Crockpot Chile Chili

The weather is starting to get chilly here in Mid-Missouri and there is nothing better (at least in my opinion) to eat when it is blustery than a hearty soup, stew, or chili. So I decided to make chili!

I like my chili to be really spicy - well, if I am honest, I like EVERYTHING to be really spicy, but Brett has complained many times that the reason he does not like me to make chili is because it is too hot. I decided to be nice and use chiles for flavor, and just a little bit of heat and we ended up with this super tasty chili that we enjoyed with Fritos!

















Sorry for the horrible picture. Hopefully someday I will figure out how to use my camera.

The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Crockpot Chile Chili
1/4 cup Anasazi beans, rinsed ****
1/4 cup cranberry beans, rinsed ****
1/4 cup pinto beans, rinsed ****
1/4 cup navy beans, rinsed
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed
1 cup kidney beans, rinsed +
2 pasilla chiles, stems removed and rinsed
2 ancho chiles, stems removed and rinsed

4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 habaneros, seeded and minced *
2 gypsy (or other sweet peppers), seeded and minced *
2 yellow onions, chopped *
4 large tomatoes, cored and chopped *

2 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed *
1/2 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed *

cumin
cilantro
salt
pepper

(Start this chili in the morning.)

Combine beans and dried chiles in a crockpot and let simmer on low all day.

Before you go to bed, add all the vegetables except the sweet and regular potatoes.

In the morning, add the potatoes, and season to taste. Let cook for an additional hour or so or until potatoes are soft.

This chili was super tasty and would also be excellent with tortilla chips or on a baked potato. Mmmmmm.

'Til next time.

Super Beany Chili

I have been a pretty bad blogger lately, I could make a bunch of excuses, but really, I don't have many good ones, and the good ones I do have aren't the reason for my lack of blogging, I've just been lazy. We have been cooking though, still mostly "tried and true" recipes, especially since I found some of the first season's local tomatoes! I went to the Root Cellar the other day to get some local salad greens and saw the table full of gorgeous red delights as soon as I walked in. I made a beeline to them and asked the woman there in disbelief, "Are these local?!?" Indeed they are, from somewhere south of Jefferson City, Missouri. I think they have to have been grown in a greenhouse, but it has been beyond wonderful having local tomatoes again. I was surprised at what a wonderful, rich, tomatoey flavor they have. I should have got a picture of them, but I didn't and we are down to just a couple now any way. And those we will be using very shortly. We also got the above mentioned local salad greens, local shiitake mushrooms, and St. Louis made Dijon-Garlic-Lemon-Balsamic Vinaigrette. It is a mouthful, but it is delicious.

Anyways, we made this chili :blush: a couple of weeks ago. It was seriously tasty and we've enjoyed in by itself, with tortilla chips, on baked potatoes, and even on waffle fries (I've been contemplating tater tots too). Since making chili is a process, I made a huge batch and froze a good portion of it for later use. We've been taking a container of it out of the freezer in the evening, and it'll be ready for dinner the next night, wahoo!

















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Super Beany Chili
2 cups dark red kidney beans +, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
1/2 cup pinto beans ****, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
1/2 cup black beans ****, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
1/2 cup Anasazi beans ****, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
2 cans fire roasted crushed tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, chopped + (not local)
1 yellow onion, chopped + (not local)
6 cloves of garlic, minced + (not local)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped *** (frozen from last year)
3 Hot Hungarian Wax peppers, cut into rings *** (frozen from last year)
dried cilantro flakes +
ground cumin
chili powder
chipotle chili powder
salt
1 cup green lentils, rinsed

Soak beans and dried peppers overnight. Drain and rinse the beans and remove the peppers.

Combine beans in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover about two inches. Boil over medium heat for about 2 1/2 hours, covered. Make sure to check the water level occasionally, you may have to add more.

Add the tomatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, peppers, and spices. Simmer covered on medium-low for another two hours. Check the doneness of the beans.

