Easy Enchilada Sauce

Alright, I know I used to be able to find canned enchie sauce that didn't have a lot of gobbledy-gook in it! Not this time. I thought d'ems which stock the stores were catching on to the fact that some of us don't want to eat crap. Unless we choose to that is... *earnestly ignores bowl of yogurt-covered pretzels at her elbow*

My friend Beth chastised me loooong ago for not making my own. Now I see why. No biggie, and all from stuff you probably have in your pantry already. I have seen the light.

I made a half recipe of the Vegetarian Times' black bean and corn enchiladas (not...got lazy and just tore up 3-4 corn tortillas and layered the filling!), using a recipe for the sauce I found on About.com. S'good!

Easy Enchilada Sauce:
(slightly adapted from Jolinda Hackett's recipe on About.com)

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp flour (I used whole grain spelt flour)
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 cups water
1- 8 ounce can tomato paste (I only had a 6 oz can...do they even make 8 oz'ers?? I added some tomato puree in to flesh it out, but really, I think it must have been a typo in the orig. recipe)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
(I added a small squeeze of agave nectar, and about 1/2 tsp white vinegar...)

Heat the oil, flour and chili powder together in a large pot. Allow to cook for a minute or two.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a slow simmer. Stir well to combine and dissolve tomato paste in water. Cover and allow to cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more spices as desired.

I froze the extra sauce not used in the making of this:

Salsa de Tomatillo Asado con Chipotle: Roasted Tomatillo and Chipotle Salsa

On a recent trip, I grabbed a copy of Saveur to read on the flight. Most excited about a 2 page spread of different salsas, I immediately marked at least 3 that I wanted to make upon our return home. This roasted tomatillo and chipotle is the first of those.

I wasn't sure how I felt upon first tasting this salsa. The sour of the tomatillos seemed to clash initially with the smoky chipotle flavor for me (I've made this twice now, and realize I just didn't like too much tomatillo. 0.68 lb of tomatillo :-) and upping the garlic and dried chipotle it was perfect from the get go). Could also be that I was incredibly high off the Doña success and stuck on that flavor profile. That said, this new salsa quickly grew on me and Scott liked it from the get go. Super easy to make, and I gave half of the batch a quick addition of some agave nectar to serve over salmon...keeping the rest as is to eat with chips. Delicious both ways. It doesn't make a whole bunch, but you can easily double. OH and I almost forgot, I added in a minced chipotle in adobo for extra heat, since there really wasn't much to speak of from just the dried chiles.

Salsa de Tomatillo Asado con Chipotle:
(Adapted from Saveur Magazine)

8oz+ tomatillos, husked, rinsed and left whole (I think I used 6 medium to small)
7 cloves of garlic, left whole and you can leave them in their l'il skins til done roasting
4 dried chipotle chiles
1 chipotle pepper in adobo (my addition)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup water
agave if desired...try splitting the batch and only adding to half

Preheat oven to 500.
On a foil-lined baking sheet, roast tomatillos for 10 minutes, flip over, then roast 10 minutes more.
While tomatillos roast, heat a dry cast iron skillet to medium-low on the stove top.
Toast dried chiles and garlic for about 10 minutes, or until there are some charred spots on the chiles and garlic, and the garlic has softened a bit.
Place tomatillos (and any accumulated juices), garlic, dried chiles, 1 chipotle in adobo and 1/2 tsp salt and water into a blender and blend until smooth.

Doctor the salsa with some agave if you'd like...it was very nice served over salmon with black beans and squash with this addition. Without agave it's great just scooped up with tortilla chips.
Great on eggs too.

Green Gold: Wannabe Doña Salsa

Green gold, crack sauce, call it what you will, I fell hard and fast for the Doña Salsa at our Taco Deli here in Austin from the first second it hit my tongue.

If it's too hot for you, you might want to consider moving back in with your mama. ;-)

This version will never keep us from making our weekly Saturday pilgrimage to the big TD, but it tides us over in the meantime. You can take out more seeds if it's gonna make you too painfully aware of how your innards are laid out...if you must. :-P

Oh and need I mention you'd be smart to wear gloves when dealing with the peppers? Specially if you wear contacts.

I'm submitting this to Ricki's Wellness Weekend Roundup on Dietdessertndogs...so make sure you check out the link for this week's collection of healthy, vegan recipes!

Wannabe Doña Salsa:
(Friend Debbie paved the way in knocking off this delicious concoction after we pinned down the ingredients list!)
yields ~3 cups

2 lbs jalapeños
2 large heads of garlic; broken up into cloves, but paper on cloves left intact
~1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup + 1-2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup + 1-2 Tbs canola, or grapeseed oil

After you've washed and dried your peppers and separated the cloves of garlic, preheat your oven's broiler to High with the rack in the uppermost position.

Line a heavy duty baking sheet with foil and arrange the peppers on it.
I sprayed the peppers and garlic with a light mist of canola spray, just use what you've got to oil them lightly.
Roast the peppers whole, turning as necessary, until they are sufficiently charred to peel.

You can roast the garlic right along with the peppers...I ran out of room until some of the finished peppers came off the sheet pan, so I started them in a cast iron skillet on the stove top.

Put the peppers in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam for about 10-15 minutes once charred.
Remove the garlic from heat once they've softened somewhat, peel and put in blender.

Once the peppers have steamed, peel them and at this point you can seed them. Really, leave a couple of them whole...you don't want a weenie Doña now do you?

Add oil (you can always add less or more oil, just keep tasting it as you go) and salt and blend the heck out it.
Done. Now quick...go find something to slather in it!

Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce/Dip

Don't question this stuff...just make it. I was noodling around in the kitchen a few weekends ago and thought I'd try out this recipe just for kicks. Around lunch time I walked a bowl of it and a bag of tortilla chips into the living room where the Monster was reading. I'd only made a 1/2 batch, and that's a good thing, since we both proceeded to scarf the whole lot of it! "Guess that was our lunch." I said. ;-)
The cheese dip is pictured above served over the top of cauliflower in an effort to be a bit healthier, but really I think this will be used with nachos from here on out. So good with the chips!
My friend Debbie made the dip for her son and his friend to eat with her...they all gave it a hearty thumbs up. I've also got a Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe waiting to be tried out in the next few days. Hope it is as pleasantly surprising as this was!

I've been avoiding most dairy these dark cedar allergy ridden months, since it does my stuffiness no favors. Bonus that I'm finding such incredible dairy-free recipes to get me through to the end of February!

The quickie pilaf was thrown together with no plan to post about it, but seeing as it was so good here's the low down...
Cooked brown rice, can of black-eyed peas, lemon zest, non-marinated artichoke hearts, parsley, fresh basil, olive oil, s & p, maybe some green onions.

Nacho Cheese Dip:
(Discovered on Shmooed Food's blog)

makes about 2 cups

2 cups water
¼ cup raw cashews (Oh, I've gotta mention that although I halved the recipe when I made it, I forgot to halve the cashews! Could be why it was so good. :-) Used less the second time I made it, but still more than written here. Debbie made it as written and still liked it...so your call)
one 4 oz. jar pimentos, drained
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ rounded teaspoon cumin
optional: I add a touch of cayenne pepper for a little kick

Combine all ingredients in a Vita-Mix or other blender (If using a regular blender like I do, start with less liquid when blending the cashews. Add the rest of the water once the cashews have been well blended) and blend until completely smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan and whisk constantly over medium heat until thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Serve as a dip with tortilla chips and vegetables.

Variations: Add some vegetarian burger crumbles, black olives, or salsa, or my favorite...adding in some canned diced jalapenos!

Cashew Cream

I had some girlfriends over for lunch today (fish and chickpea burgers with tartar sauce...yum!), and one of them brought some gorgeous fruit for dessert. Better yet, she brought her Vitamix so that we could experiment making cashew cream to top the fruit with! This recipe is all over the internet in some form or another, but here it is again...cause it's sooo yummy! The recipe I used said that you could use a food processor to make this, just add 1/4 cup of water to start, then add the other 1/4 cup once stuff really gets good and moving. The Vitamix makes this a no-brainer. Just toss everything in and let'er rip.

Cashew Cream:

1 1/3 cups whole raw cashews; soaked then drained (preferably soaked overnight in the fridge covered with filtered water, but I had to speed things up by pouring boiling water over them and just leaving them on the counter from about 8am to 1pm)
1/2 cup water
2-3 Tbs agave nectar or 1-2 dates (our fruit was really sweet so I would add sweetener slowly next time...that said, it went over REALLY well with 3 TBS of agave ;-)
1/2 of a whole vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Toss all the ingredients in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender and blend til nice and creamy. If making in a food processor, add 1/4 cup of water to start, then add 1/4 cup more after the ingredients have had a chance to come together, scraping down the sides frequently.

Should keep well covered in the fridge for several days.

Almond and Sweet Potato Sauce

A Casa de Luz sauce strikes again. With goodness that is!! Man, those people know how to make simple food taste awesome. I halved the recipe and used only one sweet potato, but instead of using 1/2 cup of almond butter, I used just over 1/4 cup and found it to be plenty.
The sweet potato I used, must have been particularly sweet. The Monster tasted the sauce and thought I'd slipped in some dulce de leche! A friend just gave us a tub of the stuff and honestly that probably wouldn't be beneath me by any means. You can adjust the sweetness by adding more lime juice, etc. if you want. One of these days I'm going to have to buy Casa's durn cookbook instead of trolling the internet for their recipes. :-)

Almond and Sweet Potato Sauce:
(Casa de Luz)

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 cups)
1 cup unsalted roasted almond butter (used less...just over 1/4 cup for half of the recipe)

2 tsp. shoyu or tamari

2 Tbs. lime juice

Pinch of sea salt

Filtered water as needed

Update:
When we ate the rest of the sauce the next night I added a touch of rice wine vinegar, a bit of sambal oelek (chili sauce), and some more lime juice. YUM.

Wash sweet potatoes and cut into 2" chunks. Place in a heavy pan with 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, add pinch of sea salt, and cover (I roasted the sweet potato wrapped in foil at 400 for about an hour, then peeled once cool).
Let potatoes simmer over low heat until tender. Remove from heat, reserve any leftover cooking water, and allow to cool, Leftover baked sweet potatoes may be used instead.
Place cooled sweet potatoes, almond butter, shoyu/tamari, and lime juice in a blender with some of the water and puree until smooth. Add a more water until you achieve a consistency you're pleased with. Serve over greens or grains. I served it with lemon and herb baked tofu over quinoa and braised kale.

Casa de Luz' Sun Cheese

Or would that be Sun Cheeze? Not cheese by any stretch of the imagination, just a really awesome topping for veggies (especially greens), grains, enchiladas, pasta...etc. Easy to make and easier to eat! A great healthful condiment to have stashed in your fridge.
I fell in love with this stuff long ago at Casa de Luz' Sunday brunch (CdL serves wonderful macrobiotic meals here in Austin), and had never thought of searching for the recipe til yesterday. Sure enough there it was, right there in the innertubes.

