Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

This recipe is inspired by one printed in December 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times, by James McNulty (of Whitsett NC), who won $500 for his contribution (congratulations, James!).  He uses salsa and a canned chipotle pepper in his recipe, as well as a few other ingredients I have never seen the use for (ie. onion powder).  In addition to preferring to avoid pre-packaged food, I find the flavor of the salsa tends to dominate the dish, so I have adapted his recipe to make it more fresh and harmonious (and actually a tad cheaper).  I also changed the order of preparation to make it more time-efficient.  While this may look complicated, it’s actually very easy, and if you use Trader Joe’s sweet potato cubes, it only takes a little over an hour to make, including cook & bake times.

I strongly recommend the use of Dan’s Prime Smoky Chipotle sauce, even though I try not to insist on specific brand products in recipes.  It’s got the perfect flavor for this recipe, and at only $3 a bottle, it’s cost-efficient.  (The ingredient it replaces is a single chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, which costs $2.49 for an entire can you’d just end up throwing away after, unless you happen to use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce all the time, which I do not.  The Dan’s also has the added benefit of not requiring dicing; w00t!)  Just remember to store it in the refrigerator.  You don’t have to have it, but it really adds a nice savory flavor and reduces the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.  If you know of a chipotle chile sauce that’s very simple and not loaded down with other things, you can substitute it, but I can’t vouch for the end flavor unless you use Dan’s.

Filling Ingredients:
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of green onions, diced
2-3 large cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups (1.5 lbs) sweet potatoes, peeled & diced (I use the pre-cubed from Trader Joe’s)
2-15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, one drained (or 1-28 oz. can, partially drained)
2 large (fresh) jalapeno peppers, diced fine or minced
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup water
1-15 oz. can black beans (or 2 cups of homemade, if you have them)
1-1.5 tsp. Dan’s Prime Smoky Chipotle sauce
4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
6 oz. queso fresco, crumbled

Sauce Ingredients:
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
1.75 (1-3/4) cups low-sodium vegetable broth, or 2 “sticks” of liquid concentrated broth & 1.75 cups water
1 tsp. ancho chile powder
1 tsp. Simply Organic brand chili powder (I prefer the SO brand, but if you have one you really like, use it)
1 tsp. dried oregano, ground up in a mortar & pestle
1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Other Ingredients:
16 six inch corn tortillas, kinda thin (do not get the thick ones; they crack apart when you roll them)
2 limes, cut into wedges (optional)
1 avocado, sliced (optional)
sour cream (optional; I strongly recommend Wallaby brand, OMG)

1.  To make the filling:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until soft, about 3-5 minutes.

Add garlic and saute one minute more, stirring to keep the garlic from scorching.

Add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, salt, and water, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30-40 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.

While the sweet potato mixture is cooking, make the sauce (instructions below).

Finish the  filling:
Mash the mixture with a potato masher until everything is nicely mushed up.

Add the black beans to the mashed mixture and give it all a big stir to combine.  Return to the heat and cook 5 more minutes.

Add the Dan’s Prime Smoky Chipotle sauce,  cheddar and queso fresco and stir well until the cheddar is melted.  Remove from heat.

2. To make the sauce (while the sweet potato mixture is cooking):
Put the tomato sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the spices and stir to mix well.
Stir in the broth (or broth concentrate & water) and bring to a simmer over  medium heat.  Stir in the salt and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes and remove from heat.

3. To make the enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush a 13×9″ baking dish with olive oil or spray it with your spray oil of choice.
**If you like, you can use an 8×8″ pan and keep half for dinner tomorrow.  All you have to do is heat the filling and sauce on the stove and then follow the rest of the directions to assemble the enchiladas.  Since I only cook for 2, this is what I do, and it’s even tastier the next day.

If you’re using an 8×8″ dish, split the sauce in half and retain one half for the next day.

Ladle 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish (or 1/2 cup, if you use an 8×8″ pan) and spread the sauce across the bottom.

Spoon filling into the center of a 6″ corn tortilla shell, roll the shell, and place it with the seam side down in the baking dish.  Repeat until the dish is filled.  An 8×8″ dish will hold 6-8 enchiladas, depending on how much filling you put in each one.  A 13×9″ dish will hold 12-14, or so.

Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.  Crumble 3 oz. of queso fresco (1/4 of a 12 oz. round) over the sauce-covered enchiladas, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.  Switch your oven to broil and broil about 5 minutes, until the cheese is brown.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Top with squeeze of lime, sliced avocado, and sour cream, as you like, and enjoy!

Jenie’s Super Simple, Savory Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce (for Retired Carnivores)

This is the adapted version of my original marinara/meat version.  It’s for people who want a meaty sauce but who don’t find tofu or fake ground beef a palatable option.  I swear to you, you will never eat spaghetti sauce from a can or jar again.  This is WAY more delicious, healthier, and you can generally do it while the water for your pasta heats to a boil and your pasta cooks, if you’re using dry pasta.  If you prefer fresh pasta, you might want to get a jump on the sauce, first!

Regarding the spices in this, one girl’s tarragon is another’s licorice-like hall of horrors.  I love the stuff, but my friend Jon feels a little goes a long, long way.  So if you don’t like tarragon, leave it out.  I don’t like the bitter, medicinal taste of oregano, so I rarely use it, but some people feel it isn’t Italian food if it doesn’t have oregano in it.  If you like oregano, toss about 1/2 a teaspoon in.  Except for sage, the spices marked optional in this recipe are the ones I toss in if I feel like it, or if something else is missing.  For instance, if I’m out of or short on marjoram, I make sure to toss in basil and use a little extra.  I always use sage, but if you don’t like it, it’s okay to leave it out.  You don’t have to use all the herbs in the recipe to get a good sauce out of the deal.  But I have found that the herbs I use routinely produce a great, full-bodied sauce with a well-rounded range of flavors.

Things you might need:
A small mortar and pestle

Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower or half of a largish one, chopped
1 largish brocolli crown, chopped
2 large portobella mushroom caps, chopped
1 large, 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce (either plain or seasoned with basil)
salt
sugar (optional)
1 heaping teaspoon dried tarragon
1 heaping teaspoon dried marjoram
1 heaping teaspoon dried chervil
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage, if you have that instead) (optional)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
2 medium (2″ long) dried bay leaves  (or 3 smaller ones or 1 big one)
1 – 2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed (I favor pressing, frankly) (optional)
extra virgin olive oil

To make:
1.  Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into a pre-heated dutch oven-style pot over medium heat.  Press the garlic into it and stir well, so the garlic bits break up and don’t clump together.

2.  When the garlic starts to brown, throw in the chopped cauliflower.  Turn the heat up to medium-high and saute until the cauliflower is a golden-green color, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add the chopped portobello mushrooms and a pinch of salt.  How much is up to you, but I usually toss in about a teaspoon. Stir.  Saute the mushroom/cauliflower mix, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms turn a uniform reddish-brown color, about 5-10 minutes.

4.  Add the canned tomatoes to the pot.  If you like your broccoli well-cooked, add it now.  I don’t, so I add it in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

5.  Toss in a small pinch of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes.  This step is totally optional, and it’s just a tiny bit, maybe an 1/8 teaspoon.  Not enough to sweeten it.  Unless you like sweet sauce, in which case, I guess you could toss in more, but the thyme will sweeten the sauce quite a bit, so don’t go nuts if you’re using thyme.

6.  Add the whole bay leaves to the sauce.

7.  Crush the rest of the spices in the ingredients list in a mortar and pestle*, stirring them into the sauce as you go.

8.  When all the spices you want to use have been added to the sauce, give everything one more big stir so it’s all mixed up nicely together.  Bring to a bubble, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Beyond 20 minutes, dried herbs start to lose flavor, so try not to let it simmer much longer than that.

9. If you prefer your broccoli more crisp than wilted, stir it into the pot for the last 5 minutes of cooking and turn the heat up to medium.

Your pasta ought to be done by now, so ladle the sauce over the noodles of your choice, grate some parmesan over it or sprinkle some on, and enjoy!  Finally, according to my friend Noelle, tradition declares that the person who finds a bay leaf in his or her plate gets out of doing the dishes.  Good luck!

Serves 3 – 4

Edwina Belle’s Egg Salad

Edwina Belle Fite was my best friend’s mother.  Mom made, hands down, the best egg salad on the planet.  Every time I went home for a visit, I begged her to make it, until she finally got tired of my wheedling and taught me to make it.  Mom left us in 2000, and unfortunately, I never had the presence of mind to write her recipe down, but this is it, to the best of my recollection.  It’s a little unorthodox in its measuring.  I know how to make it Mom’s way, with Mom’s utensils, and that’s the way I’m telling you now.

Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
2 serving spoons of mayonnaise; about 4 Tbs. I think – start with 3 and see how it goes
2 soup spoons of yellow mustard (the prepared kind, like French’s); about 2 Tbs. maybe – start with 1
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. or so of fresh ground black pepper
dash of seasoning salt (Bell’ Aroma, preferably)
a little finely chopped white onion
a little finely chopped dill pickle

To make:
1. Hard boil the eggs, about 7 minutes

2.  Cool them in cold water and then peel them.

3.  In a large bowl, mash the eggs with a potato masher.

4.  Mix in the mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, onions, and pickles.

Enjoy!

Oops?

I do not know what I was thinking when I wrote out the recipe for my Gluten-Free & Tasty Chocolate Chip Cookies.   The order was messed up and isn’t how I actually make them at all.  I tried to follow the recipe last week and ended up with flour EVERYWHERE.  I’m happy to say I’ve now edited the recipe to actually reflect the easiest, quickest way to make them.  Sheesh.

Sorry about that!

A note about gluten-free flour

Since I decided to cut my gluten intake the last year or so, I have been experimenting with different gluten-free flours for baking, and I can unequivocally state that I love brown rice flour and oat flour.  They seem to work for just about everything.  Rice flour is very similar to wheat in end product texture, while oat turns out a crispier result, making it perfect for cookies.  I often go half and half with rice and oat, and the flavor does not seem to suffer in the least, though I do find it better if I add a little extra sweetener when I use them (as opposed to wheat).  When it comes to breads, fava & garbanzo bean flour is an okay substitute for flavor, but the bread will be heavy and seems to take about twice as long to bake all the way through.  It doesn’t work for cookies well at all; it’s far too heavy and dry.  So all in all, I prefer to skip the fava flour in favor of one of the others.

Linguine with Everything

This is what I call a leftover pasta, because I make it at the end of the week  or on Monday, using the leftover ingredients of everything I made during the week.  If you have any portobello or white mushrooms, they make a great addition, as well.  All the amounts listed are really approximate.  Toss in whatever you’ve got; just use your own judgement.  You kinda can’t go wrong.  I only list the ingredients below because they’re what I usually have onhand, and I know they make a fantastic combination of flavors.

Ingredients:
5 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 package brocolli/cauliflower florets mix (about 1 c. brocolli, 1/2 – 1 c. cauliflower), rough chopped.
1/4 c. or so of julienned sundried tomatoes, rehydrated in just enough hot water to cover them.
1/2 c. or so (a big handful) of walnut pieces
1/4 c. or so mixed kalamata & green olives, pitted and chopped
a sprig or two of fresh sage, chopped
a sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 package linguini, cooked, or the previously cooked leftovers of whatever string pasta you have in the fridge (plain, with no sauce or topping)
feta cheese
parmesan cheese (optional)
fresh ground pepper

To make:
Heat  2 Tbs. of olive oil over medium heat.

Add the garlic and cauliflower and stir well, cooking until the cauliflower has a nice golden color, about 3 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

If you have mushrooms, toss ‘em in here. Stir well and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the sundried tomatoes and whatever water you rehydrated them in.  Stir well until heated.

Toss in the olives and walnuts.  Stir well until heated.

Toss in the brocolli and give it a good stir.  While it’s cooking, chop your herbs and toss those in.  Give everything a few good stirs while they cook another 3 minutes or so.

Crank the heat up to medium-high and throw in the pasta.

Add the rest of the  olive oil and keep everything moving until the pasta is heated through and it’s hot enough to make you happy, generally a good 5 minutes or so, depending on how hot you like it and how much pasta you just tossed in.

Crumble feta cheese over each individual serving and dust with fresh ground black pepper.  Now’s the time to add any parmesan you want. Mangia!

Artichoke Tapenade & Creamy Artichoke Spread

This is really only one and a half recipes, since the second one is really more a suggestion for awesomeness than what I’d call an actual recipe.  First, the tapenade.  It’s not a true tapenade, since it contains neither olives nor capers (tapenas being  the Provençal word for capers), but since I think of all minced vegetable spready things as tapenades, I’m calling it that anyway.  It’s a nice, light dish, low in calories and good for your heart (artichokes boost your HDL, which is the good cholesterol), so you can load up as much as you like.