Once the beans are close to being fully cooked, check the spice level and add more if necessary. Add the lentils and simmer for about 40 minutes or until lentils are fully cooked.

This was really yummy chili. I've mentioned before that I had "chili'd Brett out", but it turns out that my chili is generally too volcanically hot for anyone but me. So I don't overdo the spice and I add sriracha, cayenne pepper, dried habaneros, or hot chili garlic sauce to my dishes to achieve my desired spice level.

Well, I've been trying to jump start my pilates routine again. I used to do pilates at least three times a week, and that is saying something for someone who hates exercise. It really made me feel good, I had more energy, more stamina, and I looked, well, a little nicer. I've wanted to get back into it for awhile, so I figured summer and a wedding were pretty good motivation to get started. I also decided I would like to do some "booty exercises" (I am a size 2 girl with a size 4 behind), and get some upper body strength. I have damn strong legs and can carry quite a bit on my back, but the damn 5 lb. weights are almost too much for me. I started my "exercise regimen" yesterday and today I feel like someone ran over me. And I only worked out for about 30 minutes. :-( Now I am off to do pilates, and then probably take a hot bath and hide in my recliner the rest of the evening.

I'll tell you what, the pilates can stay around, but all this strength training, I don't think I will do this very long, I don't want to look all ripped and scary, I just don't want to be one of those bizarre "fat skinny people" anymore.

Oh, woe is me, am I right?

Have a good weekend everyone.

'Til next time!

Anasazi Patties with Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Awhile back, when Brett and I first tried Anasazi beans, he said they reminded him of poultry, which I could go along with. Since then, when thinking about using Anasazi beans, I have tried them in applications where flavors similar to that of poultry would be conducive - mostly Mexican until now - and it has always worked beautifully. I mean no judgment, but I am not one of those vegetarians who is interested in recreating all my omnivorous favorites veg-style, personally, I did not stop eating meat so I could try to recreate it with fake things, I never really liked meat all that much anyway. However, I do not have a problem using particular flavor profiles. For example, I think the metallic, iron quality of green lentils holds up to the seasoning profile you would use with red meat quite well, so I will rock that seasoning combination with lentils. I will not, however, try to create something that is supposed to resemble, in taste and texture, say fajita meat strips.

Anywho, back to the topic at hand. Seeing as how Anasazi beans take on poultry-ish flavors very well, I have wanted to make a patty out of them and use poultry seasoning. I don't like calling something like this a 'burger' as to me that implies meat, but at the same time, meat doesn't have a license on the word 'burger' either - there have long been many different types of burgers, made from different types of meat, legumes, and veggies - so I was at a little bit of a loss for what to call these, I guess patties it is.

These were very, very good, though they do not taste anything (thankfully) like chicken; the beans just take on the poultry seasoning quite well. I put my food processor to work for the veggies (I so rarely think to do that and it saves a ton of time!), so the patties and the sides were all done in about 45 minutes - oh, and I was also left with 4 huge patties to freeze for quick, tasty meals in a hurry. I decided to serve these with my take on rosemary roasted sweet potatoes. Laura, from the wonderful CoMo blog Peace by Pastries, is always making something like these and various other delightful looking sweet potato dishes and I finally had a meal I thought they would go well with. They were pretty good, I would recommend (as I do in the recipe below) peeling the sweet potatoes first. And I'm honestly not sure how much I like rosemary. It has a strong "smaste" (smell-taste), and even after trying to crumble the pine needle like rosemary, it was still in large pieces that I wasn't super fond of. We also served this meal with steamed kale.



























The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Anasazi Patties
Makes about six huge patties.

