mixed up at times since they are both rolled, fried, stuffed tortillas. The difference, and hence the names, are due to the type of tortilla used. Flautas are made using flour tortillas and Taquitos are made using corn tortillas. 

Making the filling and rolling them in the tortillas can be time consuming parts of this meal, but even then it is one of the simplest to make. I made a filling using textured vegetable protein, but seitan, beans or vegetables are outstanding choices, with refried beans being the simplest of the bunch. 

Make sure to first heat the tortillas in the microwave in a stack (wrapped in damp paper towels) or individually right on stove top to get them warm. Warm tortillas bend and don't break. Roll them in the filling and either pan-fry them in oil or bake them as I did. 

Serve these with guacamole, salsa and vegan sour cream. 

They are crispy and filling.

Cost Breakdown

tortillas: $3

TVP: $1

Daiya: $1 

broth, onion, garlic, spices, flour: $1.50

sour cream, avocado, salsa: $2

Total to make 16 with garnishes:

$8.50

FLAUTAS OR TAQUITOS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

easy asian wrap

This lunch was a quick and easy generic Asian Wrap. I used a wrapped or pressed tofu, sliced it into stips, marinated them and sauteed them, along with broccoli spears, red pepper strips, green onions and a few asparagus spears. There really is no hard and fast rule for this wrap - use tofu, tempeh, seitan or just vegetables. Sautee the veggies until they are crisp tender or done to your likeness and that is about it.

After the veggies are done add the remaining marinade and stuff it all into a warmed tortilla. The Asian flare comes form tamari (soy sauce), sesame oil (toasted is best), rice vinegar and chili flakes.

Not bad for a quick meal. When I presented it to the kids they reluctantly gave it a try...and wound up eating it up and asking me to make it again soon.

Cost Breakdown

tamari, vinegar, garlic, oil, maple: $1

tofu: $2

broccoli, pepper: $3

onion, asparagus: $2

wrap: $2

Total to make 6 wraps;

$10.00

EASY ASIAN WRAP PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

brussels sprouts with smoky beans

Burritos or wraps are probably the most difficult foods to appetizingly photograph, so it must be known that these wraps were delicious. Sauteing sprouts are my favorite way to make them - add a little minced garlic close to the end of the cooking time and you are all set. Just don't cook them to a mush.

Having sprouts in a burrito for me would be complete (call me a cabbage head), but I wanted to add some protein for the kids. Kate requested a bean burrito to begin with, so that is where the dish lead. Some pinto beans, diced onions and smoked paprika (Amazon has a great deal on one - I've been looking for months for it) and the beans take on a different flavor from their Mexican cousins.

Quick, tasty and incorporating Brussels Sprouts - what more can there be?

Cost Breakdown:

sprouts: $3

beans: $2

tortillas: $1.50

spices, onion, garlic: $1

Total to make 4 burritos:

$7.50

On a total tangent, I have been wanting to blog about candles. Not food, I know, but I saw Tami talking about these candles on Vegan Appetite and I bought a few. The owner, Mike Hipp, has not contacted me to promote for him, but I love these candles. I used to be a Yankee Candle gal, but these soy candles blow them out of the water.

Anyway, take a look at Soy Candles by Phebes if you are interested in holiday or other candles. The scents are amazing and he has a ton of variety. He is very quick and he makes them himself. I've ordered three times from him in the last six months and have been very pleased.

As you can tell by the lack of advertisement on this blog, I don't promote lightly. But I love a good product and when that business is run by a vegan, I kind of want to get the word out.

This is most likely the last non-food related post I'll do, so enjoy it!

FNF - emeril's fish tacos (MoFo 15)

It is that time of month again - FOOD NETWORK FRIDAY - Let's rumble!

Ms. Tami over at Vegan Appetite (yes, the very same one who will be giving away her cookbook, American Vegan Kitchen, on this very blog next week), hosts Food Network Friday. Anyone is welcome to join in! All you need is imagination and desire. Someone picks a recipe from the Food Network and anyone who wishes to participate recreates it vegan. That's it! Send her your post link and Ms. Tami gushes over the wonderful ways we revise top celebrity chefs' recipes. And do a heck of a better than job than they do!

This month, we are making Emeril's Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw.

It has been a while since I've tried making fish (except for the Filet of Tofu), and I wanted something other than tofu (I had a sneak-peek at Tami's version and I knew that she was using tofu. I...must...be...different...).

Naturally something from the sea popped into my head. And as far as I know, the only edible vegan things from the sea are seaweed. There are so many different varieties of seaweed, with many levels of strength, that if you've tried seaweed before and haven't liked it, you should keep at it. I mean, if you don't like sweet potatoes are you not going to try Russets or other tubers?

No, I did not fry up a bunch of seaweed... I flavored my seitan with the seaweed when I was preparing it by adding 1 tablespoon of crushed Arame to the gluten before I mixed it. Then I cooked the seitan in a broth flavored with a sack of crab boil - Zatarain's Crab Boil- finally putting the stuff to some good use!