Sun Cheese:
(Casa de Luz Community Cookbook)

1 1/4 cup hulled organic sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours or overnight
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs umeboshi vinegar (Central Market has this if you're in Austin)
2 Tbs lemon juice
1+ cup filtered water

Place seeds in bowl and cover with water to soak. Allow seeds to soak 4-6 hours or overnight (I just soaked for about 6 hrs.)

Rub seeds between hands to loosen skins. Skins will float to the top of the soaking water (so they said!). Pour out skins and soaking water. Rinse seeds, cover with water and repeat the process until most of the skins have been removed and poured out. The more skins you remove, the whiter the sauce will be.

Place seeds in a blender with garlic, lemon juice and umeboshi vinegar and add 1 cup of water.
Blend until desired consistency. I just let mixture blend until it was as smooth as I could get it.
For a thinner consistency, add up to 1/2 cup more water.
I just used the 1 cup for a thicker sauce, figuring I'd be using it for different things and could always add more water later.

Place sauce in a bowl and refrigerate. I like to think it got better in the fridge...after the flavors had a chance to marry.

Baked sweet potato, our homemade raw sauerkraut, quinoa, steamed kale topped with Sun Cheese

Vegan Alfredo Sauce

This is a wonderfully flexible sauce and a must try even if you might be a bit skeptical. It comes from Vegan Yum Yum's Blog (link there if you're interested in a yummy looking vegan cookbook!) and we've had it twice now. The first time I made it with what I had on hand...regular soy sauce instead of the called for reduced sodium tamari. Waaaaay too salty, but still really tasty. We just used less sauce and it was just fine. This time I made it with the reduced sodium tamari and it was even better. Try this with noodles topped with steamed broccoli, or my favorite way...tossed with roasted veggies on a toasted whole wheat roll. Super yum! If you use it with noodles you might want to save some of the water you cooked the noods in. After you've added as much sauce as you want to the hot noodles, you can use some of the starchy water to loosen up the dish to your liking.
Judging from this recipe alone, I might just need a copy of VeganYumYum's new cookbook!

Hurry Up Alfredo by Vegan Yum Yum:

1/3 cup whole raw cashews
3 Tbs reduced sodium tamari sauce (I only used 2 last time I made it...might go with 2.5 next)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tbs Earth Balance margarine
1 Tbs tahini
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (I used smoked paprika the first time and regular the second)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
1-2 cloves garlic
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, or milk of your choice
black pepper to taste

Since I don't have a super fancy Vitamix blender I add the cashews and the soy sauce and try to blend as smoothly as possible before adding the soymilk. It'll go all over the inside of the blender, but just push it back down with a spatula and add more of the other ingredients, adding the soymilk slowly until the nuts really get blended well. That's it! Just add all the stuff in and blend. How goofy easy is that?

Fish and Chickpea Burgers (salad) with Tartar Sauce

These are a great healthy meal and my guess is that even kids would like them on buns...specially since I found the recipe on a blog called Eco Child's Play. The tartar sauce was really great too, that recipe gleaned from Epicurious.com. I only made 1/3 of the tartar sauce recipe, but I'd say for this amount of burgers 1/2 would have been the perfect amount. I should note that I wouldn't have made tartar sauce, but for the fact that we have a vegan eggless canola mayo by Spectrum that is only 35 calories per Tb, versus regular mayo's 90. It's a really great mayo that I don't feel the least bit guilty buying for my Monster's daily lunch sammie. Much better for you than the still icky "light" mayonnaise. But back to the recipe...the only thing I added was a little touch of agave nectar, and I didn't have any viable tarragon, but I'm sure that would have been great. I might mention that the Monster ate 3, I ate 2, leaving 3 remaining. So I figure this recipe feeds either 2 adults + 2 kids, or 3 adults worth.

Fish & Chickpea Burgers:
(Vanessa Brown at Eco Child's Play blog)

Canola cooking spray (I use Spectrum brand...good stuff)
1 lb of fresh natural tilapia filets
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves (I didn't really chop them for the 1/2 cup measure)
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I found whole wheat bread crumbs in a store brand..sweet!)
1 egg, beaten
Mini whole grain buns, or bread if you're making a sammie instead of a salad.
Optional...last time I made these I added a shake or two of Old Bay, and some Tabasco sauce into the mix

Romaine lettuce
Tomato slices
Tartar sauce (recipe follows)
lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spritz foil-lined baking pan with cooking spray and add fish. Season with 1/4+ tsp salt and pepper to taste. Bake until flaky, 7 to 10 minutes (taking care not to overcook the fish since it still has to be subjected to more heat in the patty cooking process). Remove fish from oven; leave oven on.

In a food processor, puree chickpeas, parsley, 1/4 tsp salt and bread crumbs. Process for 1 minute. (If you don’t have a processor, use a potato masher instead.) Place bean mixture into a large bowl with the egg; crumble in fish. Gently mix with your hands until it’s incorporated, then form into 8 small patties.

Coat an ovenproof skillet with canola cooking spray (or you can just wipe some canola oil around the pan with a paper towel) and put over medium heat. Add burgers. Cook until brown on one side, about 5 minutes. I spray the cakes lightly with more canola spray before flipping cakes carefully, then place in oven for 5 minutes.


Serve on mini-buns with lettuce, tomatoes and tartar sauce. Or, do as we did and serve atop romaine dressed with a touch of olive oil, lots of lemon juice, kosher salt and pepper. Toss your greens then add avocado slices, tomato, cucumber, patties and tartar sauce and of course more lemon over the top of everything. :-)

Tartar Sauce:
(Bon Appetit, Jan. 1999...got 4 forks!)

