Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchilada Stacks

Back when I first learned how to make tamales, I bought a bag of masa. After using a few cups to make the tamales, I had a giant bag left over, and no idea what to do with it. That was when I discovered that corn tortillas are made with masa. It was one of those "wow, ash...." moments I'd rather not admit happened. My bag of masa was about $3, and could make hundreds of fresh tortillas, so I did a little cost analysis and figured that it was no longer worth it to spend $1 on a bag of corn tortillas, I just HAD to buy a tortilla press and make them from now on. I also had another ulterior motive, my husband doesn't love corn tortillas, but tolerates them. I think they're so much better than flour, they have more substance to them, and hold up much better when baked. So now there is no reason to buy flour tortillas when we have pounds of masa on hand. 

When I saw this recipe on Bridget's blog, I immediately starred it for future dinner use. But as I do with any enchilada recipe these days, I knew I'd be converting it to a stack. Our tortillas press makes tiny little tortillas, and after we are close to perfecting them, but not just yet so sometimes they're not malleable enough for rolling. Rather than end up crying over split enchilada rolls, I make stacks. Some things just aren't worth fighting!

These stacks were absolutely delicious. Roasting the zucchini ahead of time ensures a non-watery end product, the goat cheese is creamy and cuts some of the heat and spice from the sauce. And no dinner is complete these days without a CSA veggie, so I used a bunch of chopped cilantro in place of the avocado Bridget served her enchiladas with. I also used a mole sauce rather than an enchilada sauce, you can find the enchilada sauce at Briget's blog, or the mole sauce here, from my blog (it's a bit more labor intensive, but I had been wanting to make a big batch anyway).

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchilada Stacks

from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Enchiladas:

3 zucchini, cut into 1/4" dice

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

zest from 1 lemon

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 c. cooked black beans (I cook dried black beans, you can use canned)

5 oz. goat cheese, divided

12 corn tortillas 

Sauce recipes:

Enchilada Sauce

Dark Chocolate Mole Sauce

Heat oven to 450*
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss zucchini, onion, olive oil, zest and salt.
Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 350*
Combine zucchini, black beans and 4 oz. goat cheese in a mixing bowl, carefully mix.
Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
Layer in tortillas, filling and sauce.
Crumble remaining goat cheese on the top, bake for 20 minutes, until browned and bubbly.
Serve with chopped cilantro.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili

I'm probably breaking some sort of rule by posting a fall-ish recipe in August, but isn't it what bloggers do? Or better yet, isn't it what Floridians do? By August, I am so sick of the 90*+ days that all I can do is dream of cool fall days back in the midwest with Football, crisp apples, and my favorite sweater...

I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes and black beans, but it can get awfully starchy. Butternut squash and pumpkin make nice substitutes while lowering the carb and calorie count of a dish. This chili combines a few of the best late summer veggies with the best fall has to offer, pumpkin and pumpkin beer!

As you northerners start to feel fall creeping in, enjoy this dish while I stubbornly sweat in eternal summer eating my chili!

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

adapted from Crumb blog

2 tbsp. EVOO

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

Salt and pepper

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cumin

8 oz. pumpkin beer, such as Harvest Moon

1 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1 15 oz. can solid packed pumpkin

1 28 oz. can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 c. vegetable stock

2 c.black beans (canned or dried and cooked)

1 c. frozen corn kernels

Heat a soup pot over medium-low, add EVOO and bring to temperature.

Chop and add onions, garlic and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper. 

When veggies have softened, add spices, pour in beer and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up bits with a wooden spoon. 

Turn heat to high, add maple syrup, pumpkin, tomatoes and stock.

Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low and add black beans and corn.

Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings.

Top with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, or any of your favorite chili toppings. 

Tex-Mex Pizza with Poblano Ricotta

Like most people, pizza is one of my absolute favorite foods. I could eat it cold for breakfast and lunch, and hot and crispy for dinner every day. My only dilemma with pizza is finding vegetarian proteins to add. I tend to make an awful lot of tempeh-bacon and pineapple pizza, but occasionally I'm in the mood to switch it up. 

As I sorted through my fridge last Friday night (the eve of grocery shopping), I had just a few options for dinner vegetables: poblanos and cherry tomatoes. I though about making a poblano pesto pizza, but found some ricotta and decided to whirl it up as the base. I love the occasional white pizza with gobs of creamy ricotta! I thought the creamy ricotta paired with the spicy peppers, acidic tomatoes, and earthy beans would make for an interesting (and hopefully delicious!) pizza. 

While it's incredibly nontraditional, it was so delicious. I was eating spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture while I made the dough, something I'll have to revisit for another recipe soon! 