Ingredients:
1-14 oz. can/jar/container artichoke hearts packed in water
1 clove garlic, pressed (or more, if you love garlic)
juice of one half lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 splash (about 2 teaspoons and no more than a Tablespoon) extra virgin olive oil

To make:
Toss it all in your food processor or blender (I recommend a food processor both for thorough mixing and ease in getting it out of the thing) and blend on pulse.

Voila! Scoop it out and use it with abandon.  I like it spread on water crackers, either by itself, mixed with a dab of sour cream, or best of all, the “recipe” below.

(Makes 8 oz.)

Now for the really, really good part, the Creamy Artichoke Spread.  I took this to a party and thought I’d be the only one eating it, because its not your usual spread, but it didn’t last long once people tried it.

Ingredients:
5 oz.  artichoke tapenade, prepared as above
1 package (about 5 oz.) Snøfrisk spreadable cheese

To make:
Put them both in a bowl and mix well.

That’s it.  And I defy you not to eat the entire thing all by yourself.   Snofrisk tastes kind weird on its own, but mix it with this tapenade, and it’s crack. No kidding.

So now you know one of my guilty pleasures.  Let’s keep it between us, shall we?

“Meaty” Vegetarian Chili

I love chili, and eating it without meat was sort of a let down for me, until it dawned on me that what I missed more than anything was the texture of ground beef or turkey in the chili.  Texture is easily addressed, but to be on the safe side, I add portobello mushrooms (a meat-loving vegetarian’s best friend) to give it a beefy flavor.  Here, then, is my recipe for “Meaty” Vegetarian Chili.  It’s really awesome reheated the next day, when the flavors have had time to sit and mingle overnight.

Ingredients:
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 large portobello mushrooms
1 small head of cauliflower (about 1-1.5 cups, chopped)
1 small head of broccoli (about 1-1.5 cups, chopped)
1-14 oz. can black beans
1-14 oz. can pinto beans
1-14 oz. can kidney beans
1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes (with seasoning, if you like)
3 Tbs. chili powder
2 Tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
a splash of water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
masa/cornmeal or flour, to thicken (optional)

To make:
Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic. Toast it for about a minute, stirring occasionally.

Chop and add the cauliflower, turning the heat back to medium-high.  I usually go with pieces about a dime to a nickle in size.  Stir occasionally while you’re dicing the portobellos.

Cut each mushroom cap in half and then slice each half into 1/4 inch thick slices. Roughly chop the slices and toss them into the pan.  Add the salt.  Give it a good stir and heat until the mushrooms are a rich brown, stirring occasionally so they brown evenly.

If you like your broccoli cooked well, chop it like you did the cauliflower and toss it in now.  Otherwise, wait until the last 5-10 minutes or so, turn the heat back up, and then stir it in.

Add the diced tomatoes, juice and all.  Give it a good stir.

Toss in the spices (except the salt, which you already added) and stir it all up well.

Rinse the beans and toss them in with a splash of water.  How much water depends on your preference for thick or thinner chili, but I’d say you should start with 1/4 cup.

Bring it to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

If you prefer your broccoli to be less wilted, bring up the heat and stir it in probably around 15 minutes in.  Stir often until the broccoli is as you like it, which will take somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes (for me, it’s 5).  You can’t really overcook this stuff, so don’t worry about how much longer it cooks.

If you think it’s too thin, toss in a few tablespoons or handfuls of masa and stir it in well, letting it cook for another minute or two.  Keep adding masa until it gets to a state you like, and then stop.

Serve it up in a bowl and top it with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chopped green onions (or go vegan and forgo the dairy), then ignore your spoon and use corn chips to eat it with.

Heaven on cold winter nights!

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato

The beefy flavor or portobello stands up well to the strong flavors of the stuffing ingredients in this recipe, and the end product is a taste explosion perfect for a light dinner (served with green salad) or an excellent side dish for a heartier meal.

Goat cheese gets kinda clumpy while it’s heating.  If you want to make life really easy on yourself, heat it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds in a glass mixing bowl or measuring cup before you stir it into the saucepan.  Or if you’re feeling particularly lazy and trying to avoid dirtying extra dishes, just slice it up before you add it to the pan.

