Tag Archives: squash

Squash, the New Mexican Way

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Zucchini SquashThe late summer brings squash season. Yellow, green, crook necks, grey squash. Squash in all it’s abundance. But what can you do with these soft and delicious vegetables? New Mexico solved the problem by inventing this dish. Simple, yet full of the things that are good for you.

Calabacitas

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp 4-6 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tomato, diced ½ bunch chopped cilantro Salt and Pepper Cooking oil
  • 4-6 Mexican Gray Squash, large dice
  • 1 Red pepper, medium dice
  • 1 Poblano/Pasilla chili, medium dice
  • 1/2 Red onion, medium dice
  • 4-6 Garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/2 cup Roasted corn
  • 1 Tomato, diced
  • ½ bunch Cilantro chopped
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Process

Heat up a skillet, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the peppers, onions, and garlic. Sautee until the veggies start to brown. Turn the heat down to medium, then add the squash. Cook until the squash becomes tender but not mushy.

Add cilantro, tomato, and salt and pepper.

And here is a great story and description of New Mexican Calabacitas.

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Meatless Enchiladas That Will Have Them Begging for More

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In case you haven’t guessed, I love roasted vegetables. I’ll stuff them, make salsas, chop them up in salads, put them on a dinner plate with portabello mushroom burgers… And now, here’s one more use for roasted veggies: stuff them into corn tortillas, topped with sauce and cheese (soy or real, your choice), bake in an oven for just a little while, and serve with smashed black beans, arroz, and calabacitas. Add guacamole, herbed “sour cream” and roasted salsa, and you’ll have your kids, your neighbors, and your mom begging for more. Please, don’t forget the guacamole.

Enchiladas take less time than you might think, especially if you get the rest of the family involved in rolling them. Follow these recipes and in under an hour you’ll have dinner on the table –  and happy diners.

Roasted Veggies

 Ingredients

  • 1 Italian squash
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • Salt

Process

Slice up the ingredients and place on a sheet pan. Coat with a little herb oil, and broil in an oven (If you are a grill master, stick em on the grill, blacken the peppers, and cook onions and squash until tender). Remove vegetables when tender, and the skin on the peppers look wrinkled. Be careful, all the veggies might not cook at the same time.

Chop all the veggies up into bits. You want them small enough so you can roll them in tortillas. Add a little salt and pepper. Use in Roast Veggie Enchiladas, or as taco filling.

 Roast Veggie Enchiladas

 Ingredients

  • Corn tortillas-enough for 2-3 per person
  • Roasted Veggies
  • Cheddar Cheese, or Daiya cheddar soy cheese
  • Tomatillo Sauce
  • ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • Cilantro for garnish

 Process

Dip tortillas in a small amount of warm oil. Lay out on a work surface and stuff with Roast Veggies and cheddar  or vegan cheese, then roll up the tortillas. Lay into a baking pan big enough to hold the amount you are cooking. Top with Tomatillo Sauce and more cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Top with diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.

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Smokey Tofu and Veggies with “Magic” sauce

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The other night I came home from work and was really tired. Still, I had to get dinner on the table. We have pared down the cupboards from pre-packaged food, so there aren’t many options for dinner unless I cook.

I had one can of coconut milk left on the shelf. In the refrigerator there were some left-over diced veggies, smoked tofu, and rice. This dish was the perfect way to use up the food in my frig, without having to do a lot of work. I have a well stocked pantry, so I gathered up some spices, and went to work. And I came up with Smokey Tofu and Veggies, with Magic Coconut Sauce.

The Partner started eating, and about half way through she thoroughly relaxed, looked at me and said “you made magic sauce!” I started in with my general litany about how I just opened a can of coconut milk and added some spices. She didn’t let me get away with it. I don’t just make food, and she knows it, after all, she’s the one who named me Kitchen Shaman.

So, in all it’s glory, here is the recipe fo Magic Sauce that relaxes even the insides of your body.

Tools:

  • Saute Pan
  • Wok
  • Knife
  • Cutting board
  • Micro plane

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Coriander
  • 1 tbsp Cumin
  • 1/2 tbsp Fennel Seed
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 1/2 Poblano pepper, diced
  • 1 Zucchini, diced
  • 1 Squash, diced
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • Smoked Tofu, cubed
  • 1 can (15 oz) Coconut Milk
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp amchur (mango) powder
  • Brown Basmati Rice

Process:

Dice up all the vegetables, and cube tofu. To make the ginger paste, grate about a quarter inch of ginger on the micro plane.

Heat up sauce pan. On low heat toast coriander, cumin and fennel seed.

Heat up wok. Add sunflower oil. When oil is hot, add peppers and onion. Saute until they start softening. Add zucchini, squash, ginger paste, and toasted spices. Saute until the squash start to soften, add the smoked tofu. Cook until the tofu is heated through.

While the veggies are cooking, open a can of coconut milk, stir it up and pour into same saute pan used for toasting spices. Add paprika, cayenne, and amchur powder. Bring to a boil, then simmer while the veggies are cooking.

Cook the basmati rice according to instructions. Place in pasta bowls. Layer in the coconut sauce. Add the veggies and smoked tofu. Serve with your favorite flatbreads, naan, tortillas, or steamed mushi buns.