Tex-Mex Pizza with Poblano Ricotta

Whole wheat pizza crust:

1 packet fast acting yeast

1 tbsp. honey

3/4 cup warm water

2 c. white wheat flour (or 1 c. whole wheat pastry and 1 c. unbleached all purpose)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. EVOO

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a standing mixer with the dough hook on, add water, honey and yeast, stir to combine, set aside for 10 minutes.

Add flour, salt, and EVOO.

Turn on low and begin to mix. Add more flour as necessary if dough is too sticky, or 1 tsp. water if it's too dry. 

Knead for 5 minutes, roll into a ball, set into the bottom of the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel.

Poblano Ricotta:

3 large poblano peppers

1 c. part skim ricotta

1 tbsp. cilantro

Salt and pepper

Halve poblanos and place on a lined sheet pan. 

Place under the broiler, and broil until skin is black and charred, about 8-10 minutes.

Cool, peel off charred skin.

Add poblanos, ricotta, cilantro, salt and pepper to a blender and blend on high until mixture is creamy and smooth.

Prepare remaining pizza ingredients:

1 c. black beans, drained and rinsed

2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

1/4 red onion, sliced

1 c. halved cherry tomatoes

Preheat oven to 425* and warm pizza stone (or place a metal pizza sheet pan in the oven to get very hot)

Roll out pizza dough into a circle, place on a piece of parchment.

Slather on ricotta mixture, top with cheese, beans, onions and tomatoes.

Place in the oven on stone or cookie sheet, bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp on the bottom and cheese is melted and browning on top.

Tropical Chop Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

Every time I log on to Facebook,and especially when I talk to my sister in Cleveland, I'm hearing about how Fall has hit Ohio. I get it, you can drink a hot Pumpkin Spice Latte while wearing a sweater. But I'm not jealous. Yet, anyway. 

As far as I'm concerned, summer can stay for another month or two as long as the produce keeps coming! See, when I was pregnant, vegetables hated me. I still loved them, and when I was stupid, I'd eat them, but inevitably I'd be sick for hours or even days.  I'm finally able to go to the Farmer's Market every Saturday and buy more than peaches and watermelon (though those were my #1 craving), I'm buying peppers, cucumbers, beets, squash, and above all, fresh, sweet, delicious tomatoes! 

This past weekend, I went nuts buying up produce. When I got home, I decided to throw a random bunch of my finds together into a salad. Once I had the peppers and tomato chopped, I decided to add some black beans I had in the fridge, and take it in a different direction. At first, Tex-Mex seemed to be the way to go, but then I decided to add some fruit for the sweet-savory combo I love, and finally I had a bunch of cilantro that needed to be used up. This salad just happened by chance, but was absolutely delicious! 

Tropical Chop Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

Salad:

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 heirloom tomato, seeded and diced

2 c. black beans (I used cooked, dried, but canned is fine too)

1 c. chopped pineapple

1 star fruit, sliced

Vinaigrette:

2 c. cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/4 c. EVOO

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. honey 

1 tbsp. pineapple juice

Add all salad ingredients except star fruit to a bowl, line with star fruit.

Add all vinaigrette ingredients to a blender, puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve salad with vinaigrette on the side. 

Pumpkin, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tamales

Back in November, I had an urge to make tamales after finding an Eating Well recipe that looked delicious.  I went to several grocery stores over the course of three weeks before I finally found dried corn husks, and then Thanksgiving came, and then the pregnancy made me so sick I took a month off from cooking. While cleaning out the pantry last weekend, I found the corn husks smashed in the back behind a sack of flour, and immediately decided the tamales had to be made!

I knew that because of the steps in the recipe, the assembling of each tamale and cooking time, it would be an all day affair. I followed the recipe exactly as written, only substituting a 15 oz. can of solid pack pumpkin for the frozen squash. In the end, I had close to 30 tamales, with extra filling and masa leftover, so I think this recipe could easily be halved if you are aiming to make 16 tamales. Also, I stuffed my tamales a little full, so I double wrapped each one, I also didn't tie them closed, just packed them snugly so they remained wrapped well. I chose to serve my tamales with guacamole, but you can serve them plain or with sour cream, queso or scrambled eggs, a traditional side.

As I was documenting the tamale making, something tragic happened... my camera fell off the kitchen table and now the lens is stuck. I'm hoping it won't be too costly to repair, but this means I'm back to the kodak easy share point and shoot from the early college years. If I wasn't so eager to blog the awesome recipes I have coming up, I'd hold off, but I'll do my best!