1 cup mayonnaise (Look for Spectrum vegan eggless canola mayo)
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)

Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Season with pepper (says and salt too, but ours didn't need it). Cover; chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Niter Kebbeh- Ethiopian spiced clarified butter

Niter Kebbeh is the fat used to cook many Ethiopian dishes. I'm printing the full recipe, but made only 1/4 of it, using only one stick of butter. I combined several recipes that I found online. Basically just adding a few extra ingredients to Kittee's recipe. She's a vegan and uses soy margarine in place of the butter, something I was out of at the time I made it. Next time I'll be sure to make at least a 1/2 recipe as I can see many more uses for this yummy stuff. Do yourself a favor, take a little jaunt to the bulk spices section of your grocery store and make some of this goodness. Oh and bonus...your kitchen will smell terrific when you're making it!

Niter Kebbeh:
(A combination of recipes from Kittee's blog [Cake Maker to the Stars] and from recipe3K)

1 lb butter
4 Tbs onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbs garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp tumeric
4 whole green cardamom pods, crushed
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1 Tbs fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried...make sure it's not old)

In a small saucepan, gradually melt the butter and bring it to
bubbling. When the top is covered with foam, add the other
ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer.


Gently simmer, uncovered, on low heat. After about 45 to 60 minutes, when the
surface becomes transparent and the milk solids are on the bottom,
pour the liquid through a cheesecloth into a heat resistant
container. Discard the spices and solids.

This will keep in a covered dish in your refrigerator for quite a while and I'll bet you find all sorts of non Ethiopian specific uses for it. I made collard greens with it the other night...super yum!
Served atop Quick Injera.

Mexican Masa Cakes with Chevre & Red Pepper Sauce

I know, I know...what's with this girl and hotcakes?? Truth be told, I have a third pancake recipe in the chute to publish after this. But who can argue with something so easy to make that also happens to be infinitely variable. These were undeniably delicious, made all the more so by the tasty additions. A great first course, lunch or light dinner. We ate ours for dinner with some of the leftover black beans (thawed from the freezer) topped with avocado. Perfect.
The roasted red pepper sauce was awesome, but I'm thinking it could also be made with jarred peppers in a pinch. Would be a real time saver. Or, you can make a double batch and freeze it in 1 cup servings, leaving the yogurt out until you thawed the portion you were going to use.

I think I'll make omelets for dinner this weekend with fresh spinach, avo, chopped tomato, and the leftover goat cheese. Topped off of course with the yummy leftover red pepper sauce!


Mexican Masa Cakes with Chevre & Red Pepper Sauce:
(Biscuits, Pancakes, & Quick Breads)

Yields 12 pancakes; 4 servings

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup masa harina de maiz
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley
1 Tbs canola oil, or other vegetable oil
mild goat cheese, sliced ~1/4" thick (I used Montrachet's chevre with pepperdew peppers)
1 (8oz) can corn niblets, drained (buy one with nothing else added besides corn and water)
1 cup Red Pepper Sauce (recipe to follow)
red bell pepper strips and cilantro sprigs to top

Preheat oven to 300.
If you have an electric griddle, heat it to 325. If you'll be cooking stovetop, just wait till your batter is resting.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, masa harina, baking soda, and salt.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, buttermilk, cilantro, and 1 TBS oil.
Stir with a wooden spatula until just blended.
Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.

Oil (if needed...we have non-stick electric, so didn't have to) your heated griddle.
Ladle scant 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the griddle, making pancakes 3 1/2 -4 inches in diameter.
Cook the pancakes until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
Turn and cook the other side about 2 minutes.
Keep them warm in the preheated oven while cooking the rest of the cakes.
When all the pancakes are made, arrange 3 cakes on each of 4 serving plates.
Place 2 overlapping slices of cheese on top of the pancakes.
Scatter corn over each serving.
Return the plates to the oven and heat for 5 minutes, until the cheese is warmed through.
Spoon the Red Pepper Sauce around the pancakes and garnish with pepper strips and cilantro.

Red Pepper Sauce:
(adapted from Biscuits, Pancakes and Quick Breads)

2 large roasted red bell peppers
1 Tbs canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2-1 tsp Asian chile-garlic sauce
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 cup low sodium chicken broth (I made this a second time with veggie broth)
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt (Fage...original recipe uses sour cream)
(original recipe also used 1 Tbs chopped cilantro added after taken off heat)

Finely mince 1 1/2 of the peppers; cut remaining 1/2 pepper into thin strips to garnish cakes.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onion, minced peppers, chile-garlic sauce, and cumin. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, for about 2-3 minutes, until onions begin to soften.
Stir in the broth and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until reduced somewhat.
I blended it at this point with a stick blender in a smaller bowl. You could also use a regular blender.
Wait for the sauce to cool, then whisk in your yogurt and season with salt and pepper if needed.
If you're making the sauce in advance and plan to use it later, refrigerate it; reheat gently without letting the sauce come to a boil.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups of sauce

Update:
This sauce is so amazing! Wonderful warm or cold. We had it atop veggie omelets and then I used the rest cold as a dressing for my spinach salad at lunch the following day. Sooooo good.

Anniversary Dinner: Tilapia with Prosciutto and Sage

This was our ninth anniversary dinner from the 5th. I just didn't feel like getting all dressed up to go out, so opted for a nice dinner at home. The Monster brought home a gorgeous bouquet a flowers and the same card that I'd bought him! Too cute. I gave him a horrendous pile of dishes to do...not cute.

This was the meal that produced said pile...

