I’ve been a bit lazy about blogging lately, and I apologize.  I’ve been busy interning, studying, and waitressing.  I am reallllly looking forward to having a lie in tomorrow and making a nice breakfast.. maybe with some ramps, which I just bought after hearing ramp rumours from my brother.  I’ve never had them before, but have read so much about them on other food blogs.

This dinner was a while ago, so the measurements are going to be a bit vague.  I first had a fried egg on a Cheese Enchilada in New Mexico, and it was sooooooooooooo good.  I have been thinking about it ever since.

Cilantro-Lime Potato, Mushroom and Kale Enchiladas with a basted Egg
Makes 6 Enchiladas

2 large Potatoes
1 Lime
Olive oil
Fresh Cilantro
Dried Red Chili
Bunch of Kale
1 Red Onion
4 ounces Mushrooms
6 Tortillas
Grated cheese

Sauce:
14 ounce can of Tomatoes
1 small Onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 Ancho Chile- soaked for at least an hour in hot water, deseeded
3 tbsp Fresh Cilantro
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Veggie broth
1/2 Cup Black beans
Herbs: 1 tsp each of oregano, thyme, basil

Boil the potatoes. Make the sauce: saute onions in olive oil for about 5 minutes, add minced garlic. Cook a minute or two and add paprika and herbs. Stir well and add in the tomatoes, broth, cocoa powder, beans, and chopped up ancho chile. Stir well, and simmer until desired consistency is reached (about 30 mins). Add in cilantro before serving.

Saute olive oil and red onion (sliced) until the onion is soft, add garlic and mushrooms. Cook until liquid released, and add in the kale- once wilted, set aside. Once the potatoes have cooked, drain them and add in cilantro, lime juice, and plenty of olive oil. Mash up well and season to taste.

Arrange potatoes and mushroom-kale mixture in tortillas and wrap up. Place in a casserole dish and smother with sauce and cheese, reserving a little sauce for once the enchiladas are done. Cover with foil and bake about 30 mins at 400. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.  Fry up an egg and stick it on top.

Tofu can be tricky.  It’s the texture that bothers me, the flavour isn’t a problem- it will absorb anything and can easily be enhanced with marinades and glazes.  Frying tofu in a pool of veggie oil is a viable option, but I hate deep frying- the left over oil, and the smell, and the greasiness all gets to me.  Baking tofu for a long period of time gives it a nice crispy exterior, and is probably my favourite method.  Today I tried grilling on a cast iron grill pan, while simultaneously glazing.   It was good, but baking is still easier and so far the best method, IMO.

Jon and I had it in a sandwich for lunch, which was a nice change from his usual PB and J.

Tofu Glazed and Grilled in a Sweet and Spicy Ginger-Garlic Sauce
9 Slices

1 Container of Tofu
1/2 Cup Ginger-Garlic Sauce (or just soy sauce, ginger, and garlic)
3Tbsp Adobo Sauce
1 Tbsp Miso Paste
3 Tbsp Honey
1/4 Cup Veggie Broth
Juice of 1/2 Lime
1 Tbsp Paprika

Slice the tofu horizontally three times, and slice each slab vertically, creating three thin rectangles. Place on a cutting board with another board on top, and top with something heavy. Allow to press and drain for 30 mins to an hour.

Combine all the ingredients and use as a marinade for the tofu, if you’ve got time marinate overnight, or at least an hour- flipping once half way. The next day, drain the tofu from the marinade and pour the marinade into a pan. If the tofu has absorbed too much, make another batch. Place in a pan and cook over low heat for 10 mins or so until the sauce has thickened, to a syrupy consistency.

Using a cast iron grill, place each slice of tofu on the pan and brush with the glaze. Cook about 2 minutes on one side, pressing down with a spatula. Flip and glaze again, press down, and cook for a few mins. Continue to do this until the glaze is used up and the tofu has been cooked thoroughly.

I ate mine on a sandwich with mayonnaise, tomato, and greens. They would be extra good with some sprouts and avocado as well. Or eat over rice, quinoa, a salad, or as an entree with some side veggies.

TexMex Salad with Creamy Jalapeno Lime Dressing
Serves 1

1/2 Cob of Corn
1 Tomato
1/4 Cup Black Beans
1 Veggie Burger
Lettuce
1 Tbsp Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
6 or 7 Black Olives

3 tbsp Ranch Dressing
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1/2 Lime
Paprika

Cook the corn and shave off the cob. Cook Veggie Burger and chop up. Throw both in a bowl with chopped tomato, black olives, and black beans, mix well. Toss with lettuce. Assemble the dressing by mixing ranch with diced jalapeno, lime, and paprika. Mix into salad, sprinkle with cheese and serve with warm tortilla chips.

Last year, Jon and I began a tradition: Burger Fest.  As vegetarians, we like to eat healthy- it’s one of the reasons we are vegetarian, after all.  However, there are times where we feel that people equate vegetarianism with a boring, healthy diet.  Take plane food for instance, yes it’s horrible, but if you ask for the veg option you get this tray of healthy stuff.  At first it’s great, but then you realize that for an app are two pathetic looking carrot sticks, and for desert: a naff whole grain piece of cardboard that is meant to pass for a cookie.  Meanwhile, your fellow passenger who got the chicken entree has some cheese and crackers as an app, and a chocolate brownie with ice cream for dessert.

