Mexican Salad

Many months ago, I went to Cafe 118 for yet another perfectly deletable meal. I ordered the taco salad, which was full of so many flavors and textures that my mouth went into overdrive. I took a bite. I moaned. I took another bite. And moaned.

Oh did I moan.

After proclaiming it to be the best salad ever, I vowed to make it at home.

And I didn't.

Dehydrated tortillas? Cashew sour cream? I'd love to. My wallet? Not so much.



So, after reading a post on Andie's blog, I decided I had to make a Mexican salad. A simple one, full of my aromatic frijoles, fresh, vibrant vegetables, guacamole as smooth as butter, and one of my favorite herbs, the misunderstood cilantro.



It's easy. So easy you've probably seen it before. So easy you probably don't think it's worthy of a blog post. But I do, and that's all that matters, isn't it?


Mexican salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine, chopped
- 2/3 cup black beans
- 1 large corn cob, grilled* and kernels removed
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1/2 cup guacamole**
- 2-4T plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream

* To grill corn, just coat with a little olive oil and place on direct heat, turning every few minutes, until lightly charred.

* My guacamole varies almost every time I make it. For this, I mashed one avocado and combined it with the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/2t each cumin, onion powder & garlic powder, 1/4t cayenne, and some sea salt. I like mine super smooth.

Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and serve chilled.

Serves 2

Pico de gallo
Ingredients
- 1lb roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 small jalapeno, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Combine ingredients and chill for at least an hour.

Five Minute Recipe: Black Bean Avocado Quesadilla

One of my favorite products are Trader Joe's brown rice tortillas. They're much chewier and filling than regular tortillas, and they're also huge. Win/Win.

However, they make horrible wraps. Or I'm a horrible wrapper. Either way, every time I try to make a wrap or a burrito, it splits and ends up with me throwing them frisbee-style across the room, salsa decorating the walls like a very strange crime scene, made stranger by me licking it off said walls.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

So, I got to thinking. A quesadilla is an easy way to eat one of these finicky tortillas without having to bend them too much beyond their comfort zone. The black bean avocado idea came into fruition after I had a slice of pizza at Amherst's famous Antonio's a couple months ago; they're known for massive slices of some of the most creative pizza ideas I've ever seen, including black bean quesadilla. Picture a crispy, thin crust topped with mashed black beans, thin avocado slices, crispy tortilla chip crumbles, a thick drizzle of sour cream, and chunks of salty feta.



Oh yes.



Back to the quesadilla. It takes literally five minutes to make, is positively crispy, creamy, and slightly smokey, and tastes perfect dunked into my new love: salsa verde, which I could drink through a straw.


Black bean avocado quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1 tortilla, brown rice or otherwise
- 1/3 cup (vegan) refried black beans, or slightly mashed black beans
- 1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
- 3-4 slices of tomato
- 1/2t cumin + scant 1/4t cayenne
- 1T nutritional yeast*
- Fresh cilantro, torn

Instructions
- Warm tortilla in the microwave to make it more pliable. Spread toppings on one half of the tortilla, then flip the other side over.
- Heat a skillet to medium and toast on both sides, until golden brown. Using a pot, tea kettle, brick, or some other heavy household item to create a makeshift (re: cheap) press, if desired.

Serves 1

* Feel free to add vegan cheese (Daiya pepperjack would be awesome), organic cheese, sour cream, etc.

Raw-cos

I may be doing poorly on my sweets resolution, but I'm making progress on eating more raw foods! I find it's much easier in Florida; it was a lovely 78 degrees yesterday, which left me craving a fresh, energizing meal. As much as I love a hearty soup or pasta dish, there's something about raw foods that make me feel so incredible; I feel lighter, refreshed and just plain good. That feeling I'm left with is why I know that eating more raw meals will be a welcome addition to my life.

I knew exactly what I wanted: raw tacos. After hitting a local Latin food store and scoring avocados for 2/$1.00, I got to work creating the healthiest tacos I've ever eaten.