4 cups Anasazi beans, cooked ****
1 carrot, peeled and shredded +
1 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped +
1/2 yellow onion, chopped +
4 cloves of garlic, minced +
1/2 cup regular rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup chopped walnuts +
1 tbsp organic ketchup
1 tbsp safflower oil
1 tsp poultry seasoning
black pepper

Fixins:
whole wheat burger buns
mayonnaise (I used vegan mayo)
stone ground mustard
ketchup
zesty pickles +
lettuce

(I used my food processor to chop all the veggies and save time.)

In a large bowl, smash beans with a fork, leaving just a few in whole or half form. Stir in the veggies and combine well.

Slowly stir in the oats, flour, vital wheat gluten, and walnuts. You may need to use your hands to get everything all worked together.

Add the ketchup, oil, and seasoning.

Refrigerate the dough for about an hour.

Once dough has sat for an hour, form six large balls out of the dough and flatten as you would for a burger.

Spray a small skillet with safflower (or other) oil in a mister. Let pan heat up for about a minute over medium high heat and add a patty. Fry for about 6-8 minutes and flip. I like the patties to get firmer, so I will often cook them on both sides, and then do a lot of flipping for an additional minute or two. This will allow them to cook a little more without them getting burnt.

Put on your favorite bun with your favorite toppings (how we dressed them is listed above).

Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes
3 small sweet potatoes, cubed (you can peel them if you like) +
2 cloves of garlic, minced +
1 tsp dried rosemary + (not sure if it is local or not)
1/4 tsp Spanish paprika
1/4 tsp salt
dash black pepper
1-2 tbsp safflower oil

Preheat oven to 375.

Toss cubed sweet potatoes with garlic and spices. Place in a baking dish that has either been sprayed with oil or lined with parchment or foil to keep the taters from sticking.

Roast for 35-45 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

I am really stoked that we have more of these burgers in our freezer. Using the vital wheat gluten gave the patties a firmer, more pleasant texture, and it also gave me something to do with the jar of the stuff that has been lurking in my cabinet.

A bit of a side note I just noticed, as of today, I have been blogging for a year. It is amazing how quickly the time goes by.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years! I have the last post I am behind on scheduled to go up tomorrow and will finally be caught up (!!!!!). I will be back early next week with a local booty update and to catch up on your blogs (I may have a new recipe by then as well).

'Til next time.

Queso-menos Quesadillas con las habas de Anasazi y la calabaza de Delicata (Cheese-less Quesadillas with Anasazi Beans and Delicata Squash)

Update: Veggie Girl flippin' rocks and she helped me get the translation right. Thanks Veggie Girl!

Anyways, this recipe is dedicated to Katrina from Kale for Sale for giving me the idea of expanding my horizons and mashing up roasted squash for use in Mexican food. It was an awesome suggestion and we'll be doing it often now. So thanks Katrina, this one is for you!

This was also the first time we had tried delicata squash. There is only one purveyor at the farmer's market who sells these too. I had noticed them when I bought a huge bag of organic red potatoes from the vendor the previous week. We asked him about the delicata and his awesome array of acorn squash, but didn't purchase any - until last Saturday of course. After enjoying the delicata squash as much as we did, we're hoping to clean out the remaining ones he has (along with a few of his gorgeous acorn squash) Saturday at the market. Wahoo for storing local booty for winter.

Between the 11 butternut squash we got from our community garden, the delicata, acorn, and spaghetti squash we hope to obtain, we are going to turn in to squash! During the summer, we are loaded down with zucchini, yellow summer squash, and eggplant (not squash, but similar in taste in my opinion), and over the winter - well, it's all winter squash. I guess it is a good thing that squash are versatile and we like them, otherwise eating locally might be pretty crummy!

An FYI if you've never had delicata squash: apparently it is considered as a quasi-heirloom variety. It is also referred to as "Sweet Potato Squash" and "Bohemian Squash", not sure about the Bohemian one, but the Sweet Potato name fits. The squash has an orange flesh similar to butternuts. They are moist and very sweet, much like....you guessed it, a sweet potato. The skins on delicatas are also edible, though we scooped the flesh out and discarded the skin for this recipe. I tried a piece with the skin after I had roasted the squash and it was quite edible.