Burgerfest is a celebration of being vegetarian, but still eating indulgently cheesey, greasy (veg) burgers once in a while.  Last year for example, Jon had fried onions, 2 patties, facon swiss cheese, mushrooms, barbecue sauce etc.  This year Burger fest falls on a Friday- 16th April.  While musing about how Burger fest can’t come soon enough, we thought “What About Hot Dog Fest?”  So we planned out our hotdogs and made a go of it.

It was our first Hot Dog Fest, and probably the last due to one major revelation:  I don’t think I really like Hot Dogs. It just wasn’t the same as Burger Fest.  Our downfall may have been the jumbo hot dogs, or the fact that we used hoagies instead of hot dog buns.  As a result, we ended up so full from the bread and in a soy-coma.  Nonetheless, our toppings were creative and delicious, so here they are..

1. Tater tots, Facon, Monterrey Jack Cheese, Fresh Chives and Spicy Mayo (above)

2. Trinidadian Salsa (Carrots, Fresh Cilantro, Lime, Green Chili, Garlic), Grilled Feta, Black Olives, and Smoked Paprika (above)

3. Chili, Onions, and Mustard (below)

4. The Deconstructed Corn Dog: Hush Puppies, Mustard and Ketchup (below)

Spicy Black Bean Soup
Serves 4

1 Large Shallot
Olive Oil
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Can of Black Beans
1 large Potato- We had approx. 20 “Teeny Weeny Potatoes” from Trader Joe’s- about the size of pearl onions
1/2 Bag of Spinach
Veggie Broth- 2 cups
2 cups of Water
3 slices of Facon
Squirt of Lime
Herbs: Fresh Coriander
2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Spices: 2 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp Chili Powder, 1 tsp Coriander, 1 tsp Tumeric, 1 tsp Smoked Paprika, 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Optional: Greek Yogurt

Slice shallot thin and throw in a large frying pan along with olive oil.  Cook for about 5 mins, and add garlic.   Stir in Spices, when fragrant add Potato, chopped up.  Cook for about 5 minutes, turn heat to low and add beans, broth, and water.  Add Fresh Cilantro and lime juice, and let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Before serving, throw in spinach and allow to wilt, add more lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and season as needed.  Fry up some Facon and crumble up.  Dollop a bit of Greek Yogurt on top, and garnish with Facon crumbles.

Breakfast Feast:

Full English Breakfast with Tea and Mimosaaaaaaaas (Egg, Sausage, Bacon, Facon, Baked Beans, Spicy Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Toast).

Main Feast

Apps: Smoked Salmon with Lemon, Mushroom Cakes over Avocado Mousse and drizzled with a sweet and spicy Red Pepper Coulis.

Mushroom Cakes over Avocado Mousse and drizzled with a sweet and spicy Red Pepper Coulis.
Serves 6

This recipe came from January’s issue of Bon Appetit.  I decided to make the Coulis spicy and add some goat cheese…. everything is better with cheese.

Mushroom Cakes:
Shit loads of mushrooms: 30 ounces worth… 2 8 ounce boxes of Bella Mushrooms, 3  Portobello caps, 2 4.5 ounces containers of fresh shiitake.  All sliced up.
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
A handful of fresh herbs: thyme, parsley.
2 Eggs
1 Cup of breadcrumbs
Glug of Olive Oil
Knob of Butter (How Jamie Oliver)
Dash of sherry

Goat Cheese (optional)

Heat olive oil and butter over med-high heat, add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes, make sure to continuously stir them. Add in minced garlic and a dash of sherry and cook another couple of mins til sherry evaporated. Bung mushroom mixture into a food processor with 2 eggs, bread crumbs, and fresh herbs. At the end, slowly add oil. Remove from food processor and form patties. Coat with bread crumbs and set aside. Cover and cool.

Red Pepper Coulis
2 Red Bell Peppers
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp honey
1 tsp of Smoked Paprika
1 clove of garlic, minced
Red Chili Flakes, or adobo sauce if you’ve got it

Roast peppers in oven under high broil for about 15 mins, turning once and making sure completely charred. Store in a ziplock bag and allow to cool. Skin and deseed peppers, throw in blender with remaining ingredients. Cover and cool.

Avocado Mousse (Similar to this)
2 Avocados
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 Tbsp Fresh Basil
2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley
1/2 Lime, Juiced
1/2 Cup Pine Nuts
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese grated

Bung it all in the food processor, season to taste and set aside to cool.

Fry mushroom patties over medium high heat in olive oil and butter, about 5 mins on each side. Place avocado mousse on plate, stick a pattie or two on top, and drizzle with your coulis.  Scatter with some goat cheese.

Main Course: Brined Turkey, Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Parsnip Hearts with Chestnuts, Steamed Brocc, Roast Potatoes, Stuffing, Maple Grilled Tempeh, Mashed Parsnips, Cranberry Sauce, Mushroom Gravy

The Maple Syrup Tempeh Triangles came from Heidi’s 101 cookbooks, above is the link for the recipe.

Dessert (made by MUM): Lemon Cheesecake and Apricot Crumble (my favourite)

After Dinner Drink (this doesn’t include wine): We can’t remember the name, which  probably has to do with the day’s wine intake, but it consisted of equal parts tequila and triple sec, with a dash of grenadine, and a Cherry Queen (?) dropped in.