Pumpkin, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tamales

from Eating Well

4 oz. dried corn husks - This was about 50 of different shapes and sizes

Batter:
1 3/4 c. masa
1 1/4 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. part skim ricotta
1/4 c. canola oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 c. grits or cornmeal
1/2-3/4 c. vegetable stock

Filling:
1 15 oz. can solid pack pumpkin puree
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained or 2 c. cooked and chilled
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles, drained
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. crumbed goat cheese

For serving:
Guacamole and lime wedges

Preparation:
Place corn husks in a bowl, fill with hot water and soak for 30 minutes, loosely separating them

Prepare Batter: Put masa and water in a large bowl, stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms (I added another 1/2 c. water as I used instant masa). In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat ricotta, oil, baking powder and salt. Beat in grits/cornmeal, then add masa mixture until incorporated, add stock until batter is smooth and spreadable, but not runny.

Prepare filling: Pour pumpkin into a strainer and set to drain, gently pressing to release water. Pour into a bowl, add black beans and drained chiles, stir and season with salt.

Assemble tamales: Drain water from husks, gently pat dry with a towel. Place a steamer basket in a large pot, fill with water just to the stop of the steamer. Spread 1/3 c. masa into the center of the husk, spoon 2 tbsp. filling in and sprinkle with goat cheese, fold the sides in then roll from the bottom. Place the tamale seam side down into the steamer basket, repeat with remaining husks.

Cover the pot and place on a burner over high, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Set a kitchen timer for 60 minutes, and check tamales for water often. (I refilled my water 2 times to make sure there was always enough).
Use tongs to remove from the pot, masa should be firm and pulling away from husks.
Serve with guacamole, if desired.
Store leftover tamales in a tupperware still in husks. To reheat, steam for 10 minutes.
Leftovers are good for 2-3 days.

L - Masa, R - Filling, C - Goat Cheese 

Note: I used an offset icing spatula for spreading masa

Corn husks and steamer

Filling a tamale

Cooked tamales, still in husks. Tying a knot to hold them together is optional if wrapped tightly.

Vegetarian Cubana

Two weeks ago, my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate with some friends; their engagement and our pregnancy. Since they live in Daytona, we decided to meet in St. Augustine for dinner. My husband was born and raised in St. Augustine, and knows the restaurants well, so we had a hard time deciding where to go. We finally settled on The Columbia. We had an absolutely delicious meal, and I am hoping we can make it back there again soon! They specialize in Spanish, Cuban, and Mexican food, and since we're in Florida, the seafood is top notch. We each ordered something different: the paella, ropa vieja, mariscos diablo (spicy pasta dish with the entire ocean of seafood), and the vegetarian cubana.

The Vegetarian Cubana was simply listed as yucca, black beans, rice, plantains and sauteed fresh vegetables. It wasn't as intriguing as the other vegetarian dishes, but it had all of my favorite ingredients, and I knew The Columbia would put their twist on it. The meal was a bed of soft white rice topped with simply seasoned, tender black beans, two tostones, two maduros, a piece of steamed yucca topped with a spicy tomato relish, sauteed snap peas with strips of bell pepper, and the dish was sprinkled with diced raw onion. Though each element wasn't very complex, when it was all together it made a complete, delicious meal. Each individual component was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and complimentary of one another. 

I couldn't get the meal out of my head since we left the restaurant, and knew I'd have to recreate it at home. After all, it costs only pennies to make (but wasn't too expensive at $16.95 in the upscale-restaurant). While I loved the yucca and two kinds of plantains, I decided to skip them this time to make this meal weeknight-friendly with less cooking time and preparation. A few other options are to make your rice ahead of time (I prefer brown rice, which takes 30 minutes to cook, sometimes I make a big batch on the weekends) and to use your slow cooker to make beans (dried beans are cheaper and cans don't contain BPA, organic is easily available as well!). 

While scouring recipes for tostones and maduros, I found there were no baked versions, but I was determined to not fry them. If you'd like to see authentic fried tostones, I've made them here. Instead I opted for Maduros made in the oven in a foil packet, they still caramelized and were tender and sweet with a crisp coating, very similar to the fried version and my new go-to for plantains! I hope you try this meal out and enjoy it, it's simple but fancy-looking and absolutely delicious!

 Vegetarian Cubana

black beans, rice, roasted maduros, vegetable saute'   

2/3 c. brown rice blend

1 1/3 c. water or vegetable stock

2 c. black beans (or 1 15 oz. can drained)

1/2 c. water or vegetable stock

2 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

Salt

2 very ripe plantains

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 tsp. turbinado sugar

2 c. sugar snap peas

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in thin strips

1 tsp. EVOO

1 tsp. adobo seasoning or chili powder

Salt and pepper

Diced raw onion, if desired

Preheat oven to 425*

In a small stock pot, bring water to a boil, add rice and turn to simmer.

Cook covered for 30 minutes, or how long package directs.

In another small stock pot, bring beans, water, garlic, bay and salt to a boil.

Turn to low and simmer uncovered while rice cooks.

Place a piece of foil on a sheet pan. 

Peel plantains and cut 1" rounds on a bias.

