Another Day, Another Challenge

Another challenge! Oh boy oh boy. This one comes from The Post Punk Kitchen: Chopped Vegan. The requirements: create an entree using 4 mystery ingredients (black eyed peas, mint, blueberries, & chocolate) + whatever you have in your pantry.

The ingredients were announced last week, and of course I took my sweet time wondering whether or not I even had the time to create a new dish, let alone go grocery shopping for the mystery ingredients.

Later this week during my bike ride home from work, I stopped at a small grocery store in the Mission. While browsing the aisle for Sriracha (the time had come for a new bottle), I came across dried black eyed peas. I figured, why the hell not? and grabbed them. Finding all of the ingredients would be easy, deciding what to make would be a bit more difficult.

After wandering up and down the produce aisle that offered everything from watercress to dandelion greens to tomatillos, I decided on endive. The recipe forming in my head was more of an appetizer than an entree, but went with it anyway. 

My final answer: endive with black eyed peas, drizzled with a balsamic-chocolate-blueberry sauce topped with mint.

I returned to my house, hauling up a heavy backpack filled with more than enough ingredients required for this project of mine. Wanting to double check the requirements for the Chopped Vegan challenge, I discovered I had missed the deadline.

Oh well. I made the damned appetizer anyway, and it was rather delicious.

Of course I can never fall asleep without thinking about another recipe (does anyone else have this problem, or should I see a doctor?) and this one danced around my head for the rest of the night.

Black eyed pea fritters with a blueberry chocolate sauce for breakfast. And potatoes, of course. God forbid I consume a meal that doesn't have any carbohydrates!

So I awoke the next morning and made these. Because I'm crazy and spend my free time cooking instead of doing laundry or other important things.

Black Eyed Pea Fritters with Blueberry Chocolate Sauce
1 cup black eyed peas, cooked
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 - 2 tbsp flour
salt & pepper

1/4 cup canola or safflower oil for frying

1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 tsp sugar
2 squares dark chocolate

fresh mint

Chop about 1/2 cup black eyed peas in food processor until fine. Place blended and remaining whole peas in medium sized bowl, stir to combine. Add in scallions.

Add ground flax seed to warm water, mix thoroughly. Add apple cider vinegar and stir, set aside for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place blueberries in a small saucepan. Smash with a wooden spoon and sprinkle sugar on top. Let sit for a few minutes, so the juice is drawn out from the berries.

Back to the fritters: stir the flax seed mixture to combine, add to peas. Mix to incorporate, until beans are sticking together. Add in flour 1 tbsp at a time, stirring to combine and making sure the mixture will hold. Heat pan with cooking oil over medium low heat. 

Now make the blueberry sauce: turn saucepan with blueberries to medium. Stir frequently, making sure the sauce doesn't burn. Once blueberries have turned into jam-like substance (5-7 min), turn off heat. Add in chocolate squares, stir to combine once chocolate begins melting. Set aside.

Using a soup spoon, scoop out small portions of fritter mixture (golf ball sized). Lightly roll between your palms, then place into warmed pan. Press down slightly to flatten fritters. You can place fritters about 1/2 inch away from one another in the pan. Fry for about 5 minutes, then flip. Cook for another 5 minutes, until golden-brown.

Serve topped with blueberry chocolate sauce and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Add a side of potatoes too, you know you want to. And don't forget the Sriracha.

Paola's Famous Enchiladas

 

Hello, it's been a while. Did we think we'd forgotten about you?

Because we did. Our apologies. We've been busy.

Paola was accepted into Portland State's graduate program for urban planning, while Kelly has been working as an intern for a San Francisco supervisor. Between working 2+ jobs and/or planning for a new life in a different state, it's been hectic.

Don't worry! We're still cooking.

Recently we took a breather in the beautiful town of Santa Cruz. A day away from the city, basking in the sun (no fog?) on a riverbank. Loafing around town, drinking fresh kombucha and being hauled around by a large dog. This is the life.

We demanded Paola's delicious enchiladas for supper. Earlier in the month she had served us enchiladas stuffed with onion, mushrooms, carrots, and poblano pepper, topped with salsa verde and cilantro. They disappeared quickly.

Unfortunately, poblano peppers are hard to find while on "vacation".  We had to improvise.

After much debate, Paola decided on using kidney beans. And no one questioned it.

We stuffed ourselves with homemade guacamole while Paola prepared the enchiladas. We were so hungry, no one cared to take photographic evidence of the goodness we were consuming.

But Kelly decided to share the recipe to those who were not fortunate enough to witness the construction of these delicious enchiladas. Feel free to riff on ingredients, it's all about the quality of ingredients and preparation.

Paola's Famous Enchiladas

9x13 glass baking dish

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper, to taste

2 jars salsa verde (we used Trader Joe's variety)
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
handful of cilantro, chopped

2 packs good quality tortillas


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Sauteé onion and garlic in olive oil in a pan over medium heat, 5 min. Add mushrooms, sauteé another 10 minutes, until mushrooms have released their juices. Add jalapeños, stirring occasionally.
Add in kidney beans, stir to combine and let heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower heat.