We started the meal with some nice big artichokes. Something The Monster said he'd never eaten before meeting his California gal. I cooked them submerged in boiling water with slices of lemon until the outer leaves pulled out easily. Here's a link that could help you non-artichoke eaters out a bit. She steams hers though.
The dipping sauce is a mix of mayo, Greek yogurt and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

And next...

Tilapia with Prosciutto and Sage with Toasted Walnut Sage Cream Sauce:
(Adapted from Gourmet, December 2004)


Prosciutto and sage add deep flavor to tilapia, which is a mild fish. Separating the two sides of the fillet helps to keep the thinner part from overcooking.

Makes 4 servings.

4 pieces skinless tilapia fillet (2 lb total)
8 thin slices prosciutto (not paper-thin; 6 oz total (I used an artisanal prosciutto di Parma and I used all 8 slices between 2 filets of fish split into 4 pieces.)
12 fresh sage leaves, stems discarded
4 teaspoons olive oil
preparation
Cut fillets lengthwise to separate smaller and larger portions, then pat dry and season with pepper. Wrap each piece of fillet crosswise in a slice of prosciutto, leaving ends of fillet exposed if necessary and tucking 1 or 2 sage leaves between prosciutto and fillet (use 1 leaf for smaller pieces of fish).


Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté the 4 larger pieces of fish 4 minutes. Turn over and sauté until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Wipe skillet clean and heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil, then sauté the 4 smaller pieces of fish, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes total.
Plate over Savory Polenta and finish with Toasted Walnut Sage Cream.

Toasted Walnut Sage Cream:

This is another take on my Pepita Sage Cream Sauce...

pat of butter
1 Tbs chopped fresh sage
about 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
couple good spoonfuls of 2% Greek yogurt
fine sea salt
unsweetened soymilk, or milk of your choice to thin the sauce

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the walnuts.
Toss in the sage and cook on medium until the walnuts are a little toasty.
Let them cool slightly then add them and yogurt to a blender and puree.
Add salt to taste and thin with soymilk, or milk of your choice.
Chill in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Savory Polenta:
Alton Brown's method cooks in the oven freeing up your time to focus on preparing the rest of the meal. I've made it this way 3 times now, and there's no going back to stove top for me!
The only thing I would suggest, is to hold back on the amount of salt he uses. Just add it in to your taste, since the cheese is already salty. You might want the whole amount, but just adding it slowly ensures you won't end up with a too-salty batch. The next day I made a salad of arugula greens with fried egg on top and crispy on the outside-gooey on the inside polenta fingers on the side. I dressed the salad with lemon, olive oil and some of the leftover cream sauce...so good! Just slice up the leftover polenta and saute it in a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve warm.

We finished the meal with a simple palette cleansing salad of arugula, avocado, and chevre. Tossed only with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Perfect. Least the "Peazer" though so.

Roasted Cauliflower and Homemade Ketchup

Cauliflower is not the typical side dish we have with burgers, but I had a freakishly large head of it in the fridge that needed to be cooked up. Emeril's recipe is a nice alternative to steaming.
For the burgers I made my own ketchup too! It was surprisingly good. In fact, I won't be buying any more store bought. It probably cost less than 50 cents to make and I was able to use agave nectar in place of sugar (or in Heinz' version, high fructose corn syrup!). The really small bottle of agave sweetened ketchup that Central Market carries cost almost 8 bucks! Try whipping up your own batch sometime...it does't make too much, but I'm not sure how long it'll keep, so that's probably a good thing.

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice:
(Emeril Lagasse)

5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I probably used less)
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Chopped chives, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Serve immediately while still warm.


Homemade Ketchup:
(If there's a "+" next to the amount, I used a little more of those. If there's a "-" I used less.)

1 small can of tomato paste
1/4+ cup water
-1/8 cup agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4+ teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 tsp onion powder
2+ tablespoons cider vinegar

Whisk all ingredients together and put in the fridge until ready to use. How it could it be any easier than that?

Sweet Potato Casserole with Carmelized Onions and Cranberry Walnut Quinoa Salad

Boy, it's been so long since I posted! This is due to two big events happening at once...a wonderful visit from my dear friend Marenka and the IMac seizing up. Good thing I had Marenka to distract me from the loss of our 24" glowy friend!
After feeding M. her favorite meal upon her arrival Sunday (Thanksgiving turkey and my pared down version of trimmings), I put her to work the following 3 nights cooking us meals from the blog. Dishes we thought she'd be able to replicate easily at home with her newfound talents in the kitchen. :-) She made Curried Green Pea soup, Strawberry Crisp, Mediterranean Baked Tilapia, Tofu Chocolate Pudding and her second favorite next to Turkey Day dinner...Turkey Meatloaf.
This is all to say that the only new things I have to write about are the Sweet Potato Casserole and the Cranberry Walnut Quinoa Salad we had for our welcome to Texas Thanksgiving dinner for M. The casserole was just a spur of the moment dish. I'd made some roasted sweets the day before and mashed 'em with a little butter, salt and pepper. I'd also carmelized some onions the day before too, so added those to the mashed sweets. We'd bought some amazing brioche rolls from Central Market for our dinner and sure weren't going to eat 12 (so we thought!), so I grabbed a couple to buzz in the food processor. These were combined with some grated cave-aged Gruyere and a weenie bit of butter and used as a topping for the mashed sweets. Can I just say...SO GOOD! I'll be making these again soon. The quinoa dish was a stand-in for all of the following...cranberry sauce, green beans, and stuffing. It's one of our favorites that I know you'll love.

