MexiTempeh with Cheesy Polenta

Leafy greens. Not featured in the title of this recipe, because this recipe is for those that don’t like leafy greens. For the vegetarians that hate vegetables. For the children that grew up on hot dish. This dish is every bit as comforting as the mysterious casserole and every bit as convenient as the sensational Hamburger Helper. Ok, maybe not every bit as convenient, but this is super easy. You have no excuses.

Back to the leafy greens. Hopefully everyone knows by now that these sturdy green leaves pack a lot of nutrition. Kale is now commonly referred to as a super food, and it is. Other types have just as much bang for their buck. Chard, beet greens, mustard greens – these are all not only healthy but they each have unique flavors and complexities. The trick is in preparing them with enough complimentary flavor to counter some of the minor challenges they have. One being bitterness and the other being texture. Cooked too short, they will be bitter and chewy. Cooked too long and they will be flavorless mush.

In the case of veg haters, the nutritional components and soft flavors of greens matter not. It is those that cook for veg haters that must meet the challenge. I am one of those cooks. Do I criticize my fellow herbivores or loving omnivores for hating on greens? I could never be so harsh. But I will sneak them into my meals. All of them.

One of my new favorite go-to greens is the Trader Joe’s bag of braising greens – conveniently washed and chopped for your green-sneaking pleasure. Whole Foods has also starting offering braising green in bulk next to the salad greens. So now you really have no excuses! For this particular recipe, the spicy pizazz of cumin and chili powder will help to mask your good intentions as well. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to make the greens invisible.

MexiTempeh over Cheesy Polenta

Serves: 2

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tsp. canola oil
½ medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
½ pkg tempeh, crumbled/broken into large chunks

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. salt
(If you don’t have all those, use 1-2 T. taco seasoning)
¾ c. canned fire roasted tomatoes with chilis such as Rotel
3 c. leafy greens (collards, kale, mustard, chard etc.)
2 tsp. flour (garbanzo, potato or all purpose)
Dash of cinnamon
¼ c. cilantro, chopped

Directions

In a deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and add onion. Cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in crumbled tempeh and spices. Cook until tempeh starts to brown, about 8-10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

When pan starts to become dry, add in tomatoes and leafy greens. Add ¼ cup of water if mixture is too thick to make a light sauce. Sprinkle flour over stew and stir to thicken. Cook another 5-7 minutes, or until greens are wilted and tender. Turn the heat off. Sprinkle a faint dash of cinnamon over the top and stir in cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Cheesy Polenta

Ingredients

2 c. Water
½ c. Polenta

½ tsp Salt

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp miso paste
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp salt
2 T. Nutritional Yeast

Directions

In a large sauce pan, bring water to a boil. Slowly add polenta in an even stream, whisking vigorously to avoid clumps. When polenta comes to a boil, lower heat to low and add in remaining ingredients. Let polenta simmer another 15 minutes or so until tender.

Curried Plantains with Ginger Chard & Mango Relish

Plantains. A love affair.

Plantains are the kind of vegetable I daydream about cooking but always neglect at the market unless sold as a bag of chips. All at once they resonate ocean waves of the Caribbean (where I've never actually been), ice clinking in a nice cold mojito, and shoulder-shimmy cha cha drum beats at the local Salsa club. They are exotic and comforting, sweet and tangy, soft and delicious. So many lovely things wrapped up in one peel! 

Finally, the humble plantain caught my eye this weekend at the grocery store in it's perfectly ripe state. As I prepared for a week of veggie delights, I had no plans or recipes for the impromptu purchase but instead waitied for the inspiration. And it came with no work at all. I have a weakness for the aforementioned plantain chips, which are delicious but terribly addicting and therefore not so waist-friendly. Plantains are typically fried and served plain, but I had better intentions. Lower fat and more flavor.

This sweet, succulent and spicy dish came from blending Caribbean and Indian flavors, two different cuisines that are closer in flavor than they appear. Mango is common in both which made me think of a very underused jar in the back of my fridge...pickled mango was an impulse buy from a local Indian grocer. I had no idea how spicy it was at the time (runny nose spicy), but it was perfect in the relish and complimented the sweet flavors of the dish. The crunchy relish went perfectly with the soft texture and the garlicky ginger greens served as a scrumptious undertone to the symphony in my mouth. Well maybe less like a symphony and more like the Mamba. Cue in that cha cha drum beat.