Place on half the foil, drizzle with EVOO and sugar, toss to coat.

Bring the other half of the foil over and pinch closed, making a packet.

Place in the oven, bake for 15 minutes, open, flip and close, baking for another 10 minutes.

Heat a saute' pan over medium heat, add EVOO, snap peas, peppers and adobo.

Toss and cook for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are just softened. 

Plate rice, top with black beans, arrange plantains and snap peas on the side and sprinkle the dish with raw onion. 

Four Bean Veggie Burgers

As I mentioned in the previous post, I used the Red Pepper Relish to top Four Bean Veggie Burgers. While I'm generally happy to spend hours in the kitchen on the weekends, weeknights are another story. I try to do as much over the weekend to prep for the week ahead, like making pizza dough, sauces, roasting or cooking double or triple batches of dried beans and grains. 

One of the last convenience food items I've been working to completely eliminate from my freezer is veggie burgers. While I'm sure there are some 100% natural and organic products out there, they're probably quite expensive! However, many other veggie burgers contain a huge list of ingredients, and I don't know what half of them are. I've also read in Prevention, Health, and other magazines to stay away from processed soy, a key ingredient in many commercial veggie burgers. On the rare occasion that I purchase veggie burgers, I lean toward the bean based, and scan the ingredient lists for the most real food ingredients.

For the past few weeks, I've been craving a big, fat, juicy veggie burger. I didn't want a specific bean burger, and I wanted it to be healthy and homemade, so I went with a mixture of vegetables and beans. I decided to make a huge batch so I could keep these in the freezer to use at my convenience. These had great flavor and texture, they held together well, and have been the perfect base for several topping variations. My favorite was this with red pepper relish and goat cheese. My husband's favorite was avocado, sprouts and cheddar  cheese.

This recipe relies heavily on a food processor to do all of the mincing. The recipe could be made without one, but you'd probably then want to grate your vegetables rather than mince with a knife.

Tips and Trades:

-I used dry, cooked beans, however you can use 1 can of each variety of beans listed in the recipe. Look for beans that say BPA free.

-If you're going to grill these burgers, freeze them first, then grill on a foil lined grill sprayed with nonstick spray.

-Wrap burgers in saran wrap, then place in a freezer safe storage bag or container. Burgers will keep for up to 3 months if wrapped well.

Four Bean Veggie Burgers

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 small yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

1 jalapeño

1/2 red bell pepper

2 medium carrots

Salt and pepper

1 dozen kalamata olives

1/4 c. water chestnuts

1/4 c. parsley

2 c. kidney beans

2 c. garbanzo beans

2 c. cannelini beans 

2 c. black beans

1 c. rolled oats

1/4-1/2 c. bread crumbs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. Mexican chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. Sriracha 

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Heat a skillet over medium, add EVOO.

Peel and chunk onion, garlic, jalapeño, bell pepper and carrots.

Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade.

Pulse and run until vegetables are in a fine mince.

Add to skillet, season with salt and pepper, sauté for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender and moisture is cooked out. 

Set skillet aside and allow vegetables to cool.

Place olives, water chestnuts and parsley in the food processor, pulse to a mince.

Dump into a very large mixing bowl.

Add 1 c. of each variety of beans to the food processor along with eggs.

Run food processor until beans are pureed, spoon into mixing bowl.

Add remaining beans to the food processor, pulse 10 times, until beans are just broken up, dump in the mixing bowl.

Place oats in the food processor, pulse 10 times, dump into the mixing bowl.

Add Italian seasoning, chili powder, cumin, Sriracha, soy sauce, mustard and 1/4 c. bread crumb to the mixing bowl.

Add cooled vegetables to the mixing bowl. 

Using hands or a large wooden spoon, mix very well to evenly distribute all ingredients.

Taste (if you don't mind the raw egg) and adjust seasonings, there's a good chance it will need more salt and pepper, but feel free to add Sriracha, mustard, etc.

Place mixture in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1-2 hours to firm up.

If the mixture seems too wet, add more breadcrumbs.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. 

Score bowl into 4 sections, out of each section form 3 patties, yielding 12 patties total.

Place on the baking sheet and into the freezer. 

Freeze for 4-6 hours, then wrap each patty very well in saran wrap, then stack in a freezer safe storage container or bag.

To cook, grill on foil spray with nonstick spray for 8 minutes per side, bake at 400* for 30 minutes, or sauté in a skillet until heated through. 

Black Bean and Plantain Patties with Peach Salsa

We consume beans often in our home, they're so versatile and of course, are a pantry staple for most people. Even though I can get a can of organic beans at Whole Foods for $1, buying a bag and cooking them myself is much cheaper... we're talking pennies! At least every other weekend I try to buy a bag of organic (and Fair Trade, if possible) beans and cook them in the crock-pot for a few hours. Then I store them in little zip-lock freezer bags (which I re-use when I cycle them in and out!) and have little bags of cooked beans at my disposal. Not only does this cost less, but it also means my waste is one plastic bag rather than 4-5 aluminum cans per week. 