Cranberry Walnut Quinoa Salad: (adapted from Juan-Carlos Cruz recipe from foodtv)

1 cup quinoa
~3/4 cup dried cranberries
~3-4 cups cut green beans, boiled until crisp tender (the original recipe calls for 1 cup frozen, but I like a lot more green beans and don't care for the frozen ones)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
~3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Trim and cut your beans into ~2 inch pieces and boil until crisp tender, drain and place in a large bowl.

Add the cranberries, walnuts, and green onions to the beans.

Combine quinoa with 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking until all water is absorbed. Usually about 10-15 minutes. When water is absorbed, turn off the heat, fluff with a fork and recover the pot.

Heat olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and saute for 1-2 min. The original recipe calls for 4 cloves of minced raw garlic, but this is much friendlier. :-) When done, add balsamic, salt and pepper. This will be your dressing.

Add hot cooked quinoa to the cranberry, walnut, bean mixture. Toss with dressing until well mixed. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. You can also make this the day before.


Sweet Potato Casserole with Carmelized Onions:

I'm not going to be able to give any firm amounts for the ingredients because I didn't type this up soon enough and I just made it up as I went along. Next time I make it, I'll be sure to take notes and amend this.

3 (or more) smallish roasted sweet potatoes, mashed (wrap each individually in foil and bake at 400 until soft (about an hour), peel and mash with a little butter, salt and pepper to taste)
~1/4-1/3? cup chopped carmelized onions (I used this method, only with sweet yellow onions, that were cut in half lengthwise, and then sliced horizontally into ~1/4" or less slices. Then you don't end up with skinny ends that tend to burn rather than carmelize)
2 brioche rolls or equivalent in a loaf form, buzzed briefly in a food processor
~1/4-1/3 cup grated aged Gruyere cheese
a pat of softened butter

Mix mashed sweets with onions then spread in a small (size will actually depend on how big a recipe you're making...my dish is a little over a quart).
Mix brioche crumbs with cheese and butter and spread over mashed sweets to cover.
This is the part I really don't remember...I think I baked it at 350 til warmed through. I can't remember if I covered it with foil for the better part of baking and then broiled uncovered for a minute or so...but, that sounds like a good idea. :-)

Hoisin Cashew Chicken Noodles

I've got 2 chicken breasts left from last night's meal, so we'll go with another Asian inspired meal tonight. Some organic broccoli is also residing in our fridge, and I've got some angel hair spelt pasta in the pantry. Just need a sauce to bring it all together. The cashew hoisin dipping sauce from the spring rolls we made went over really well with both the Monster and myself, so I think I'll make up a batch of that and thin it with some of the pasta water. I've got another batch of green onions that I'll lightly saute and toss in with the whole works and call that dinner.

ABORT, ABORT, ABORT!!! The organic broccoli was riddled with buggies that I could NOT wash out! Ick! Organic good, bug infested that you can't wash out, baaaaaad. Not up for that extra protein tonight...sorry.

Alright let's revisit the fridge. Looks like it's going to be those green onions, a weenie bit of red pepper, and a bunch of fresh basil. There's a cucumber and carrots that can pass as a salad. Ok, crisis averted.
Onward!

Hoisin Cashew Chicken Noodles:

~1-2 tsp canola oil
cubed cooked marinated chicken (2 breasts from last night)
a bunch of green onions, sliced in ~2 inch lengths on the diagonal
~1/2 red pepper, diced
spelt angel hair pasta (or chinese egg noodles)
hoisin cashew sauce (recipe follows)
3 ladles full of reserved pasta water, save more than you think you'd need
generous handful of rough chopped basil
lime wedges

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
When water is boiling, heat canola oil in a non-stick skillet over med.-high heat.
Drop noodles (the spelt only takes 4 minutes), and saute red pepper and onions for a couple minutes. Add diced chicken and warm though. Drain noodles, and toss into skillet with as much sauce as you'd like, a couple ladles of water...until you're happy with the consistency and toss with basil. Remove from heat and serve with a wedge of lime.

Hoisin Cashew Sauce:
(slightly adapted version of Steamy Kitchen's recipe)

This is great to have on hand. Quick to whip up and saves well for about a week in the fridge.
I end up finding all kinds of uses for it.

1 Tbs canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup hoisin sauce (if you're in Texas, Central Market has a great organic one)
a small squeeze of agave nectar
juice of 1/2 a lime
1+ Tbs chili garlic sauce (I use more than 1 T)
3 Tbs roasted cashew butter (look for it in the bulk section of your grocery store)
1/4 cup+ water (you'll need more than the quarter cup)

Heat oil in small sauce pan. Saute garlic until it starts to turn golden, then add
the hoisin, chili garlic sauce, agave nectar, lime juice, and cashew butter and whisk til creamy. Add water to thin, remove from heat, cover and set aside until ready to use.

Carrot and Cucumber Salad:

rice vinegar
a spoonful of chili garlic sauce
salt
pepper
a squeeze of agave nectar
a few drops of toasted sesame oil
quartered and sliced English cucumber, peel on
shredded carrots (I just put a hopperfull of baby carrots into my food processor and shredded using the grating plate)
a couple Tbs of chopped cilantro

Mix rice vinegar through sesame oil in the bowl you'll serve the salad in. Then add carrots, cuke, and cilantro and toss.

Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce, Japanese Carrot Dressing

This is one of our favorite meals. I made this for my family while in California and my aunt hasn't stopped making it since! Good for a quick weeknight meal, or even nice enough for company. You can make the sauce ahead of time so you're not too harried while the fish is broiling. Just set it to the back of the stove and gently rewarm before serving if necessary.
Look for never frozen, fresh tilapia that's US farm-raised. Natural, if you can get it...no added hormones, etc. It's only about 2 bucks more per pound and in my book, totally worth it. The salad, albeit of Japanese influence, was a great compliment to the coconut-curry sauce.


Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce: (Cooking Light)

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided (I actually use a lighter blend of canola and sesame)
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green onions (they look pretty cut on the bias)
1 teaspoon curry powder (use hot or mild)
2 teaspoons red curry paste (or more if you're daring)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoons soy sauce (the recipe calls for low-sodium which I didn't have, just adjust the salt down)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I subbed agave nectar)
~1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk (this dish is crazy good with whole fat coconut milk, but well...it's reaaaaally fattening. :-) I did go back to using the lite this time, but sometimes I use a half and half mix. Buy a can of regular and a can of lite, mix the two, and freeze the rest in 1/2 cup measures for future use.)
2 tablespoons or more, chopped fresh cilantro
4 (6-ounce) farm-raised natural tilapia fillets (I just used 2 really big filets, we have extra sauce and rice for lunch the next day)
Cooking spray
hot cooked brown basmati rice
lime wedges

Preheat broiler.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add pepper and onions; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry powder, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar (agave), 1/4 teaspoon salt, and coconut milk; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.

Brush fish with 1/2 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 7 minutes (I flipped our large 8oz filets over at 6 minutes, and broiled for an additional 3 minutes for a perfectly done, moist fish) or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve fish with sauce, rice, and lime wedges.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet, 1/2 cup sauce, 3/4 cup rice, and 1 lime wedge)

CALORIES 506 (30% from fat); FAT 17.1g (sat 5.9g,mono 6g,poly 2.5g); PROTEIN 29g; CHOLESTEROL 82mg; CALCIUM 47mg; SODIUM 616mg; FIBER 3.1g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 56.6g



Japanese Ginger-Carrot Dressing:

We love this dressing that's always served at our favorite sushi restaurant. I found this recipe online and it's really, really good. I tend to use more carrots than called for...about a fistful of baby-sized carrots, but I'll type up as written and you do as you like. If it's a little too thick with the extra carrots just add a small amount of water to thin. I used orange juice last night and it just changed the flavor too much. It should be fairly thick. Just dollop a good amount in the center of your salad and scoop some up with each bite. Delish!
All of these ingredients can be increased to your taste of course.

1 small carrot (or more)
1 Tbs mirin (orig. recipe calls for 2, just add one then taste)
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
couple drops dark sesame oil
1 Tbs prepared mustard (not French's)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger root

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Well covered, it keeps in the fridge for about a week.

Pan-Seared Pork Loin Chops with Fresh Sage Gravy, Braised Kale and Oatmeal Biscuits

Be forewarned...this is a looooong post. I think we'll be living on frozen leftovers from at least 5 meals next week to make room for frozen kitty food, so this one will have to last until next weekend.

Thought I'd go for a Sunday type dinner today...it being Sunday and all.
Inspiration stemmed (pardon the pun) from this lovely little sage plant that caught my eye at the grocery store the other day. It's beautiful purply-blue flower poking up among the rest of the green potted herbs set it apart.


Hm...sage...sage gravy?
Sage gravy and pork...sage gravy, pork loin chops, and biscuits?! Alright...gotta have some green in there somewhere, and I'm afraid the sage doesn't count for much in that department. The Monster suggested braised greens, so I picked out two sweet bundles of organic curly kale. One of our favorites. I'm typing this the morning of, so I'm not sure if I'll really be able to pull all of this off without the kitchen looking like an atom bomb went off in it (poor Monster, he always gets stuck with clean-up duty). I've never made biscuits before. Well not really...not successfully. I tried making sweet potato biscuits after having an out of body experience over Hoover's spb's (I have to add that I weighed at LEAST 20 lbs more when we lived around the corner from Hoover's!). Oh lordie. Well, needless to say. My lame little attempt didn't even come close to theirs.
This biscuit recipe was searched out so that I could attempt to use up some of the alternative flours I have piling up. It uses oat flour, so should be good for the ticker...well, maybe it will help counteract SOME of the negative effects from the vegetable shortening! :-) If these don't turn out, I'm on my knees for biscuit baking lessons Debbie!!!
(She made these for our Halloween party and if you closed your eyes, they were delicious! :-)


Braised Kale (or other green, such Swiss chard, collards, etc.): recipe
You can make these first and then just gently reheat before your meal.


Oat Flour Biscuits:
I'm halving the recipe that is written here, and if you choose to do the same just know that half of 1/3 cup is 2.5 TBS + 1/2 tsp. for the shortening amt.

The dough for these tasted so good! But...I didn't pull it off. Don't know if it was the recipe (I just got it from someone else's blog), or me, or both. They stayed the same size they were when they went into the oven. Needs work, but if you are an experienced biscuit baker maybe you can figure out what they'd need (and let me know). I should call these oat sandies...that's kind of what they were like.
From what I'm reading now, it looks like they just don't have enough gluten in them to rise...gonna need some wheat flour in there I suppose.

2 cups oat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar (I used sucanat...evaporated cane juice)
1/3 cup vegetable shortening (preferably the non-hydrogenated kind)
1/4 cup milk or soy milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, work the shortening through the dry mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Slowly stir in the milk until you have a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a disc, about a half-inch thick. Using a two-inch circle cutter, cut out biscuits and transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather up the leftover dough, working it as little as possible, and cut out as many more biscuits as you can. Bake about 15 minutes until golden. Serve warm. Makes 8-10 biscuits. I buttered the tops when they came out of the oven and just set them aside until the pork and gravy were done.