Curried Plantains with Ginger Chard
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Plantains
2 ripe plantains, peeled and diagonally sliced
2 tsp curry powder
Cooking spray
Black pepper

For the Ginger Chard
1/2 T. fresh ginger root, minced
1/2 tsp. jalapeno, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 cups Swiss chard, chopped
Salt to taste

For the Relish
1/4 c. red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 c. grape tomatoes, quartered
2 medium radishes, finely diced
1 green onion, finely sliced
1 tsp. pickled mango or mango chutney
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. agave nectar
Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

For the plantains: Preheat oven to 450F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the plantain sliced in a medium bowl and also coat with cooking spray. Toss plantains with curry powder and another quick spritz of cooking spray (alternatively you could use a half tablespoon of canola oil, but I like the spray's coverage better). Sprinkle plantain slices with black pepper. Transfer slices to baking sheet, making sure the slices are evenly spaced and laying flat without overlapping. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until slices become dark golden brown and crispy around the edges.

While the plantains are roasting...make the chard!

For the chard: Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and generously coat with cooking spray. When pan is hot, add ginger, jalapeno and garlic. Lower heat to medium and cook until ginger becomes fragrant, 30-40 seconds. Add chard and a splash of water (2 tablespoons), stir to coat in ginger mix. Add a pinch of salt and stir frequently until chard is wilted and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

When the chard and plantains are done...whip together the relish!

For the relish: Mix all relish ingredients together. If you do not have pickled mango, use mango chutney plus 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or super spicy hot sauce. If using mango chutney, be careful with the agave, as you may not need it. If using pickled mango, beware! Taste before adding more.

To assemble: Divide the chard between two plates and top with plantains. Scoop a few tablespoons of relish or more over the plantains and serve with a side of Caribbean Cauliflower rice (below).

Caribbean Cauliflower Rice
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 5-7 minutes

Ingredients


2 cups cauliflower flowerets
1 T. coconut, dried and unsweetened
1 T. dried currants
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions


In a food processor fitted with an "S" blade, pulse the raw cauliflower until crumbled. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and mix with currants and spices.


Heat a medium skillet (preferably the one you cooked the chard in and didn't clean yet) over medium high heat and toast the coconut until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. Add cauliflower mixture and 1-2 tablespoons of water. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir well to heat through and remove from heat. Serve alongside plantains and chard.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

Bring out the mariachis! I’m doin’ a little cha cha in my cucina. We were feeling spicy last night and decided on enchiladas for dinner – something easy, something different, something fun. One of my favorite fillings for enchiladas is butternut squash, because the sweet meshes so well with the spice and the texture blends perfectly with tortillas soaked in sauce. This was actually our main holiday meal this year which was SO much better than the usual surf and turf or roast with potatoes. As my token omnivore had no recollection of this being our Christmas meal despite that being one month ago, I was totally game for remaking the dish and reminding us of the terrific flavors.

Enchiladas are a wonderful, flexible meal because they can be easily customized to your personal preferences or easily made to please a whole crowd. Sometimes I roll them in individual tortillas; in this recipe I layered them as a casserole. It’s really all about the sauce. If you have a good, spicy sauce, then the form in which the enchiladas take is trivial. What I like about casserole style is how the sauce covers everything.

So what makes the sauce so special? I really don’t know. I’ve made a few different kinds of sauce: tomato based, pepper based, and a blend of the two together. I’ve loved them all. The first recipe I tried was incredibly spicy which I loved, but it's not for the faint hearted. The second sauce was concocted by mia bella sorella over Christmas who used tomato sauce and a blend of spices. The recipe here was derived from Veganomicon and uses diced tomatoes with roasted green peppers. I happened to add a little chipotle in adobo sauce which took it up a notch.

I only covered half of the casserole with Daiya cheese, because I actually like it without cheese. But I loves me some cilantro and I highly recommend topping off your slice with a couple of sprigs and a pinch of cayenne. Whether you’re making this for Navidad or when you’ve got a case of the Mondays, it’ll be sure to scratch you where ya itch.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas
Makes: 3-4 servings
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the sauce
1-2 poblano, pasilla or anaheim pepper
2 tsp olive or canola oil
½ medium onion, diced
1 T. fresh garlic, minced
1 T. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp marjoram
½ tsp oregano (Mexican)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, roasted or fresh
1 tsp. raw vegan sugar
½ - ¾ c. almond or soy milk
Salt to taste

For the filling
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed, about 2 cups
3 c. spinach, rinsed

For the enchiladas
9-10 corn tortillas
½ - ¾ c. Daiya cheddar cheese
Cayenne pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

For the sauce: Preheat oven to 450° or high broil setting. Roast whole peppers 15-20 minutes until skin is blackened and blistered, rotating once or twice to ensure all sides are cooked. Remove and set aside in a paper bag to cool before handling.