Usually I under cook my beans just a bit because when I use them later on, they are re-cooked and I don't like mushy beans. The only time this plan backfires on me is when I make bean patties or burgers. When I made these patties, the beans were a bit al dente, and were probably the reason they didn't stick together quite as well as I had hoped. 

I changed the recipe a bit from the original, which I found on Two Blue Lemons. It is suggested you use a ripe plantain, but I recommend using overly ripe plantains. I took half of my large plantain and mashed it to help work as a binder in this vegan recipe. Then I diced the rest so there would still be nice chunks of plantain strewn through the patties. I dredged the patties in a tiny bit of cornmeal to add a crunchy crust. Finally, because peaches and on their way out of season, I made a fresh peach salsa rather than an avocado one as the recipe is written. 

Though the patties did hold together, I would make one change for the future, and I do plan to make these again! As I do with many bean patties, I would puree half the beans completely and mix them with the mashed plantain, then fold in the diced plantain chunks and whole beans. 

VBS Tips and Trades:

-One of the additional reasons I do not buy canned beans is because of the BPA threat, a toxic chemical in plastics #7 and some canned foods. BPA keeps the can's lining from breaking down. Many companies are making an effort to get rid of BPA, including Eden Organic. The most common canned item containing BPA is tomatoes. It's best to choose glass or tetra-pack (these, for example)  

-When choosing your plantains, look for ripe ones that have many black spots and look overly-ripe. If they're green at all, the plantains will be hard to peel, and won't be mash-able. 

Plantain and Black Bean Patties

adapted from Two Blue Lemons

Patties:

2 c. black beans or 1 15. oz can drained and rinsed

1 plantain, 1/2 c. mashed, 1/2 c. finely diced

1/4 c. minced red onion

1/4 c. minced cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. corriander

Salt and pepper

1/4 c. cornmeal

Peach Salsa:

1 large peach, washed, pitted and finely diced

2 tbsp. minced red onion

2 tbsp. minced cilantro

1/2 c. finely diced tomato

Juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeño, finely minced

Salt and pepper

Add half of the beans and half of the plantain to a food processor, puree.

Pour into a mixing bowl, add remaining black beans, plantain, red onion, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, cumin, cayenne, coriander, salt and pepper. 

Chill for 10 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, toss together salsa ingredients, place in the refrigerator.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Spray a small, round, flat dish (or a burger patty maker) with nonstick spray, dust with cornmeal, spoon 3/4 c. of mixture in and form into a patty. 

Place on the skillet, repeat to form about 4 patties.

Cook for 5 minutes, check for a deep golden crust, carefully flip and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.

Plate, serve with peach salsa and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro. 

Mayan Harvest Bake, Take II

Almost a year ago, I posted my recreation of a delicious Kashi frozen dinner entrée. Since then, that post has generated more traffic and questions that any other (except maybe my sugar cookies and twilight cake. which, by the way, happy eclipse premiere night, twi-hards!!!)

I think I did a good job at recreating it, but it could have been better. Starting with the bottom layer, which is a 7-grain Kashi polenta, but I used quinoa. This time around, I decided to make a 3-grain polenta because I wasn't able to find the Kashi 7-grain mix in the grocery store. Next, I roasted my sweet potatoes and plantains separately so they cooked through (some people mentioned problems with undercooked potatoes). Finally, I made my sauce a bit saucier, and topped it with pepitas, as Kashi does. 

I think this version is much closer to the original, but either one is absolutely delicious! 

Mayan Harvest Bake, Take II

Serves 2 generous portions

polenta base:

1/4 c. quinoa, rinsed

1/4 c. bulgur wheat

1/2 c. polenta or grits

3 c. vegetable stock

sauce:

1 tbsp. EVOO

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tbsp. ancho chile powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground corriander

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 c. (or more) vegetable stock

1 medium sweet potato, washed and scrubbed, diced 

1 large plantain, sliced in 1/2" thickness on a bias

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 c. chopped kale

2 tbsp. pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

Preheat oven to 400*

Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with nonstick spray.

Add potato cubes and plantain disks in a single layer, top with another piece of foil to create a packet.

Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.

In a small stockpot over medium, add the oil, garlic and onions.

Season with salt and pepper, cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer, to turn low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally.

In another pot, bring stock to a boil.

Add quinoa, bulgur and polenta, whisking while they're added.

Turn to medium-low and simmer, covered.

Every 2-3 minutes, remove the lid and stir the mixture, cook for 20 minutes, or until thickened.