The batter is a simple beer batter, the seitan is deep fried and the taco is topped with Horseradish Coleslaw.

This was excellent. Even the kids (minus Cat) ate it and loved it. The seitan turned out great - reminiscent of the sea but nothing overpowering, and the crab boil gave it that very different flavor that it needed  - after all, this wasn't supposed to be Tender Seitan. I think I shall call it, Sea Seitan. I love alliterations.

I have created a How-To Breakdown  for the recipe, but you may use the original recipe from Emeril (subbing vegan mayo) and just use the Sea Seitan. Treat it as you would fish, just remember that it isn't. It is already cooked, so you are just looking for a golden color for the crust - you don't have to worry about raw fish.

Cost Breakdown:

seitan: $3

tortilla: $2

dressing: $1

batter: $2

cabbage, green onion, cuke: $3

spices: $1

Total to make 6 tacos:

$12.00

Emeril's Fish Taco Recipe

Sea Seitan Recipe

How-To Breakdown for Sea Tacos



achiote rubbed zucchini tacos

Rick Bayless says that achiote-seed-marinated pork is very popular in a certain region of Mexico - forgot exactly where. He makes a taco with pork marinated in ground achiote seeds and garlic. It sounded good to me - except for the pig, of course, so I decided that zucchini would be the ideal sub. Why? Because my CSA says so!

I put about a bulb of peeled garlic, 1 T of ground achiote seeds (a.k.a. annatto), 1 t of ground allspice, 1 t ground pepper, 2 t Mexican oregano, 1 t salt, and 3 T of cider vinegar, in the food processor and ground everything together. I marinated my zucchini slices in the mixture for an hour and grilled them until tender. 

I made a great roasted corn sauce (again because my CSA says so - I have about 10 ears of corn), by roasting them in a cast-iron skillet and blending them with 2 dried yellow peppers and some lime and orange juice (just a little orange), adding a bit of water as needed.

The picture is of the zucchini in corn tortillas, but both David and I found the corn to be overkill and had another taco in flour tortillas and this is what we recommend. This was great in the flour tortilla with a little hot sauce!

Wonderful summer flavors! 

Cost Breakdown:

corn: $1.50

zucchini: $2

tortillas: $2

lime, orange, onion (pickled): $1.50

spices, herbs: $1

rice: $1

Total to feed a family of 5:

$9.00

potato-chickpea enchilada

Wrapping up Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan! Cook-athon is a Potato-Chickpea Enchilada with Tomatillo Sauce and Mango-Jicama Salad.

Stu-unning. Awesome flavors in the enchilada filling! We only had one dissenter in the family, everyone else loved it. The Tomatillo Sauce recipe has you boiling the tomatillos to remove the skin, but I roasted them instead and blended everything very well so the skins did not become an issue.

The Pine Crema recipe calls for silken tofu, which I do not care for, so instead I made a Cashew Crema for which I will be posting the recipe. This made the entire meal soy free! Love that! 

In conclusion, while some of the flavors of this cookbook need a little getting used to, don't all ethnic cuisines require some adjustment? If they didn't, honestly, what would be the point of eating them? 

Terry has written a great book, full of practical and needful advice regarding Latin fare. She has written creative recipes that my week of cooking has barely scrapped the surface of - 200 recipes is nothing to sneeze at. This is one cookbook that is needed on the shelf because ethnic cuisines are something we should all try to make at home and when it is written by someone who has lived it, then it becomes a treasure trove of yet-untasted flavors and experiences. 

Cost Breakdown:

chickpeas: $2

potatoes: $1

tortillas: $1

mango, jicama: $3

cilantro, lime: $1

peppers, onions, garlic: $1

cashews: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

$10.00

seitan wrap

I had some seitan in the freezer and an abundance of tortillas. It was only logical to make some seitan wraps.

I used a basic seitan that I made a month or so ago and had it on hand for easy cooking days. I put some veganaise into the wrap and then grilled it. It reminded me of the Rolly Polly Sandwiches that litter the country - only I can eat everything on mine. I added some spinach into my wrap because the kids chose their greens in a side-salad form. Applesauce was their chosen fruit along with some yellow plums from the CSA.

I just got myself a cast-iron panini press - the top press that is. A cast-iron panini press is $400+! Yikes! I am trying to avoid bringing more Teflon stuff into the house seeing as I am trying to get rid of them, so this was my next best bet. In light of my new kitchen gadget, I grilled my wrap to test it out. It worked relatively well, as you can see in the photo. Preheating it is the way to get the top somewhat hot. I'll let you know how it is the next time I use it since cast-iron takes me a little while to get just right. It's like it has a personality of its own that I have to get used to.

Cost Breakdown:

tortillas: $4

seitan: $2

veganaise: $1

salad, spinach: $3

Total to make 4 servings:

$10.00