This is a really simple recipe, the only time consuming part is roasting the squash. If you have your beans made ahead of time (which I always do because Brett flippin' rocks hardcore), then you can use the squash roasting time to prepare everything else and have a meal from oven to table in about 45 minutes.

Anywho, I've rambled long enough, let's get on to the food!

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden















Queso-menos Quesadillas con las habas de Anasazi y la calabaza de Delicata
1 delicata squash, stem removed and halved *
1 tbsp safflower oil
salt
pepper
2 cups Anasazi beans, cooked
1 cup of white button mushrooms, minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced *
1 hot banana pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced **
1 small yellow onion, minced **
4 cloves of garlic, minced *
chili powder
ground coriander
cumin
salt

tortillas
spicy salsa

Preheat oven to 450.

On a baking sheet, rub safflower oil into the flesh of the squash (the squash should be roasted with the skin side down). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until squash is soft.

Let cool for a few minutes. Then scoop flesh out of the skin and mash in a bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium skillet.

Add the mushrooms, peppers, garlic, and onions. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are to your desired "doneness". Drain any excess water.

Add the beans and seasonings and heat through.

Layer squash and bean mixture in warmed tortillas. Fry if desired.

Serve with some really spicy salsa.

I can't remember what brand it is, but Brett and I recently came across a really yummy hot salsa that comes from Texas. It has pureed hot New Mexican Chile peppers, jalapenos, and chipotle peppers in it. It is very good for salsa out of a jar.

That reminds me, I need to see what kind of salsa the locals sell at the market this weekend!

I should be back sometime this week with a post about our (vegetarian) Huevos Rancheros - they are seriously awesome, and then the first of my two installments of Monthly Unplug Yourself wrap ups. There are going to be two for the sake of my not writing a novel for you guys to read all at once. The first post will be a round-up of other participants' posts on the initiative as well as on my beginners understanding of Permaculture - having read the book Permaculture and now working on David Holmgren's Collected Writings. I hope that my knowledge of the topic will continue to improve. The second post will be about the alternative (non-mainstream) news sources I read, with links and brief descriptions of each. Now, most of them are liberal, some so liberal they are almost back around to the right again, but I do have a few conservative news sources I read for good measure. Oh, and also if I need a little increase in blood pressure. ;-)

Brett should be posting sometime soon as well as to his progress with the Unplug Yourself initiative, and he will also be posting the monthly "call to arms" for the initiative as well. I think we've worked a lot of the "kinks" out, so hopefully the aim, purpose, and commitment will be much clearer. A big thanks to everyone who has joined - we hope you have enjoyed the experience (or at least learned something) and will consider continuing on. Others, please think about signing up to participate - this is a group effort and the more heads that come together and figure out how to live better with less, expand our horizons, and live by our morals and priciples - the better this planet will be.

'Til next time.

Chiles Rellenos (Stuffed Chile Peppers)

Oh my Mexican goodness these were yum! To be more specific about the title of this recipe, these were Anasazi bean and rice stuffed poblano peppers. Honestly, I just went with the easy translation as I was having trouble figuring out how to "properly" translate that longer title (I don't know that I did this one correctly either), so Stuffed Chile Peppers is what you get!

Anyways, thankfully, we were able to get these bad boys made before our oven decided to go kaput. Looks like the maintenance people are going to try to come down and replace the heating element in the bottom of our oven today (he said he thought he had an element in the shop), but at the very least, we know that so long as someone is there to keep an eye on it, we can use the stovetop without fear of the place burning down. So at least we will be able to eat, but how I love my oven! Let's just say some of my excitement about the arrival of sweet potatoes at the farmer's market has been stymied by the recent "kitchen events".