(If it's still too watery, leave lid off and reduce for an additional 5 minutes, it just depends on the polenta you use)

Place sauce mixture in a blender and puree, if desired.

Pour polenta into a casserole dish, top with kale, black beans, sweet potatoes, plantains, sauce and pepitas. 

Place in the 400* oven and cook for 10 minutes, to warm through and slightly wilt kale.

Serve with additional sauce, if desired.

Succotash Salad with Black Bean-Squash Patties

I typically do my grocery shopping on Saturday afternoons, so Saturday at lunch I try to do a clean out the fridge lunch. I hate to bring home groceries when there's anything in the fridge because I like to start the week with a clean slate, and make sure I don't throw away anything. The only things left in there when I head out to the store are condiments. 

This blog is starting to sound more like therapy and confessions each day, huh? 

So anyway... while cleaning out the fridge on a Saturday afternoon, I came across a few ears of corn (because now it's on sale 10/$2!), tomatoes from the garden, haricots verts, a couple small summer squash, and half a log of goat cheese. I decided to make a random succotash type salad and top it with bean cakes. The meal was a definite winner. Not only did it clean out the fridge, but it's healthy, filling, and fresh. 

Succotash Salad with Black Bean-Squash Patties

Salad:

2 ears of corn, husked

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 lb. haricots verts, trimmed and cut in 1" segments

Dressing:

1 shallot, minced

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

1 lime, juiced

1 tbsp. honey  

2 tbsp. EVOO

Salt and pepper

Black Bean Patties:

1 c. summer squash, finely diced

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c. oatmeal, ground (or breadcrumbs)

1 egg white, beaten

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper

Accompaniments:

2 oz. crumbled goat cheese

Torn cilantro leaves

Clean corn cobs of strings, cut off kernels.

Bring 2" of water to a boil in a pot, add haricots verts and corn kernels, boil for 1 minute, drain and set aside.

Heat a griddle over medium.

In a large mixing bowl, combine squash, black beans, ground oats, egg whites, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, mash together with a fork to break up beans.

Use a spatula and divide mixture into patties (I made 5, pictured 3) and place on the griddle. 

Cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add all dressing ingredients to the serving dish, whisk together.

Add corn, haricots verts, and tomatoes. Gently toss to mix in dressing.

Top with squash patties, crumbled goat cheese and cilantro. 

Huevos Rancheros with The Works

So I could lie to you and tell you I made these Huevos Rancheros just for Cinco de Mayo...but I didn't. I happened to see this method of cooking the eggs directly on the tortilla on smitten kitchen, and thought it was so fun. I decided that it made the dish a bit more interesting, and worthy of being served at brunch for the family.  

When it comes to breakfast, or brunch, I'm generally not a big fan of making it a to-do. I eat my oatmeal every morning, and go about my day. I don't like heavy things or sweet things in the morning, so when I make a brunch, I tend to make something savory. These eggs were just that, hearty but still light enough that I didn't want to go back to sleep! 

I used my recipe for Will's Guatemalan Black Beans to serve alongside the eggs, and then made a roasted tomatillo salsa and a pico de gallo. To round out the meal, I served fruit salad and, because I aim to please and know that some people do like sweets with brunch, I made Mexican Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls, which will be my next post!

Huevos Rancheros with Will's Guatemelan Black Beans, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, and Pico de Gallo

Huevos Rancheros:

1 dozen eggs

12 corn totillas

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Salt and pepper

Tobasco sauce

Heat a griddle over medium, lay tortillas on the surface, do not overlap, you may have to work in batches.

Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, crack an egg on top, season with salt, pepper and tobasco.

Cover, cook for 4-5 minutes, until set on top.

Flip and cook to desired doneness.

Lay on a baking sheet, cover in foil, and keep warm in the oven at 200 degrees while you make the others.

Will's Guatemalan Black Beans:

1 lb. bag organic dried black beans

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

A heavy sprinkle of kosher salt

Soak the beans for the day so they soften up and cook faster.

Drain the water from the beans, and put them in a heavy bottomed pot.

Add fresh water to just cover the beans, as well as the minced onion and garlic.

Cook for 4 hours or more over low heat, gently stirring occasionally.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa:

2 lbs. tomatillos, husked, washed and quartered

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, smashed

Salt and pepper

1 cup cilantro

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 tbsp. Honey

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Add tomatillos, japaleno, onion and garlic to a foil lined baking sheet.

Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 15 minutes, remove and cool to room temperature.

Add to a food processor with cilantro, lime zest and juice and honey.

Pulse to desired consistency, serve at room temperature or refrigerate until using.

