I am a Mexican food FREAK. I’d say realistically, about 60% of everything I eat has chili powder and cumin (and cayenne if I don’t feel like feeding my child that day). I spent a good bit of time last weekend making corn tortillas, my Mexican aunt’s authentic enchilada sauce and slow-cooked beans for the filling (recipe here, just don’t mash them).

Maseca is what I use for tortillas. Not the absolute greatest… but definitely better than store-bought. Sadly, I’m unaware of any place in Central PA to get fresh masa so this is the next best thing. It’s kind of like a mexican Bisquick. Just add water! I use a little rolling pin and a gallon sized ziploc bag, which works just as well as the tortilla press I can’t locate in the basement.

The tortillas come out pretty (really) dry but if you stack them on top of one another to cool, they will steam each other and soften up to be pliable. If you don’t steam or fry them, you will never ever be able to roll an enchilada with these (or even store-bought) tortillas. You can refrigerate finished ones to use later, just dampen with a small amount of water and throw on a clean hot frying pan for about 30 seconds each side, stack to steam, repeat, and they will re-soften.

My aunt’s enchilada sauce is basically a simple roux with a lot of spices. Real deal enchilada sauce has no tomato-based ingredients. Shocker, I know. Also, the better the chili powder, the better the sauce. Here is the recipe.

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 3 c. vegetable stock (or water)
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 c. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne (omit for no heat)
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth with no lumps.
2. Slowly stir in broth while whisking.
3. Bring to a simmer, then add chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder.
4. Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes – stirring occasionally, or until sauce has reduced about a third. Add salt to taste, done.

As for the enchiladas themselves, just roll beans and cheese (omit for vegan) in tortilla, place seam side down in a casserole dish that has about a half cup of sauce already in it. When dish is filled, cover with remaining sauce and cheese and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.

I got a head of cabbage in my CSA box the other week, and began scouring the internet for recipes. I had no idea what to do with it. I came across the following recipe, thought it sounded a little boring… but made it anyway. It was excellent! My 4 year old even ate it (and seconds). It’s great – very earthy. I’m now a huge fan of ethiopian food. Traditionally, you are to use carrots, but I had none and have an abundance of green beans from my CSA box. I believe the proper name for this is Tikil Gomen.

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. olive oil (or niter kibbeh if you have access to it)
• 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 small head of cabbage, shredded
• 5 potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes & rinsed

Directions

Make this with my previous aloo phujia recipe and it’s an amazing easy indian-inspired vegan dinner that makes even better leftovers. Coconut milk is very fatty, I’ve tried the lite coconut milk and it’s just as good. I even subbed half almond milk when I was low on coconut milk, still good but not quite as thick so a viable option if you want to reduce the saturated fat. Omit the cayenne if you don’t want it spicy.

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tsp. ginger powder
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tbsp. curry paste
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• handful of chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Directions

1. Stir the coconut milk, ginger, garlic, deep skillet over medium heat. Season with salt, turmeric, cayenne, cumin, chili powder, and curry paste. Bring to a simmer.
2. Stir in black beans and simmer, stirring often, until about 1/3 of the liquid is evaporated and the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
3. Add parsley, stir and serve over rice!

This is my favorite recipe to make right now, I make it once a week along with coconut curry beans (recipe coming soon – also vegan). It’s SO GOOD. I usually use whatever tomato based item I have… I’ve used fresh tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and even leftover chili. You don’t need much. If it starts to dry out before the potatoes are done cooking, just add water as it cooks – potatoes take a while! Don’t forget to rinse your potatoes after dicing.

I found a recipe for these on allrecipes.com today and modified a bit to include yellow squash and mushrooms. My 4 year old ate two of them…and they were pretty big. They’d make a great vegetarian version of chicken parmesan. Mushrooms give it a meaty feel, but use whatever produce you have. I’m glad I have a new way to use up all my CSA zukes without my usual default of “saute, olive oil, garlic, angelhair”.

Ingredients

• 1 small zucchini, grated
• 1 small yellow squash, grated
• handful of mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 c. diced onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. mozzarella
• 1/2 c. fresh grated parmigiano
• handful of fresh basil, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 c. olive oil or vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

(Chilaquiles con huevos on the right, but that’s a whole other blog post.)

I put this on over my lunch break and come home 5 hours later to an amazing smelling house. I prefer making them from scratch because it is a LOT cheaper for the amount it makes. A bag of pintos is 70 cents in my hood and makes the equivalent of about 4-5 cans.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. of dry pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 1/2 c. of dry black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 c. diced onion
• 2 tsp. garlic
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1 diced jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 8 c. water or vegetable stock

Combine all in crockpot, set to high, and cook about 6 hours. With a stick blender (or regular one), blend until it hits desired consistency. It may be too runny at first but will quickly thicken up. Let simmer until it looks good to you.

After spending massive amounts of money at Dunkin Donuts everyday on my medium caramel lattes ($3.17, sometimes twice a day), my beau showed up at my house with an espresso machine – best gift ever. It took about a week or so but as of tonight, I have the process and recipe down. Starbucks espresso pods = key. Homemade caramel syrup with vanilla = also key. I don’t like to buy cow milk when there’s almond milk in the world… which is a huge bonus over Dunkin Donuts. I figure it costs about $0.75 a day on average for 1-2 lattes versus my $3-$6. And just as good! Just a side note, I also tried generic loose espresso roast coffee from the grocery store, not amazing.

For anyone with an espresso machine, here’s my caramel syrup recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 c. sugar
• 2 c. water
• 1/4 c. corn syrup
• 1/4 t. vanilla

Instructions

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup and 1 c. of the water in a saucepan over medium-high heat
2. Without stirring, cook until mixture turns a deep dark reddish color (maybe 15-20 mins) then remove from heat
3. Immediately add remaining c. of water and vanilla then cover (volcano action will happen), then when calm, stir to dissolve any clumps
4. Let cool and store in fridge in a jar or bottle

DONE. I add about a tbsp to my milk pre-frothing. I do about 1 oz. espresso to 6 oz. almond milk… but I’m just guessing.

I’m finished with you, Dunkin Donuts…until I want an egg white veggie wrap at least.