Raw tacos
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp nama shoyu
- 1/2 jalapeno, de-seeded
- 1T cilantro
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne

- Pico de gallo
- 1/2 avocado, cubed
- Romaine heart leaves

Instructions
- Add ingredients (walnuts through cayenne) in a food processor and blend until it reaches your desired consistency. It should hold together well and look similar to ground beef.
- Make a taco by adding a scoop of walnut meat to the inside of a romaine leaf, then topping with pico de gallo, avocado, and whatever else you desire.

Serves 2



This recipe is great because it's so quick and easy to put together. It's also pretty inexpensive, if you can find cheap avocados and disregard the insane price of raw walnuts. I served it along with some raw Mexican rice, which was mighty tasty, but not exactly where I want it yet. I'll share the recipe once I perfect it.





Oh, and the pico de gallo was made by tossing together 1 chopped tomato, 1/4 of a chopped large onion, 1 minced garlic clove, the zest & juice of 1/2 lime, some cilantro, salt and pepper and letting it sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Simple and fresh.

Now, I think it may be time for some macaroon making.

Crockpot Frijoles

I woke up one morning craving frijoles. Coincidentally, frijoles is one of my favorite words. Just say it: frijoles.

Frijoles. Frijoles. Frijoles. I'm done.

At 8:00AM, as I was loading up my crockpot with ingredients, my friend stumbled out of bed and asked: "What are you making?" The conversation went something like this:

"Frijoles"
"What?"
"I'm making frijoles."
"Fri-what? Oh, beans."

She said it in such a disappointed way. All of the things I could make and I'm filling the crockpot with beans. But no, these aren't just beans. They're soft, aromatic, smoky, delicious beans that filled the entire hallway with the scent of cumin.


Crockpot frijoles
Ingredients
- 2 cups black beans, uncooked
- 4 cups water
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 yellow onion, quartered (they'll fall apart as they cook)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- Sea salt, to taste
- Cilantro, for garnish

Instructions
- Soak beans in water overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse.
- Place beans, remaining ingredients and enough water to cover everything in a crockpot. Cook on low for 10-12 hours, or high for about 8. Discard bay leaves and garlic cloves before serving.



If you don't have a crockpot, just cook these on the stove for about 2 hours, or until the beans are incredibly soft and delicate.





I served this up with some brown rice I had frozen (rice reheats beautifully) and chipotle cornbread, which is my new love. I'll have that recipe for you guys really soon.

Goode Stuffed Peppers

Today I went to Total Wine & More for my daily dose of antioxidants. While looking through the huge array of reds, I came across this little beauty and recognized it from Jenna's blog, so I knew I had to try it.


I LOVED it. Hands down the best Cab Sauv I've ever had.

In other news, I went through two dinner ideas, both Indian, that fell through. My day started out with an intense desire to make samosas, only to fail miserably at baking samosa dough. I realized what I did wrong after the dough was already made, but by that time I figured it would be best to leave the samosa making up to the samosa pros. After that I tossed some almonds in filtered water on a whim, just in case I found a use for them. Then, after scouring the aisles at a local Indian market, I become inspired to make dal. In fact, I had every intention of making dal tonight until I got back from the gym and was feeling both hungry and lazy. So, I decided to whip up something quick and raw. Thankfully I had those soaked almonds which made the rest of the dish easy as...nuts.


Raw stuffed peppers
Ingredients
- 2-3 bell peppers, tops cut off
- 1/4 cup soaked almonds
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked
- 1/2 cup button mushrooms, halved
- 5 grape tomatoes, halved
- Handful of kale (between 1/2-1 cup)
- 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
- 2 small ribs celery, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, coarsely chopped
- 2 dates, soaked
- Reserved sundried tomato soaking liquid
- 2 tsp shoyu
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- Scant 1/4 tsp cayenne
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove the ribs and seeds. Set aside.
- Put almonds in food processor and pulse until broken down.
- Add remaining ingredients and process until mostly smooth and a "meaty" color and texture forms. Add reserved liquid as necessary. It will take a few minutes but the end result should look like browned ground beef.
- Spoon mixture into peppers and garnish with tomatoes, cilantro, or whatever else you'd like.
- To eat, either scoop the mixture out of the center and eat that way, or just dive in with a knife and cut it open.