Pico de Gallo:

Pico de Gallo:

2 lbs. tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to a bowl, toss, taste and adjust seasonings.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tex-Mex Squash and Bean Bowl

For dinner tonight, I was once again faced with my remaining 3 lbs. of butternut squash. I decided to make a big bowl of comfort, using some pantry items, and combining some new flavors. Organic canned beans were on sale at Whole Foods, so I really stocked up. I thought black beans seemed to pair the best with Butternut. I also had an avocado and queso fresco, so Tex-Mex seemed to be the way to go! This dish was so filling (I assume this is because the squash and beans are so high in fiber), but it was also full of flavor, and very healthy.

Tex-Mex Squash and Bean Bowl

3 cups diced butternut squash

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 tbsp. light brown sugar

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. chili powder or adobo sauce

1 15 oz. can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1 Avocado, sliced

1/2 cup crumbled Queso Fresco (or Monterey Jack, Goat Cheese, anything you have on hand!)

Tobasco sauce

Chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

Add squash, oil, sugar, salt, pepper and chili powder. Toss to coat.

Roast for 25-30 minutes, until squash is caramelized.

Add beans to a soup pot with 1/2 cup water or stock.

Season with cumin and salt.

Bring to a simmer over low heat.

When squash is cooked, remove from the oven and plate.

Squeeze lime juice into beans, then spoon over squash.

Top with avocado, cheese, cilantro and hot sauce.

Six Bean Chili with Cilantro-Lime Cream

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love everything about it, the beautiful changing leaves, the crisp, cool air, the flavors of pumpkin, apple, and squash, and football!

It appears as though everyone is feeling the change except for me... because I live in Florida now. While some are now experiencing highs in the 70's, it's still 80 degrees and humid when I head out for my morning run. So rather than sit and wait for fall to come to me, I'm going to force it. How might I do that? By making a big pot of chili. And later this week, apple-maple sausage and pumpkin pancakes. I may not having changing leaves and pumpkin patches, but ask me how much I like Florida in January when I'm wearing flip flops and friends in Indiana are in snow pants!

About the chili.... I love a variety of beans and peppers in my chili, so used that as a base. To add some fun, tex-mex flavor, I spiked the chili with a bottle of Corona and topped it with a cilantro-lime sour cream. This chili was very bright and fresh tasting, still reminiscent of summer, but hearty and warm for anyone who really is experiencing fall-like weather, and wants a warm bowl of something!

Six Bean Chili with Cilantro-Lime Cream

Chili:

1 small red onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 bottle of beer (I used coronoa)

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained

1 15 oz. can light red kidney beans, drained

1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained

1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained

1 15 oz. can lentils, drained

1 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. dark chili powder

1 tsp. corriander

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne powder

Cilantro-Lime Cream:

8 oz. light sour cream

1/4 c. cilantro leaves

1 lime, zested and juiced

Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat.

Add 1 tbsp. EVOO, onion, garlic and peppers.

Saute' for 5 minutes, or until a bit soft.

Add beer, cook off half the liquid.

Add remaining chili ingredients, stir to combine, turn to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Add vegetable stock if chili is too thick or cook off liquid to reduce if too watery.

Add all cream ingredients to a blender, puree until well mixed.

Keep chilled.

Ladle chili into a bowl, top with cilantro-lime cream.

Mock Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake

***This recipe has had a re-do, visit this post to see my second attempt at Mayan Harvest Bake***

About two months ago, Kashi was offering coupons to try one of their frozen dinners for free, so I signed up. I got a coupon for a free Kashi frozen entree about 2 weeks ago. I looked at what they had at Kroger, and chose the Mayan Harvest Bake. It sounded like many of my favorite ingredients in one dish, and it was free!

This was hands down the best frozen dinner I've ever had. It tasted fresh, healthy, and delicious! The flavor combinations were very innovative and I just kept thinking about it over and over. I decided to try to recreate it at home and make it for dinner this week.

I might go back and make a few changes, but it was a very close replica. Next time I might pan fry the plantains as well as make the sauce a little more saucy (with more veggie stock), it was pretty thick. I used quinoa rather than the seven grain polenta, and it made it a little more dry, but I did like the quinoa.

Mock Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake

1 c. prepared quinoa

1 15 oz. can organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 plantain, sliced into long planks

4 c. kale, chopped

1/4 c. pepitas (I only had almonds, but Kashi used pepitas)

ancho chili sauce:

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 c. tomato puree

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. ancho chili powder

1 tbsp. sugar in the raw

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1/4-1/2 c. vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Puree onions and garlic in a blender with stock.

Add tomato puree, tomato paste, onion puree, sugar and spices to a small soup pot.

Heat over medium for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Scatter sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment, roast for 15 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium, add chopped kale, a few tbsp. of water and a sprinkle of salt.

Wilt down and toss for 5-10 minutes.

Spread prepared quinoa in a baking dish, top evenly with black beans.