This is a recipe that is versatile. Try out different veggies. The ones listed were the ones I had available in my frig. The spices, however, are fixed. You can try deviations, but I won’t guarantee the “magic” part of the recipe.

I really don’t know why the coconut became “magic” sauce. It was simple and easy to make. Maybe it’s all the love I put into the food I make, even when I am tired. Maybe it was the combination of spices. Whatever worked, I hope you can produce the same effect on your diners. Try this recipe out, and please let me know how it turns out.

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Recipe Wednesday: Lentils and Vegetables

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The weather is turning cooler here in the land of sunny hot, and the cooking mind turns to comfort food: soups. How to make those tasty vegan soups rich and yummy, check out this recipe guaranteed to warm you on a cold day.

Tools:

Good cooking pot

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Recipe Wednesday: Lentils and Vegetables

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil*
  • 1/8 cup red peppers, diced
  • 1/8 cup green peppers, diced
  • 2 jalapeno, diced(0ptional)
  • 1/8 cup carrots, diced
  • 1/8 red onions, diced
  • 1 tbsp (more or less) garlic, chopped
  • 1 each zucchini and squash diced
  • 1 cup lentils
  • 4-5 cups water
  • 1 tbsp turmeric
  • 3-4 curry leaves (found in specialty markets, or Asian grocers)
  • S & P to taste

Process

Heat up the pan, add the sunflower oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers, carrots and garlic, lower the heat to simmer, and “sweat” the vegetables until the onions start to turn translucent. Add a bit of salt to the veggies as they sweat.

Add the zucchini and squash, stir for a bit and let them cook, then add lentils. Add water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Add turmeric, curry leaves and salt and pepper. Cook until the lentils become soft (it’s ok if they get mushy, but you don’t want the squash and zucchini mushy), approximately 1 hour.

Serve hot with your favorite bread, or tortilla.

Notes

Sunflower oil gives a “buttery” flavor and consistency to a finished dish. It is one of my favorite oils of the moment. Give it a try I’m sure you’ll find the results pleasing.

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Latest Culinary Feat

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We had guests over the weekend. I like to cook for people when they stay with me. However, these folks were busy with a conference, so they were in and out all weekend. I figured Sunday would be a good day to cook for them. (I did not know that they would be having dinner at the conference as well).

I planned to make Spring Rolls, and an orientalish fried brown rice. A light but filling “snack.” I had all the ingredients but one. Red Fresno (or red jalepeno) chilis. I live in Southern Arizona, I ought to be able to find a fresh red chili somewhere.

I went to 10 grocer outlets. TEN! I spent almost three hours on this hunt, and I could not find a red hot chili any where, no japones, fresnos, jalepenos, nothing. I was distraught. I finally found, to my culinary terror, a jar of red jalepenos. I purchased it praying that they were hot enough for the chili dipping sauce I was making for the Spring rolls. Sometimes a chef has to improvise.

I returned to my kitchen to slice, dice and create my culinary delights. The experiment to use water to close up the wraps worked for my partner’s vegan diet. The others received the standard egg wash.

This dish is a variation from the cookbook “Vegetarian”, edited by Nicola Graimes. This book is virtually a bible for vegetarian cooking.

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Orientalish Brown Rice

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Cooked Brown Rice
  • 1/2 cup carrots
  • 1/2 cup celery
  • 2 tbsp Ginger, minced
  • 2 tsp Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper

Process

Thinly slice carrots and celery on the bias (diagonal cuts). In a clean wok, add 2 tbsp of oil, let it get hot. Add the celery, carrots, ginger and garlic. Saute on a high heat until vegetables become tender, but still have a bite. (al dante). Mix in the rice, and salt and pepper. Serve with Spring rolls and dipping sauce.

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Spring Rolls

Ingredients

    Spring Rolls
  • 1/2 cup Carrots
  • 1/2 cup Celery
  • 1/2 cup Red onion
  • 1/2 cup Zucchini
  • 1/2 cup Yellow squash
  • 1/2 cup Bean sprouts
  • 3-4 Scallions
  • 1/2 inch ginger finely shredded
  • 4-5 Garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp Cilantro finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp Dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp White Pepper
  • 1 pkg Rice Noodles, cooked
  • 1 pkg egg roll wrappers
    • Dipping Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Rice vinager
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 4-5 tbsp Water
  • 1-2 Birds eye or Cayenne Chilis

Process

Spring Rolls

Slice all the vegetables. Keep separate. Preheat a wok on high, and add safflower oil. Let the oil get hot. Bring the heat to medium flame, and add the carrots, celery and onion. Saute until tender. Add zucchini, squash, garlic and ginger, saute until soft. Add bean sprouts and half the scallion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss in the cilantro at the last minute with a splash of rice vinager. Let cool.

Lay out the egg roll wraps. Add a bit of noodle and a bit of the veggie mixture. Roll the wraps like a burrito, so that both ends are sealed. Do this until you run out of mixture and noodles.

Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pot. Make sure the temperature is near 400 degrees. Fry the Spring rolls until golden brown. A few at a time depending on what kind of pot you are using. Drain on paper towels.

Put the rice in a mound on the plate, cut the Spring Rolls in half on the bias. Place the Spring Rolls around the rice. Garnish with the left over scallions and cilantro. Serve with dipping sauce to hungry diners.

Dipping Sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves, bring to a light boil. Boil until mixture becomes a syrup. Remove from heat and let cool.

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