Burrito Bowl

This recipe kind of seems like I should have thought of some riff on this idea myself, but since I didn't, I'm thankful Southern Living magazine did.  I tweaked it to make it vegan and a little more "from scratch", but it's otherwise as they published it:  YUM!

Ingredients:
1 c. brown rice
2 1/2 c. water, divided
1 t. salt, divided
2 T. canola oil, divided
juice of a lime, divided 
3 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-veined, minced
3 T. finely chopped onion
2 15-oz. cans black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 ears corn, shucked, de-silked, and kernels cut away from the cob
4 c. finely chopped romaine lettuce
2 ripe avocados, diced
4 T. vegan sour cream

Method:
Combine rice, 2 c. water, 1/4 t. salt, and 1 T. oil in a large saucepan with a lid.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 40 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Let rice stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, juice of 1/2 lime, and 1/4 t. salt.  Set aside.

Combine beans, remaining 1/2 c. water, chili powder, cumin and 1/4 t. salt in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium until beans are hot, about 5 minutes.  Remove heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat remaining 1 T. oil in a medium-size cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly charred (about 5 minutes).  Sprinkle with juice of remaining 1/2 lime and remaining 1/4 t. salt.

Divide rice, beans, corn, tomato mixture, lettuce, avocado, and sour cream between 4 wide, shallow bowls.  Serves 4.

Spring Rolls!

Ever since Scott made a layer cake at Christmas, he's been on a cooking kick. The sweet joy of success is eating your own creation! I have to give him credit for taking on the task of finding ingredients for and making such a foreign food, which we fell in love with at a local Vietnamese restaurant. With the aid of the classic cookbook Joy of Cooking, he recreated our beloved dish perfectly at home!

First make the peanut dipping sauce, which we mixed with store-bought chili garlic sauce. I could eat this with a spoon!

Ingredients:
2 t. canola oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 t. peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 c. water
2 T. soy sauce (or tamari or shoyu)
2 T. fresh lime juice
2/3 c. chunky peanut butter
1 T. brown sugar, or to taste

Method:
Heat the canola oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until golden brown (about 1 minute). Add the water, soy sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until thickened (about 4 minutes).
Serve warm or at room temperature. This sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

Now make the rolls:

Ingredients:
4 large red-leaf lettuce leaves, washed, large stems removed, leaves torn into large pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 c. bean sprouts, rinsed
1/2 c. cilantro leaves, minced
8 scallions, washed and chopped, white and green parts
2.5 oz. vermicelli noodles, broken in half (or use cellophane noodles or rice stick noodles)
3 T. canola oil
1 lb. firm Chinese-style tofu, water squeezed out, cut into 1/2-inch chunks  (I like to freeze my tofu for 24 hours, then thaw it.  It improves the texture.)
8 12-inch round sheets of rice paper (This stuff is edible, even though it does not appear to be when first taken from the package.)

Method:
First make sure all your vegetables are prepared and ready to go.  Put a large saucepan over high heat and bring 4 c. water to boil.  Cook the noodles until just firm to the bite.  Drain and rinse under cold water.

In the meantime, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the tofu to the hot oil and brown on 2 sides of each chunk.  Remove from heat.

Lay a damp kitchen towel on the counter.  Have a large bowl of hot water (115 - 120 degrees F).  Dip 1 sheet of rice paper into the water, completely submerging it, and quickly remove it to lay flat on the damp towel.  Slightly lower then center and leaving about 1 inch on the right and left, put a horizontal line of lettuce, then noodles, then bean sprouts, then tofu, then cilantro, then scallions, then carrots (about 1/8 of each ingredient).  Fold the right and left sides in and overlapping the filling by about an inch so that the paper sticks to itself above and below the filling.  Bring up the bottom edge of the paper to cover the filling and stick to the rice paper at the top of the filling.  Now roll tightly into a neat cylinder.

If the rice paper starts to tear, overlap it with another sheet of paper (prepped in the hot water, as usual), using 2 sheets for one roll.

Cut each roll on the diagonal with a sharp knife and serve immediately as the rice paper will toughen with time.  Serve with peanut dipping sauce and, if you want, some chili garlic sauce.  Makes 8 delicious servings.

Herbed Rice

I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's Living magazine.  Although the thought of putting that much cilantro on anything does not turn me on and the thought of putting peppermint on rice is about equal in its attractiveness to me, something told me to give it a whirl.  And, of course, it works.  This rice is very fresh tasting, and it goes well with Asian-inspired or Middle-Eastern-inspired foods.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 c. water

1/2 c. packed fresh cilantro

1/4 c. packed fresh mint (I used peppermint.)

2 T. minced onion

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 T. olive or canola oil

1 c. jasmine rice

1 t. salt

Method:

Purée the water, cilantro, mint, onion, and garlic in a blender until smooth.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Add the jasmine rice, and stir to coat.  Cook until slightly toasted, 1 - 2 minutes.  Add the herb purée and salt.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand - still covered - for 10 minutes.  The herbs will have floated to the top of the rice.  Use a fork to evenly distribute the herbs into the rice and to fluff the rice.  Serve immediately.

Tomatillo Salsa

Yes, another tomatillo salsa.  I have to do something with those tomatillos and jalapenos in my garden, since I'm not canning this year!  This one came from Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican cookbook, adapted to be vegetarian.  (His version is not.)  You could use this salsa in place of the canned enchilada sauce in Cheese Enchiladas (see below).  It is also fine as a condiment salsa, too, of course.  I served it over refried beans at my sister-in-law's birthday dinner last night.

Ingredients:

1 lb. (about 11 medium-sized) tomatillos, husked and washed

1 - 2 fresh jalapenos, stemmed
2 - 3 fresh sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 T. canola oil
1/2 t. salt, or to taste
juice from one lime (omit if using as an enchilada sauce)


Method:
In a 2-quart saucepan (or size appropriate for your produce), cover the tomatillos and jalapeno(s) in salted water.  Boil until the vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.  Drain the vegetables, reserving 1 c. of the used boiling water.


Place the tomatillos, jalapeno(s), cilantro, onion, and garlic in a food processor.  Process until smooth but retaining a little texture.


Heat the canola oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot enough to make a drop of the tomatillo sauce sizzle, pour it all in at once.  Stir constantly 4-5 minutes until the sauce is thicker and darker.  Add the reserved cup of tomatillo boiling water.  Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then remove from heat.  Stir in the salt and lime juice (if using).

Pico de Gallo

I got this recipe from "Granny" - my dad's mom.  Of course, I modified it a little. I have no idea where she got it, but this is perfect for picnics or alfresco dining during the summer, because there is no heating up the kitchen to make it!

1 medium onion, diced small
1 jalepeno pepper, deseeded and deveined, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, diced small
2 large tomatoes, chopped - squeeze out the seeds before dicing (Or you can just open a can of diced tomatoes if that is more your style! Granny was no-nonsense!)
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1.5 T. lime juice

Mix everything together in a bowl, and allow it to sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors "marry." Serve as a condiment or dip.