But anyways, enough of that, onto the stuffed peppers! These were awesome and super easy to make. I was a little tentative about trying them as Brett has never really been a fan of peppers unless they are over done. He likes the flavor of peppers; I think it is something about their texture. However, he loved these and is actually coming around to the texture of peppers. He said the other day, when we were eating some of the salsa I canned last weekend (that lasted long, eh?) that he actually liked some of the still crisp onions and peppers, wahoo!

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden

So check out these bad boys:















A picture of my plate of yummy peppers. I topped these with a little picante sauce.















Here is a picture of Brett's plate. I topped his with a little "Mexican blend" cheese.















A nice little close-up.

Chiles Rellenos
6 poblano peppers, washed and halved, veins and seeds removed *

Filling:
1 cup of Anasazi beans, cooked
1/2 cup long grain brown rice, cooked
1 cup of white button mushrooms, minced
1 yellow summer squash, minced ***
2 tomatoes, chopped ***
1 bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 Black Hungarian pepper, seeded and minced *
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced ***
1/2 yellow onion, minced *
4 cloves of garlic, minced *
small (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
juice of one lime
chili powder
ground coriander
cumin
black pepper
salt

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium skillet. Add the mushrooms, squash, tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic and cook for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are soft. Drain any excess liquid.

Add the beans, rice, tomato sauce, lime juice, and spices and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Stuff filling into the chiles and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

We will be having these again very soon.

'Til next time!

Quesadillas de Frijoles de Anasazi, Arroz Integral y Verdura (Anasazi Bean, Brown Rice, and Vegetable Quesadillas)

This was one of the best new meals we have tried this summer. We both really like Anasazi beans, but they are often forgotten with the traditional black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans we usually use in our Mexican food. If you can get your hands on some Anasazi beans, I highly recommend them. They have an oddly "poultry-ish" quality and also a smoky flavor. Anasazi beans are also incredibly filling, it's crazy! We made quesadillas last night, no bigger than we normally do, and neither of us could eat the whole thing - we don't often have that problem.

This was also an excellent application for yellow summer squash. As I'm sure you've noticed if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, we are "beans and rice folks" (neither of us like tofu beyond tofu sour cream, we don't like seitan, and we most definitely do not like tempeh), and we are also quite obsessed with Mexican food. So it has been a fun challenge trying to figure out how to create "authentic" Mexican meals that utilize ingredients such as zucchini and summer squash that grow so well here in the Midwest. I can tell you from experience, the zucchini is harder to make "work" than the summer squash, we've had a few "hits" with zucchini, but also some "misses", things that were edible, but that weren't "blog-worthy" nor worth making again, so I was happy to find a meal that used squash that worked out really well. I can say though, with a little creativity and patience, almost anything can be used in Mexican food and it still taste "authentic", you just have to get familiar with the flavors and textures used in traditional Mexican cuisine.

Anyways, I've also gotten a few comments asking what, if any, produce used in our meals comes from our gardens. This excites me to no end that people enjoy the garden updates and our local food, so for the rest of the summer I will use a "legend" to show which fruits and veg came from our gardens, our CSA, the farmer's market, or the "regular" store.

The legend is:
no asterisk = from the grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden

Without further ado, here are the pictures and the recipe.

















NOTE: I am going to try to start "titling" my recipes in Spanish, since it is pretty much just Mexican food. Not only do I think this is neat, but I learn a little bit of Spanish along the way. Now, with that said, I am coming up with these translations via online Spanish to English dictionaries and translators, and they aren't always accurate. So if you know Spanish, and know I am wrong with my translation, please correct me, it will help me learn!

Quesadillas de Frijoles de Anasazi, Arroz Integral y Verdura (Anasazi Bean, Brown Rice, and Vegetable Quesadillas)
1 cup anasazi beans, cooked
1 cup long grain brown rice, cooked
2 tomatoes, diced ***
1 yellow summer squash, diced ***
1/2 onion, diced **
1/2 bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 hot banana pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
ground coriander
chipotle chili powder
cumin
salt

tortillas
salsa

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add squash, onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes. Drain any excess water.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

Layer a few tablespoons of filling in warmed tortillas. Fry if desired.

