Friday, April 25, 2003
okay, here's one that's not quite so gourmet as the others, nor is it vegan, but its familiar, grocery-store ingredients, ease of preparation, and spicy, cheesy mexican taste make up for that.
enchilada casserole
1 lb. shredded or grated chihuahua cheese (it'll be at mexican markets if nowhere else, and many large grocery stores have it, although not in central illinois. an okay substitute would be a monterey jack - mozzarella blend)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
12 small corn tortillas
2 cans red enchilada sauce
preheat the oven to 350. grease a 9x13 pan.
pour one can of the enchilada sauce into a wide shallow bowl. dip the tortillas in it one by one, covering each completely.
tear the sauce-y tortillas into smaller pieces. put a layer of tortillas on the bottom of the pan, followed by some beans and lots of cheese and some sauce from the remaining can. continue layering. the top layer should be completely covered with sauce. just keep adding layers until you've used everything up. tamp down if you have to.
bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted in the very middle (stick a fork in and take a bite!)
Thursday, April 24, 2003
trying to think what else i've eaten lately that turned out delicious. my housemate carol's hummus recipe is the only one i'll eat, but she's probably sleeping. ooh! roasted chickpea nuts. and spicy fried tofu. okay, here's what you do: make some rice, and also some spicy fried tofu (recipe in this message), and put the tofu on top of the rice and then add the roasted chickpeas (recipe in this messages) and top it with some cucumber raita (previous message). got it? okay.
spicy fried tofu - recipe remembered/modified from the diet for a small planet cookbook.
1 lb firm or extra-firm tofu
1/4 c. canola oil
1 T. turmeric
1/2 T. each: basil, thyme, curry powder, cumin powder
soy sauce to taste
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1/3 c. pine nuts (optional)
heat the oil over high heat. in the meantime, press all the water out of the tofu: take a few dishtowels, set the drained tofu on one of them, stack the others on top and push the water out until the tofu is dry-ish and crumbled. throw it into the oil pan. it will spatter. cook it for five minutes on high heat, stirring often (i use a spatter screen). after the five minutes, it should be sort of chewy or crunchy in texture. this is desired. drain out the extra water, if there is any, and return the pan to the stove over medium heat. add a bit more oil to prevent sticking, and then put in the turmeric and stir until uniformly colored. throw in the other spices and stir. pour on a bunch of soy sauce; cook for a minute or two and then taste and if you want it saltier or wetter, add more soy sauce. when you've got the seasoning right, add the nutritional yeast (and pine nuts if you want them) and stir well. it should coat the tofu almost like breading. cook a couple of minutes more (careful not to burn the pine nuts) and then eat. you can eat it cold the next day and it's even better. or serve it hot with rice, roasted chickpeas and cucumber raita.
roasted chickpeas: adapted from the voluptuous vegan
2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 T. canola or peanut oil
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. minced peeled ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
preheat the oven to 375. in a large bowl, toss the chickpeas with the oil first to coat and make other stuff stick better. add the salt, lemon juice, ginger and cayenne and mix well. spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and cook for 45-55 minutes, stirring every ten to fifteen minutes. when the chickpeas are done, they'll be shrunken, darker brown, and crunchy.
here's the cucumber raita (cucumber-"yogurt" sauce) recipe from the voluptuous vegan that no one, not even meat eaters, could believe was vegan.
1 medium cucumber
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds (or substitute ground cumin and skip step two)
1 pound silken tofu
1/3 c. canola oil
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 T. plus 1 tsp. brown rice vinegar (or substitute any light vinegar)
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (or substitute black pepper)
pinch cayenne pepper
3 T. chopped fresh mint leaves
1. peel and cut the cucumber lengthwise down the center and scoop out the seeds. slice into 1/4-inch half moons and place in a medium bowl.
2. toast the cumin seeds in a small skillet for a couple of minutes over medium heat until fragrant, stirring constantly. grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
3. in a food processor (or blender), combine the tofu, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, cayenne, and cumin and process until smooth.
4. stir the mixture into the cucumbers along with the chopped mint. cover and refrigerate until cool.
i forget which ones i'm supposed to post. okay, first i'll do the columbian black bean soup recipe adapted from the voluptuous vegan cookbook, because i've already typed it out for becky, rae and morag, so i just have to cut and paste it.
3 cans black beans
2 large dried chiles
10 cups water
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 c. olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
salt and pepper
1/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. lime juice
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
drain and rinse the beans and place in a huge soup pot with the chiles and
water. bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for one hour. remove the
chiles with a slotted spoon and discard.
heat the oil in a large sauté pan. add the garlic and onion and sauté over
medium heat for 7 minutes or until soft. add cumin, bell pepper, and celery
and cook 5 more minutes.
add three or four ladlefuls of the bean/water mixture to the sauté pan.
simmer a few minutes, stirring thoroughly. pour all the sauté-pan contents
into the large soup pot with the beans. simmer ten minutes.
puree the soup in batches of half a blender pitcher at a time (don't do more
or you'll burn yourself; trust me). after pureeing, you can pour them into
the large sauté pan until you've pureed almost all the soup. i like to leave
a little bit of soup with whole beans, but that's just me. then pour all the
soup back into the big soup pot. season with salt and pepper to taste and
simmer 15 more minutes (at least).
just before serving, turn off the heat and stir in the orange and lime
juice. in a small bowl, mix the scallion and cilantro together.
serve with a dollop of sour cream (i used homemade vegan dill sour "cream")
and a sprinkle of scallion-cilantro garnish. serve with lots of tortilla
chips or corn bread.
