Cinco de Mayo, a few weeks late

I've been a little absent lately - between some traveling and work being extra busy I haven't had a lot of energy for coming home and writing and going through photos. I never even finished up writing about our San Diego trip - oops! Anyway, I do have things to share! Like Mexican May (is that not PC? it's just that one day on Cinco de Mayo isn't enough for me!).

In case you didn't know, Cinco de Mayo is one of my most favorite holidays (Is it even considered a holiday here? Doesn't matter really - I consider it one). In college our best parties were on Cinco de Mayo, they were usually filled with pinatas, sombreros, and giant buckets full of margaritas. These days I can't quite imagine drinking a margarita out of a bucket, or at least not on a weeknight. Instead I decided to celebrate the second best way, by making lots of Mexican inspired food.

I came across a recipe for Spicy & Smoky Lentil Taco Meat on another blog - The Chubby Vegetarian. I love tacos and I was excited to try something other than my standard mashed kidney bean mix. The recipe called for smoked sundried tomatoes, which I could not find - instead I used regular sundried tomatoes and a little liquid smoke. I liked the idea of using a smoked cheddar cheese in the tacos as well - usually I'd just use a plain cheddar and this added a nice flavor. Overall the recipe was good, but I would have to disagree with the statement that this replicated the texture of taco meat. Even though it has been a good 14 years since I've had real taco meat I promise you it does not have the texture of lentils. I has tried this recipe out ahead of time thinking I might bring it to work for our Cinco de Mayo potluck, but I decided it wasn't something I could really sell to my meat-eating coworkers.

I decided to go with a Soyrizo stuffed Empanadas to bring to work instead. I used a simple dough recipe I found online and made the filling by sauteing red bell peppers, onions, and jalapenos with some chipotle chili powder and a little cumin, then adding the whole package of Soyrizo and cooking until the peppers and onions were nice and soft. I was really pleased with the results - even my non-vegetarian coworkers seemed to really enjoy them! I forgot to take any photos of them, but to be honest I don't think empanadas photograph all that well anyway.

Now I think I need to make a grocery store run and buy some more avocados! Perhaps I can find something to use them in for Sunday Dinner...

-C

SoCal Burritos

I love burritos. In fact - I love most forms of Mexican food. It's been several years since I've been to Southern California where I think some of the best Mexican food exists, so I was really excited for our trip this week!

Unfortunately, Mexican can be a tricky cuisine for a vegetarian... I have to worry about lard in the toritalls and beans and chicken stock in the rice and who knows what else I might not be thinking of! So I was really excited when I searched for restaurants in La Jolla on Happy Cow and found a vegetarian-friendly taco shop! Don Carlos Taco Shop was amazing. I had the Soyrizo burrito which had a nice spice to it and the owner assured me that the rice and beans were totally vegetarian (his wife is also a vegetarian). Unfortunately it is pretty tough to take an appetizing photo of a half eaten burrito - but that's not going to stop me from sharing with you - also check out their awesome discount cards!

The food was great, but I think the best part was how friendly the owner was. I would seriously seek this place out if I'm ever in San Diego again and I would definitely reccomend it to everyone I know who is in the area!

I'll have more to share on my trip to San Diego when I return, but I was excited about this particular place and wanted to share it right away!

-C

Sunday Dinner: Butternut Squash Risotto

A few weeks ago I had the sudden urge to make a big Sunday dinner. Something that maybe lots of families make all across the country but due to my aversion to things like pot roast and other meat based meals have never experienced.

I like big Sunday dinners because it gives you lots of leftovers to eat throughout the week! This time I decided to go with several dishes - Butternut Squash Risotto, Sauteed Mushrooms, Kale with Garlic and Chili, Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Potatoes, and Field Roast. I'd never tried to make risotto before - in fact I'm pretty sure I'd never even eaten risotto. It did take a bit of time, but it was delicious! Who knew something could be so creamy and delicious without any cream at all? I suppose I did at a *tiny* bit of cheese at the end, but really - hardly any at all.

You should try it - I promise it is worth the little bit of time it takes to make!


Butternut Squash Risotto
Recipe adapted from The Wednesday Chef

1/2 Butternut Squash, diced (12oz if you're buying it pre-cut)
1 Large Onion, diced
8 Cups Vegetable Stock
2 Cups Arborio Rice
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
3 Tbs Butter, unsalted
1/4 Cup Parmesan, grated
Handful of Sage leaves
Salt and Pepper

1) Combine squash, a few sage leaves, and 1 cup of stock in a pot - bring to a simmer and cook for ~10 minutes until squash is tender. Drain and reserve liquid and set squash aside.
2) In another pot heat the remaining stock and keep warm - you don't want it boiling but you want it to be hot when you add it to the rice later.
3) Chop up 6 sage leaves - saute in 2 Tbs of melted butter over medium heat for 1 minute then add the diced onion - saute for 5 minutes until onions are translucent.
4) Lower the heat on the onions and sage and add the rice and a pinch of salt  - cook for 3 minutes before turning the heat back up to medium and adding the white wine. Cook until the wine has been absorbed and then add enough of the hot vegetable stock to cover the rice.
5) Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to stir occasionally until the stock has been absorbed - continue adding 1/2 cup of stock at a time and stirring until it has been absorbed before adding more.
6) Once all of the stock has been absorbed (about 30 minutes) add the squash, Parmesan, and remaining 1 Tbs of butter and season with salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine and serve with chopped sage as a garnish.

Thanksgiving Recap

Thanksgiving turned out great! I ended up spending an awful lot more time cooking than I expected, but it was a lot of fun. The food looked beautiful and tasted delicious - here is an updated menu:

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Smoked Gouda
Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Hazelnut Pizza
Cornbread, Apple, and Hazelnut Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes with Kale and Garlic
Cranberry Sauce
Brussel Sprouts with Hazelnuts
Glazed Carrots
Roasted Delicata
Rosemary Sea Salt Rolls
Pomegranate [not so 100-mile, but someone was nice enough to bring it and it was delicious!]

Oh yes, and of course the turkey... the boys spent most of the time before the meal outside tending to the deep fryer. This worked out well as it left more of the soup, pizza, and wine for us girls.  :)

Cranberry sauce was the first thing I started with - I absolutely love cranberry sauce, but I'll admit I was a little apprehensive about not having my traditional cranberry sauce shaped like a can. Aren't the cranberries absolutely beautiful? Most recipes call for orange juice or just plain water, but since water sounded boring and oranges don't exactly grow in Oregon I decided to go with apple cider. Yum!



Cranberry Sauce Cooking

I forgot to take pictures of the cornbread I made for the stuffing, but that's ok. I did remember to take a few other photos of the finished products though!

Roasted Delicata, Cornbread Apple Hazelnut Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes with Kale and Garlic

Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Hazelnut Pizza

Sara's Roasted Red Pepper and Smoked Gouda Soup

The Feast!

I wish it was Thanksgiving again just so I could re-eat this meal! But really, this year there are so many things to be thankful for and I appreciate the chance to share delicious food in the company of great people.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving - now on to Christmas!