I dove in. Look how full it is - stuffed with raw energy and nutrients!


Truthfully, the filling wasn't a believable meat substitute, but it was hearty and filling and full of vegetables and healthy fats, so that's more than good enough for me. The dish was spicy, had complex texture combinations and was muy satisfying.

Ole!

The plan was to make fajitas for dinner last night, but it was a late night and I was PMSing really bad not feeling well, so I ended up just noshing on some granola and cherries instead. However, the vegetables were already cut and prepped to be cooked, so I decided to make fajitas for lunch instead. Enter, a simple vegan fajita feast!


Don't you love the matching dishware? ;)


'bello fajitas
Ingredients
- 2 large portobello mushroom caps, cut into thick slices
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 large onion
- Mojo marinade (recipe below)
- Corn or flour tortillas, warmed
- Toppings galore (I used tomatoes, grilled jalapenos, and vegan sour cream)

Mojo marinade ingredients
- Two limes, juice of both and zest of one
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- S&P

Instructions
- Marinate veggies for at least an hour, turning every 15 minutes or so.
- After marination is done, saute onions and peppers until cooked down to your liking. I prefer mine with a little crisp left in 'em. I also cooked the veggies in some of the leftover marinade so the flavor intensified.
- While onions and peppers are cooking, grill the mushroom slices until they begin to release their juices and grill marks form. Alternatively, you can toss them in with the onions and peppers, but I wanted them separate because they're acting as the "meat" in the recipe. Plus, grilled mushrooms are delicious.
- Warm tortillas, plate everything, build your fajitas and enjoy!


I love using multiple colors of peppers.



This was so simple and made for a filling and healthy lunch! I had 2 in tortillas, a "naked" one and some blue corns and salsa. This marinade is delicioso - spicy but with a hint of citrus that's really nice on the palette.



The weather is awful today but I'm on a mission to have a nice night! Adios!

Where are the veggies?

Do you ever have those days where your body is just craving protein? Well, tonight that is what happened to me. I kept trying to convince myself to have veggies, but in the end I listened to my body. This is evident by the fact that the only vegetables in this dish are the onions, garlic and peppers in the beans.



I'm almost embarrassed to post this recipe because, well, it's more of a no-recipe dish. I basically just threw things together in a mostly tired state and hoped it would taste good. Rice & beans is just that kind of a dish to me. Everyone has their own recipe, it's super easy and quick but also really delicious. I like mine very spicy.

Rice & beans

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup brown rice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 red pepper, diced
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce or crushed/diced/etc tomatoes (whatever you prefer)
- *Secret ingredient* 1/4 cup salsa
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- Pinch of cayenne

Instructions:
- In an uncovered pot, bring rice and water to a boil. Once boiling, turn to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook for about 45 minutes or until water is absorbed.
- In a pan, saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add remaining ingredients, stir and simmer until peppers are softened and sauce is thickened.
- Add cooked rice to the bean mixture. Stir. Enjoy!

On the side I had a piece of flax tempeh. To prepare that, I made a dry rub with paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt, and a pinch of sugar (I didn't measure, just dumped). I rubbed the mixture on both sides, added a splash of lime juice and grilled for 2-3 minutes on each side.

I don't know why, but today I'm SO tired. I had to slow my pace during my run today, but every other time I've had enough energy to keep my pace up. It's Friday, I should be energized and out having fun or committing some form of debauchery, but all I want to do is drink tea and go to bed early. When did I turn into an old woman?