Top with cooked kale and sliced plantains.

Take potatoes out of the oven, scatter around baking dish.

Top entire casserole with sauce.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Sprinkle with pepitas.

A Year Ago: How to make/cut/color fondant (a tutorial), Vanilla cupcakes with honey buttercream

Vegetarian Fajita Pasta

For dinner last night, I wanted to make my dad and I some pasta to carbo-load for the big race. Really, I didn't need to, but he did I guess :)
I created this dish months ago, and I love it. I knew dad would love it too because he loves veggies, especially zucchini and spicy things. He's pescetarian though, so I subbed black beans for the ground turkey, and I added a few extra spices!

Vegetarian Fajita Pasta

Makes 4 servings

1 lb. Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne

2 cloves minced garlic

1 red onion, sliced

8 oz. sliced button mushrooms

1 zucchini, sliced

2 red bell peppers, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 jalapeno, sliced

Salt and Pepper

1 15 oz. can organic tomato sauce

1 15 oz. can organic black beans, drained

2 tsp. Dark Chili Powder

2 tbsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 c. 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped cilantro, Sour Cream or Guacamole for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt heavily, cook pasta until al dente. Drain.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high, add mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, onion, and garlic. Sautee veggies for 10-15 minutes, until they’re tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes, black beans, spices and pasta. Stir to combine.

Pour into a casserole dish.

Bake for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and pasta is bubbly.

Plate and serve with garnishes.

A Year Ago: Tax Day Adding Machine Cake, TWD Chocolate Marshmallows

Black Beans and Rice Stuffed Poblanos & Creamy Corn and Avocado Salad

I haven't made any tex-mex food lately, and I had a craving. I saw some gorgeous poblanos at Kroger, so I decided to make stuffed poblanos. Again, keeping it vegetarian, I stuffed them with a black beans and rice mixture. Since the poblanos and rice had a kick, I served a cool corn and avocado salad on the side. This dinner is very healthy and flavorful!

Black Beans and Rice Stuffed Poblanos

and

Creamy Corn and Avocado Salad

Poblanos:

4 poblanos, 3 sliced lengthwise and gutted, 1 diced

3/4 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes (mine were chipotle lime flavored)

1 c. chicken stock

1 c. quick cooking rice

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

Dash of hot sauce

Salt and pepper

1 can black beans, drained

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Corn Salad:

1 c. frozen corn kernels, defrosted but cold

1 avocado, diced

1/4 red onion, minced

1 tbsp. minced cilantro

1/4 jalapeno, minced

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Place 3 of the peppers in a baking dish, put in the oven while you prepare rice.

In a pot over medium heat, add 1 tbsp. EVOO, red onion, garlic, 1 diced poblano, salt and pepper. Saute vegetables for a few minutes, until slightly softened.

Add tomatoes, stock, spices, and bring to a boil.

Add rice, stir, bring back to a boil, cover, turn to low and simmer 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked.

Stir in black beans.

Take poblanos out of the oven, spoon beans and rice mixture into pepper cups, top with cheddar cheese, place back in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and peppers are soft.

To make corn salad: Add corn, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, salt and pepper to a bowl. Mix well.

Add avocado, gently fold in avocado, do not break it up too much.

Keep chilled until serving.

A Year Ago:

This Argentinean dish is one of my favories of 2008 - Polenta Rellena con Jamon y Queso (Polenta with Ham and Cheese Filling)

And TWD Snickery Squares - these were also delicious!

Black Bean and Veggie Soup

All winter long, I like to cook soups and stews to warm us up and because they're so filling and I always seem hungrier in the winter. My husband loves having some kind of sandwich or dipper with his soup, so I did a tex mex soup and dipper tonight.

I have so many people ask me how I cook without recipes, and frankly, from when I was 16 until I was 21, I watched food network religiously, and saw many chefs prepare dishes with their own takes. I also discovered my favorite flavors and ingredients, and how to incorporate them into dishes.

So tonight I made a black bean soup for dinner with lots of veggies to bulk it up, and it had lots of spice and heat. Of course the recipe could be changed around and different veggies could be subbed in, but these are my favorites.

Black Bean and Veggie Soup

1 large red onion, grated

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 15 oz. can of black beans

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

2 c. chicken stock

1 tbsp. dark mexican chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. ancho chilie powder

salt and pepper

Sour cream for topping

Heat a soup pot over medium heat.

In a food processor, grate onions, carrots and garlic cloves.

Dump veggies in the pot, add a generous handful of salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Mix veggies and sweat for 10 minutes.

Drain the black beans, and mash a bit with a fork, leaving some beans mashed and some whole.

Pour beans, tomatoes and stock into pot.

Add spices, stir and set to low.

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Ladle into a bowl and serve with sour cream.