Ingredients:
4 portobello mushroom caps (or 2 really large ones)
1/4 c. julienned sundried tomatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/4 c. chopped green & kalamata olives (I get the herbed pitted olive mix from Whole Foods)
5-6 oz. herbed goat cheese (I like Laura Chenel, but the Trader Joe’s brand isn’t bad either)
2-3 c. spinach leaves, chopped
seasoned bread crumbs (Italian)
extra virgin olive oil

To make:
Preheat the oven to 375.

Set the sundried tomatoes in just enough hot water to cover them and set them aside to soften.  (If you bought whole, dry, sundried tomatoes, use a pair of scissors to cut them into thin strips crosswise before you put them in water.)

Rinse the mushroom caps and trim the stem of each so that it is at least no higher than the ridge of the cap.  Using a soup or serving spoon, scrape the ribs out of the undersides of each cap, much as you would remove the seeds from inside a pumpkin.  You will have to be careful with the edge of the mushrooms, as they’re fairly fragile, and it’s best if you can keep the bowl shape of each.  Set the caps aside to dry.

In a sauce pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and then press a clove or two of garlic in and turn the heat down to medium while the garlic toasts, about 60 seconds.  Give it a good stir or two so the garlic heats evenly and doesn’t burn.

Add the chopped walnuts, turn it back up to medium-high, and give it a few more good stirs while the walnuts toast, about 3 minutes.

Add the sundried tomatoes and stir it again.  If you didn’t use much water to soften the tomatoes, they will have absorbed most of it.  It’s okay if there’s a tablespoon or two still in the dish.  Pour it all into the saucepan.

Chop the olives and toss those in.  Give it all a good stir and let it heat up.

Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the goat cheese.  Keep stirring while the goat cheese melts.  You do not want it to bubble or burn.

Throw the chopped spinach leaves into the pan and cover the whole thing with a lid.  Keep an eye on it; when the spinach wilts but is still bright green, give everything a good stir to mix it all well and turn off the burner or turn it down to low.

Give the tops of the mushroom caps a light coating of olive oil.  Spoon the goat cheese stuffing mixture into each cap and set them top down (so that the stuffed insides are facing you) in a glass baking dish.

Top each cap with a tablespoon or 2 (or 3, if like me, you really love breadcrumbs) of breadcrumbs.

Add a splash or two of water to the bottom of the baking dish so it won’t break from the liquid in the mushrooms when it gets hot.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft, which should not take longer than maybe 30 minutes, if your oven temperature is at least in the ballpark.

Serve it up with a nice tossed salad and some crusty bread and enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Treats

My dogs love cookies, but Razzle has recently developed allergies and is on a restricted, limited-ingredient diet.  Since I think cookies made out of the same food you eat for every meal is boring as all get out, I made these for him.  They have the same grain (oats) as his food does, and the only protein source is egg (as opposed to chicken), so hopefully they won’t trigger his allergies.  They’re made with all-natural peanut butter, because that has no added sugar and a  lot less salt than homogenized butters like Jif or Skippy have.  Both the dogs love them.

Ingredients:
3 bananas
3 large eggs
1/2 c. all-natural peanut butter
1/2 c. yogurt
1/4 c. olive oil
3 c. rolled oats (not instant)
1-1/4 c. oat flour

To make:
Preheat oven to 325.

Mash the bananas with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl.

Add everything else but the flour and mix well.

Gradually add in the flour in small batches, mixing it in as you go.

Line a cookie sheet, square cake pan or rectangular casserole dish with parchment paper and spoon some of the mixture into the dish.  Sprinkle it with a little extra oat flour and then press out the dough until the bottom of the pan is covered with a layer of dough 1/4″ thick.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour, until the dough pulls away from the sides and is dark golden brown (or brown) and does not easily give when you press on it*.  Slide out of the pan and cut immediately into 1×1″ squares**.  Let cool.

If you find when the squares cool that they aren’t crunchy enough (no one wants oatmeal stuck to their dog’s teeth and gums – it fosters decay), just put them back in the pan and bake for another 30 minutes or so.

Let cool and place in a loosely covered canister.  If you don’t feed cookies often in your house, you should probably freeze some and store the rest in the refrigerator.  The lifespan of a container of dog cookies in this house is about 3 days, so I just use an old dog treat jar to store mine and leave them with the dog food on the shelf.  Feed in place of your dog’s regular cookies.

* I don’t go for a softer cookie with these because they’d really glom onto the dogs’ gums and teeth, which is bad.

** You can cut them whatever size you like.  I go for a smaller, bite-size cookie, but if you have big dogs, 2×2″ is also a good choice.