Yummy!

I wanted to end this post with a reminder about the Quit Now Challenge. It officially starts tomorrow and it is not too late to sign up. I will be posting a reminder tomorrow to all you quitters out there that the challenge has begun!

'Til next time.

Orange-Chipotle Anasazi Bean Quesadillas

This recipe is dedicated to Alice (in Veganland).

She declared her undying love for all things citrus when I posted about the Spicy Chipotle-Citrus Marinated Veggie Fajitas, and her comment reminded me of this other citrusy-spicy recipe I created awhile back.

Oh, and this is my 100th post! Wowsa!

I can only imagine what these tasted like in crispy tortillas, as I was only able to eat the filling (at least I could eat that!), and boy, it was good. Brett made some tofu sour cream to go with this and it complimented perfectly.

It may not look very pretty but don't be fooled, this is a sweet, tangy and spicy delicious meal. The spice level bordered on too much for Brett, so I may add the habanero just to my dish next time.

Orange-Chipotle Anasazi Bean Quesadillas

Serves 2.

1 cup Anasazi beans, cooked

1/2 yellow onion, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced

1 orange bell pepper, seeded and minced

2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

1 habanero, seeded and minced (optional)

2-4 chipotle chilies en adobo, minced

1 tbsp adobo sauce

juice of one orange

1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup veggie broth

2 tbsp dried cilantro

cumin

Mexican oregano

white pepper

salt

tortillas

guacamole

tofu sour cream

picante sauce

Heat a few tablespoons of water. Add the peppers and onion and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Place all the filling ingredients in a medium sized sauce pan. Simmer, covered on low for 30-35 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

Layer mixture into warmed tortillas and top with guacamole, tofu sour cream and picante sauce.

'Til next time!

Anasazi and Millet Quesadillas with New Mexican Red Chile Sauce and Avocado 'Cream'

What a mouthful!

This meal was absolutely wonderful. I really, really like Anasazi beans, and encourage anyone who can get a hold of some to try them, they are fantastic. However, if you cannot locate Anasazi beans, but would still like to make this meal, a combination of pinto and kidney, or small red beans would work well in place of the Anasazi.

We really like millet, but don’t use it nearly enough, it found a wonderful application in this dish, if you can’t find or don’t like millet, quinoa or rice would work just fine too. I really liked how the nuttiness of the millet worked with the sweetness of the corn, the flavor of the shiitake mushrooms, the hotness of the peppers, and the mildness of the beans, all around this was a great dish and we’ll definitely have it again.

Also, I used homemade tofu sour cream as the base of my avocado ‘cream’. Brett makes the tofu sour cream and does a much better job than I do, so we’ll keep it that way. Both Brett and I agree, in sauces and baked goods, silken tofu is perfectly acceptable, however when comes to using regular old tofu in main dishes, we do have well, one dish I can think of offhand that we like tofu in (Tofu and Potato Burritos). Anyways, if you wanted to make the avocado ‘cream’ but didn’t want to make the tofu sour cream yourself, I’m sure using one of those premade tubs of it would work fine too, I’ve never had it though, so I can’t vouch for it.

A couple of notes: The New Mexican Red Chile Sauce is not spicy; the pepper sauce is actually oddly sweet. Unfortunately, I don’t think any other peppers could be used in place of the New Mexican chilies here, but I was able to find a bag of dried at the grocery store here in Columbia, so I imagine many people in the United States would be able to find them somewhere. I made this sauce in the morning to allow ample time for the flavors to blend.

New Mexican Red Chile Sauce is a sauce to be used sparingly. While it isn’t spicy it is very flavorful in the way that Tabasco and Louisiana Hot Sauce are. Brett liked it in that he thought it was more versatile than those other sauces as it would work in Mexican, Southern, on pizzas, sandwiches, etc. Next time I might try making this using a different vinegar.