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onions in oil until they begin to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic, chipotle peppers, spices/herbs, and a pinch of salt. Stir and let cook another minute before adding tomatoes. Bring sauce to a low boil and reduce heat medium low. Let simmer 15-20 minutes to let flavors blend. Add a small pinch of sugar to balance the acidity and bring out the spice.

Meanwhile, return to peppers. Peel the skins off, remove seeds and discard. Chop peppers coarsely and set aside. When sauce is done, transfer to food processor or blender and puree until smooth, adding almond milk until desired thickness is reached. Transfer sauce back to pan and stir in roasted peppers. Season with additional salt if necessary.

For the filling: While the sauce is simmering, bring another pot of water to boil. Add squash and lower heat to medium. Cook until squash is tender and falls apart easily. Place spinach in a medium mixing bowl in the sink. When you strain the squash, strain the hot water over the spinach to blanch. Set squash aside in a mixing bowl and strain spinach once it is slightly wilted. Mash squash until smooth but slightly chunky and fold in spinach.

To assemble enchiladas: Preheat oven to 350°F. In an 8x8” square pan, coat with cooking spray and spoon sauce to thinly cover the bottom, using about 1/3 cup. Place 3-4 tortillas over sauce and spread half of squash filling over tortillas. Spoon another ½ cup of sauce over squash and lay another 3-4 tortillas. Repeat with the next layer, spooning remainder of squash and another ½ of sauce. Finally, place another layer of tortillas over the top and cover with remaining sauce.

Bake for 20 minutes or until sauce sets. Set oven back to broil (optional), and sprinkle the top with Daiya cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese has melted. Remove and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with cayenne pepper and cilantro.

Chunky Vegan Chili with Oven-Baked Fries

For about a week the blazing Arizona sun succumbed to a change in air pressure and brought a sense of relief just when I thought fall might abandon us this year. Translation: it chilled the hell down for a few days. Overwhelming illusions that it was time to break out the stockpot and possibly a cashmere sweater were brought into check eventually, but I did seize the small window to squeeze in a cool-weather dish. A comfort food craving came on with an itch for spice, so chili was the obvious choice.

I don’t have extensive chili experience, but it’s one of those dishes that give a certain flare to the reputations of real cooks. Do you recall ever hearing of someone who made a “decent” chili? Do you have a favorite cafe that makes a “pretty good” chili? Of course not. Mediocre chili does not invoke or enliven the soul in a blissful tango with taste. Those who make incredible chili leave a mark. That delectable memory gets to camp out in a special place reserved for things like Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup and Grandma’s Swedish Kringle. Chili hits a spot that is best reached after raking leaves or building snowmen - a spot which is not as easily accessible in my current environment as it was when I was little. Therefore I have to seize every semblance of opportunity I get. Which means, when it drops below 90, I can pull out the crock pot.

Now that I’ve built up chili so much - it might be a let-down to learn that this is not the recipe that will make me an infamous vegan chef. It’s not my best, worst, or last attempt. But it was very exciting prancing around the kitchen throwing in spices Emeril-style...BAM! In fact, I based this off of one of his recipes and it turned out quite well. I think I need more onion next time, because soups never seem to have enough. Regardless of it’s small imperfections or opportunities for enhancement, the enthusiasm was doubled by the batch of french fries so perfectly prepared by my loving omnivore. Chili and fries! I can’t seem to pair the two together without an exclamation point!

Chunky Vegan Chili

Makes 4-6 servings
Total cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 T. Olive or Canola oil
1 1/2 c. Onion, chopped
2 T. Garlic, minced
1 Anaheim chili, chopped
1 Summer squash, chopped
1 c. Yellow corn (1-2 ears)
1 c. Brown or portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 c. Garbanzo beans, cooked or canned
4 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Chipotle chili in adobo sauce
2 T. Chili powder
1 T. Cumin, ground
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Cayenne or piquin pepper
1 tsp. Oregano, dried
1 can Tomato sauce
1 c. Vegetable broth
Pinch of sugar

6 oz Tempeh, chopped or sliced
Taco seasoning: 1 tsp each - chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder

Toppings

Shredded vegan cheese
Chopped red onion
Chopped avocado

Directions

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions. Cook until the onions are soft and transparent, about 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and Anaheim pepper. Cook another minute and add squash, mushrooms and corn. Cook vegetables 4-5 minutes and add beans, tomatoes and spices. Stir well to coat veggies in seasoning and pour in tomato sauce. Bring chili to a boil. Add vegetable broth and reduce heat. Simmer chili on low for 20-25 minutes while you prepare the tempeh.