Combine salsa verde, jalapeño, and garlic in small pot over medium low heat. Stir occasionally, add cilantro when warmed through.

Microwave tortillas for a few seconds (or warm over gas stove). Scoop portion of bean mix into tortilla, wrap and place in baking dish. Repeat until bean mix/tortillas are gone. Top with salsa verde sauce.

Garnish with sliced onion and jalapeño, if desired.

Bake for 5-10 min, until enchiladas are warmed through.

Chipotle Mac and Cheese

My friend Russell is a younger, less cynical version of Anthony Bourdain. His tone of voice is also less grating and snarky, but that's beside the point.

We bonded on similar music tastes, and found that our appetite for adventurous foods coincided. He found the best places for a meal out, while I found the best new recipes to cook at home. His fearlessness in trying new foods was something I rarely came across when meeting new people, therefore I ensured almost everything I baked or cooked had his approval. I knew he wouldn't bullshit me into thinking the meal was delicious, but unlike Anthony Bourdain he wouldn't chastise my failed attempt at cooking.

He had eaten raw ox meat in Amsterdam, even indulged in an animal's brains and lip in a burrito, but was allergic to cashews. Ironically enough, he was limited in his options at a vegan Mexican restaurant.

Since becoming vegan, I wanted my new recipes to pass the Russell test. Currently I had a recipe for vegan mac n' cheese in beta mode; I had the roux down-pat but was stuck on finding a good cheese replacement that didn't contain cashews.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a recipe for vegan cheese that called for sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Two failed attempts at sunflower cheese, a couple of tweaks, and I felt ready to roll out my mac and cheese recipe. It's a long process (totally worth it), but it passed Russell's approval and is ready for publication.

Chipotle Mac n' Cheese

While you're prepping the cheese and roux, cook your macaroni/pasta and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Vegan Cheese:
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours
1/2 cup water or soy milk, divided
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dry, ground mustard
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup of water or soy milk, and garlic in food processor. Pulse a few times; add nutritional yeast, cornstarch, paprika, mustard, and tumeric. Pulse until smooth. Scrape mixture into saucepan, warm over medium-low heat. Add in rest of water or milk, stir. Add in olive oil and salt in pepper, stir. Taste and add seasonings if needed.

Roux:
4 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil, divided
3 tbsp flour
1 cup soy milk
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry, ground mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
3 chipotle peppers, minced
1 tbsp adobo sauce
salt and pepper

Melt 3 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Slowly add flour, stirring with a whisk or fork. Once incorporated, slowly add in soy milk, constantly stirring.
Meanwhile, warm 1 tbsp butter or olive oil in a pan over medium low heat. Add in onion, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Add in garlic, stir for 1 minute. Turn off heat.
Once the roux is ready, add in nutmeg, mustard, paprika, chipotle peppers and adobo. Stir to incorporate, and add onion and garlic. Stir and season with salt and pepper, taste. Turn off heat.

The carbs:
1 lb (16 oz) elbow macaroni or penne pasta, cooked al dente
1/4 cup bread crumbs, sautéd briefly in same pan as onion and garlic

Once pasta is cooked and drained, add in roux and cheese. Stir with a spatula, incorporate that shit and get it nice and cheesy. Scrape into desired baking apparatus (I choose a 9x13 baking dish spritzed with olive oil), top with bread crumbs. Bake for 15-20 minutes, remove and add chopped green onions or parsley; set oven to broil. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until breadcrumbs on top are nice and browned.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes and Lentils with Polenta

For the first time in a few months, I finally had a full fridge.
"The ultimate first-world problem!" my friend Remy laughed, "You have fridge full of groceries and still say, 'I have nothing to eat!'"

This is the situation I faced tonight. I had leftover vegan chipotle mac n' cheese, a half cup of vegetable soup, tofu, roasted red peppers, sweet potatoes; yet I remained dissatisfied.

I reached to the back of my shelf and retrieved a container filled with leftover polenta. Scanning my groceries for what the hell I could do with polenta, inspiration struck.

With other recipes still to be perfected, I decided this was the one to debut on this blog.


Combining a few of my favorite ingredients with tried-and-true techniques resulted in absolute deliciousness. FUCKING YUM! Who said being vegan had to consist of eating sad, raw vegetables?

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes and Lentils with Polenta
1 cup black lentils
4 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
few dashes of hot sauce (Tapatio all the way!)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chipotle peppers, chopped
1/2 tbsp adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano

a few pan-fried slices of polenta (left-over or from a tube)

optional: green onions, salt and pepper

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils, cover and bring to a simmer. Let cook 10-15 minutes.

Warm olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add sweet potato, sauté for 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic, sauté for another 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add in chopped chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and spices; stir to combine.

At this point, the lentils should be almost ready. Stir in tomato paste and hot sauce, bring to a simmer. Add sweet potato sauté to lentils, stir to combine. Pan-fry polenta until golden-brown on both sides.

Top polenta with sweet potato and lentil mixture. Garnish with green onions, salt and pepper.