A dried red New Mexican chile.

Red New Mexican Chile Sauce:

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce.

12 dried red New Mexican chile peppers, stems removed

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup hot water

1 tbsp good olive oil

a few pinches of dried cilantro

dash Mexican oregano

couple of dashes of cumin

dash paprika

couple of dashes of salt

Rehydrate the 1/2 the chilies in the vinegar for about an hour, rehydrate the other half in hot water for the same period of time.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow flavors to blend.

NOTE: This sauce freezes well, though because of all the vinegar, it will keep for quite some time in the fridge, at least a couple of months.

FOR: Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Tacos, Tostadas, Burritos or Burros, Fajitas

Chiles Japones.

Avocado 'Cream'

Makes about 1 cup Avocado 'Cream'

1/2 cup tofu sour cream

1 ripe avocado, cut in large chunks

juice of 1/2 a lime

1 clove garlic, peeled

4 Chiles Japones minced (I left the seeds in two of them) or cayenne pepper

cumin

salt

Blend in a food processor until smooth.

Anasazi and Millet Quesadilla with New Mexican Red Chile Sauce and Avocado 'Cream'

Serves 2

Cooking Time: 1 hour - I already had the beans and millet prepared in advance (including sauce preparation, 2 hours, much of it idle)

2 cups anasazi beans, cooked

1 cup millet, cooked

1/2 cup corn, cooked

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

1 poblano pepper, roasted and sliced

3 serrano peppers, roasted and sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, roasted and sliced

ground coriander

paprika

chipotle chili powder

cumin

salt

vegan Monterey jack (optional)

tortillas

New Mexican Red Chile Sauce

avocado cream

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add mushrooms, garlic and onions and cook until soft about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss warmed beans and millet with the spices.

Once veggies done, drain any excess water and add to the cooked corn.

Layer bean and millet mixture, corn and mushroom mixture, roasted veggies, vegan jack, and a little bit of New Mexican Red Chile Sauce in a warmed tortilla.

Fry if desired and top with avocado 'cream'.

Super yummy.

'Til next time.

Anasazi Bean Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

We have yet another winner!

I've been thinking that I may, at some point, write a Mexican/Southwestern veg*n cookbook, it just seems to be my thing. Not to mention, most authentic Mexican food is very un-veg*n, and also very unhealthy, which it doesn't have to be. If I end up doing this at some point in the future, I will probably use a lot of the recipes I've posted here, what you all see is my 'rough draft' of a recipe, I perfect my recipes more with each consecutive attempt. I will also have to work on measuring my spices and tracking my cooking time. Anyways, I have so many ideas, and I haven't seen a wealth of cookbooks that center around the style of food I prefer, so we'll see. I just hope I'm not crazy to think my food is good!

Lindsay (the Happy Herbivore) and I have also been tossing ideas around for a book we could do together, so far it's just ideas, but they seem to have a lot of potential. We'll see how that goes.

But anyways....

This meal was not nearly as involved as the last meal I posted about. This took about an hour to make, 30 minutes of which was spent sitting on my bum, as the enchiladas were baking in the oven.

Note: This is not Green Sauce, this is Green Chile sauce – there is a difference. This sauce, for one, is not green, it is brownish-red. Why? Well there is tomato in it. The sauce can be used in similar applications as Green Sauce such as enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, burritos or burros, quesadillas, etc. It can also be used in place of other salsas. When I spend lots of time in the kitchen making something authentic, I like to make extra sauce so that I can freeze it, and have a quick meal in the future. This time, I did not freeze it, as it lasts about 3+ weeks in the fridge as is (and it will definitely get used), but next time, I will freeze it.

You can also use kidney beans in place of the Anasazi beans here - it would still be tasty!