In a small sauce pan, bring 1 c. water and seasoning to a medium boil. Add tempeh and reduce heat to medium. Steam tempeh in seasoned water until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Pour entire contents of pan into food processor and pulse 5 times, scrape tempeh down and pulse another 5 times. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, coat with cooking spray and add ground tempeh. Cook until browned, another 10 minutes.

Returning to chili, turn heat off but leave pot on the stove. Add pinch of sugar and tempeh. Let sit on warm stove another 10 minutes to let the flavors blend and cool. Serve with assorted toppings and side of fries.


Perfect Oven-Baked Fries
Makes 4-6 servings
Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

2 medium russet potatoes
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut potatoes into wedges about 4” long and 1/4” thick. Coat with olive oil and generous pinch of salt and pepper. Spread on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Turn fries and bake another 10-15 minutes. Remove fries when dark golden brown and crispy.

Dominican Beans over Brazilian Greens

I am recovering from a long and persistent canned food addiction. This is not news, I've admitted it before. But admitting the problem it has been a productive emergence from BPA denial. Now it’s no big deal to set up a bowl of soaking beans overnight and cook them in the morning while I get ready for the day. The taste and texture of home-cooked dried beans is beyond superior to their canned counterparts and I wouldn’t dare insult them now by calling them inconvenient. Can or no can though, they are still the magical fruit and there is no gettig around that.


While I have mastered the chickpea, mung bean and lentil, I am working on others to expand my repertoire. While not much skill is involved, sometimes I am insecure about the texture and “doneness” of my boiling beanies. Some are still kind of hard because I’ve become a nervous nancy about the cook time. Other have been mush because of my experience with the previous outcome. Black beans are pretty easy now, though I tend to undercook them slightly for some reason. Having expanded into my “Mexican/Latina fare” beans, I was finally inspired to try pinto beans.


Pintos were very easy to cook and I came out with a great batch on my first try. Once you cook the beans though, you have to figure out what to do with them. And for some reason, a typical quesadilla wasn’t going to cut it this time. Pintos are great with a little bit of vegan cheese or refried, but I really wanted to try something different. I went searching for a recipe and found a very intriguing one on Epicurious.com for Dominican Beans. It served as a great foundation, but I obviously changed it to suit my needs for timeliness and available resources. What I came up with was spectacular. I’ve never had a pinto like this and I don’t know if I’ll be satisfied by another pinto again.


The greens here were a great accompaniment but are only Brazilian because in my recipe meandering I discovered that this is apparently how collards are commonly prepared in Brazil. I would have made them this way anyway (with plenty of garlic) had I not found this out. Greens and garlic...duh. 

Dominican Beans over Brazilian Greens
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes


Ingredients


For the Beans
1 c. Pinto beans, cooked or canned if you must
1 c. Bean liquid (from can or from cooking water)
1/2 c. Onion, chopped
2-3 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 T. Organic ketchup
1 T. Distilled white vinegar
1/2 c. Anaheim pepper, chopped (or other green pepper)
1/2 c. Chopped tomato
1 Bay leaf, ground or whole
1/2 tsp. Oregano, ground or crumbled
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
8-10 Cilantro stalks


For the Greens
4-6 Large collard leaves
2 tsp. Olive oil
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
Salt to taste


Directions


For the beans: In a medium bowl, lightly mash the beans so that about half are mashed and half remain whole. Reserve liquid on the side. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Cook onions and garlic, stirring constantly to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn, until onions are soft, about 6-7 minutes.While the onions are cooking, grind the herbs, salt and pepper together or mash in a mortar and pestle until well blended and set aside. Stir ketchup, vinegar, pepper and tomato into sauce pan. Cook until liquid is reduced slighty and increase heat to medium high. Stir in herb mixture, beans and liquid. Bring to a medium boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Tie cilantro stalks together or just group them together by the stem and lay on top of bean mixture, pressing into pan but with the stems still sticking out. Cover pan leaving a small edge uncovered and simmer until liquid has mostly evaporated and mixture has thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Turn heat off and let beans sit another 5-10 minutes on the burner. Remove cilantro and discard.


For the greens: To cut the collards into ribbons, destem each leaf, cut in quarters and lay each piece on top of each other in a neat pile. Roll the leaves from one end to another in a cigar shape and slice thinly from one end to another. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic being VERY careful not to burn. Cook until garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute, and add collards. Toss in garlic oil and season with a touch of salt to taste. Cook until collards are just tender, about 3-4 minutes.


Serve beans over a nice little pile of greens and season with salt and pepper to taste.