Seared Pork Loin Chops:

Center cut boneless natural pork loin chops, ~1" thick
Kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
flour for dusting (I used brown rice flour)
Light olive or canola oil

Take out of refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking them, dry them, and add salt and pepper to both sides. When they've sat for 30 minutes, pat the excess moisture from them and then dust in flour, shaking off excess. Pour oil in a heavy skillet heated over high heat. When oil is very hot, add pork and sear for about 4 1/2 minutes per side. I think we did about 5 1/2 on the first side and ~3, 3 1/2 on the second. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.
Make the gravy in the same skillet and when you've got about 2 minutes left on the gravy simmering, add the pork back into the skillet to rewarm.


Fresh Sage Gravy:
Makes 2 cups (I halved the recipe to just make just enough for 2)

I found this recipe on Whole Foods' website. It was the only one I found that didn't have a ton of fat and white flour in it. I changed it up a bit, and it's definitely a "keeper" recipe. I made the gravy in the same pot that I'd just seared the pork in, so as to incorporate all the crispy bits from the chops in the gravy.

* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/2 cup yellow onion, 1/4-inch dice
* 1 stalk celery, 1/4-inch dice (I didn't use any)
* 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons unbleached white flour
* 2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
* 2 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce (or you might use a little less than 2 Tbs if using regular so that it's not too salty. I only had regular tonight...)
* 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced

Heat oil over medium high heat. Sauté onion, celery and garlic until onion is translucent. Reduce heat to low. Stir in flour to make a roux. Stirring often, cook the roux over very low heat for three minutes. Return to high heat, whisk in vegetable broth and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Add sage, simmer for 10 minutes. Check seasonings and adjust to taste.

Chipotle-Orange Scallops over Wild Rice

We had a great meal with our friend Debbie tonight. These scallops are deliciously spicy and sweet...served over a nutty wild rice with sides of baked sweet potatoes and steamed broccolini with browned butter. Great company and great food! :-)

Scallops with chipotle-orange sauce:

Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeños that are often canned in sauce; use more or less than we call for here, depending on your tolerance for heat. A preheated pan is essential for good browning, so heat your pan while you prep the ingredients.

2 tablespoons butter, divided
Cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/4 cup minced green onions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with paprika and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan, and keep warm.
Add orange juice and chile to the pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 1 minute). Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Serve the sauce over the scallops, and garnish with the onions. Serve over wild rice. It's nice to double the the amount of sauce (all except for the chipotles) because it's so good on leftover rice the next day. Just make sure to cook it down enough...nice and syrupy is best.

Grilled Chicken with Pepita Cream over Pumpkin-Chipotle Polenta

We had a gnarly rainy day in Austin today. Not the best weather for trying to paint sample boards. Instead of watching the paint dry, I channeled my frustrations into figuring out a creative use for leftover cooked chicken breasts from last night. I ended up with a delicious and comforting meal of chicken with a pepita-sage cream sauce served over a chipotle spiced pumpkin polenta. Alongside I served a dish of Mexican black beans and a refreshing salad with mango-orange dressing. If you try any of these recipes, amend them in any way that suits your tastes...I just happened to have all this stuff in my fridge, and thus it found it's way into my pots. The results were really yummy, even if my photo just looks like a big blob. :-)



Remaining polenta and cream sauce remade at Debbie's for lunch the next day with her pecan-crusted salmon. A lovely plating by Debbie to make up for last night's photo! I had a hunch that this would be awesome with seafood and it so was...nom, nom, nom.

Pumpkin-Chipotle Polenta:

1-2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
~1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
~1/2 tsp cumin
1 chipotle pepper, minced + a tsp. of adobo sauce
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup medium grind, or coarse polenta
1 cup canned unsweeted pumpkin puree
~2 Tbs butter
~1 tsp salt
~1/4 cup grated queso cotija
a couple good squeezes of agave nectar
a glurg or 2 of buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 350.
In an oven safe pan with a lid, saute garlic and onion sprinkled with a little salt in olive oil for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Add cumin, chipotle, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Slowly pour polenta into boiling broth, whisking constantly.
Put the lid on the pot and place in the oven for 40 minutes, whisking every 10 minutes to prevent lumps. At 20 minutes, add pumpkin puree.
At 40 minutes, remove from oven and whisk in butter, agave nectar, salt, cotija cheese, and buttermilk.


Pepita Cream:

I think I overdid the sage in my batch, but have changed the amount in the recipe. I think the problem was that I added more uncooked sage to the blender, so just stick with sauteing it with the pepitas.

~1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
a dab of ghee, or butter
~1/4-1/2 tsp fresh sage, chiffonade
~1/3 cup 2% Greek yogurt
half and half, or milk to thin
salt to taste
save some pepitas out for garnishing

Toast pepitas in ghee, and about halfway, add sage cooking until fragrant.
Place mixture in blender, add yogurt, and half and half. Puree, then add salt to taste.


Mexican Black Beans:

1 Tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 tsp cumin
30 oz. or 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1- 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1/2 tsp cocoa (I was just playing around by adding this)
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice
cilantro
cotija cheese for topping

Heat oil in heavy large suacepan over med.-high heat. Add garlic, jalapeno, and cumin and saute for 30 seconds. Add beans and broth (and cocoa if you feel like being a weirdo), bring to a simmer then cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Coarsely mash beans with a potato masher. Continue boiling until thick, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. I transfered some to individual baking dishes, sprinkled with cotija cheese and covered with foil. I warmed them in the oven when the polenta was baking.


Mango-Orange Dressing:

1 large mango
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 clove garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp cumin

Place all ingredients in blender and puree. This is an oil-free dressing, but I added some olive oil while the blender was whirring. It's good with, or without though.