Green Chile Sauce:
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small tomato, chopped
a few tablespoons water
8 Anaheim peppers, seeded, roasted and sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded, roasted and sliced
2 cups veggie broth
ground cumin
chili powder
1-2 tbsp dried cilantro
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water

Heat water in a small sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and cook for five minutes. Add the tomato and cook for another five minutes.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
Put back in the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch and water mixture and stir frequently until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.

Makes 2-3 cups.

Anasazi Bean Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce:
2 cups anasazi beans, cooked
1/4 red onion, diced
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced green chilies, drained
1 cup no salt added tomato sauce
cumin
chili powder
ground coriander
Mexican oregano
salt

8 corn tortillas
Green Chile Sauce
1 tbsp dried cilantro
guacamole

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium skillet. Add the onion, garlic and serrano and cook until soft, about ten minutes.

Add beans, chilies, tomato sauce and spices to the pan and simmer for about ten minutes.

Coat the bottom of an oven safe dish (such as a casserole dish) with green chile sauce.

Spoon a small amount of the bean mixture into warmed corn tortillas. Roll up and place in the baking dish. Spoon some green chile sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with some dried cilantro.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and the tortillas have crisped.

Serve with guacamole.

Yum!

'Til next time!

Muffins and Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Yesterday, I made Happy Herbivore’s Apple Crisp Muffins. I was originally planning on making her Sweet Potato & Maple Muffins earlier this week, but the yam I baked was eaten before I got home from work the next day (Brett didn’t know they were for the muffins). Anyways, I pretty much always have apples around, so it all worked out. These are fantastic! They really do taste like an apple crisp. I’ve already had three since I made them yesterday! Now my pictures aren’t as pretty as HH's, I overfilled the muffin cups, so they kind of spewed out a bit, but they are still oh so tasty!

Now, the only thing I don’t like about muffins is my pan. You see, muffins stick to it like nothing else, so you either use muffin cups or grease the hell out of the tin (which is still no guarantee), I don’t like either of these options, but as of late have chosen to avoid greasing the pan, but feel bad about all the muffin cup papers that I have to use. I am thinking of not making muffins anymore, and just making breads, since my bread pan is glass and doesn’t have a sticking problem and doesn’t require me to waste lots of paper. Anyone know if you could make a loaf out of this recipe? I’m wondering if it can be done to other muffin recipes or if the proportions would be off…

Anyways, for dinner I made Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash. This meal was hearty, healthy and super tasty. I have been mulling over other things to stuff acorn squash with since the last time I made it as most of the recipes you find are sweet and acorn squashes are much more versatile than that. No one should be surprised that I ended up with a Mexican inspired idea, and that yams, hot peppers, and guacamole make their way in to the meal. I will make a guacamole tag as well, I make it at least once a week, it’s one of my favorite foods, and so simple too. Anasazi beans are really good; they are a traditional Native American bean that is used in Native American (of course) or Mexican dishes. Pinto would work just as well in here though. We had chips and guacamole with this, but ended up not eating the chips and just putting the guacamole on the squash.

Here's a picture of the Anasazi beans before the were soaked and cooked, they are lovely beans dry, but really don't look like anything special once cooked. Brett said they reminded him of cows dry, it almost made me feel bad for eating them. :-(

Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 roasted acorn squash

Stuffing:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

2 cups anasazi (or pinto) beans cooked

1 small can of black olives, drained

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 yam/sweet potato, cubed and roasted

1-2 roasted jalapenos, sliced

1/2 roasted red bell pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

chili powder

cumin

Mexican oregano

chipotle chili powder

salt

cayenne (optional)

splash veggie broth

simple guacamole

blue corn chips (optional)

Rise quinoa in a wire mesh strainer.

Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat, simmering for 15-20 minutes or until all liquid abosrbed.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon or so of water and cook garlic until soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients until heated through.

Stuff into roasted acorn squash halves. Top with guacamole.

'Til next time.