Black Bean Salsa Dip

I was trying to make a sort of black bean hummus with this recipe, but failed to realize that the liquid-to-bean ratio would make it distinctly wetter than hummus. No worries! It tastes great, is essentially fat-free, and is easily scoop-able on a chip.

Black Bean Salsa Dip (makes…3 cups? I forgot to measure and I ate a ton of it):

• 1 15-oz. can of black beans (or two cups of cooked beans)
• 2 T onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium-sized tomato, roughly chopped
• 1 T cilantro
• 1  jalapeño
• juice of one lime
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Add all ingredients to your food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Enjoy!

 

Southwest Pizza

After long debates with myself about calling this “Mexi-corn Pizza” I decided that was a) too racist, and b) too…corny to be posted on the blog. So, Southwest Pizza it is! Which is really more honest, anyway, since this doesn’t exactly resemble Mexican food in any fundamental way. Except for the cilantro and corn. And avocado.

This was one of those meals where I thought, “vegans get to eat this? And it’s healthy?” but it totally is. It’s weird when something feels sinfully good, but is also incredibly good for you. I suppose that’s what veganism is all about.

Southwest Pizza (makes 1 large pizza):

• 1/2 recipe of pizza dough from Vegan with a Vengeance, or any kind of premade or other recipe dough you like.
• 1 jar salsa (use as much as you like. I’d recommend getting something that seems saucy, as opposed to fresh salsa. I like Trader Joe’s.)
• 1 small summer squash, sliced VERY thin
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 of a small onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 package of Trader Joe’s fake ground beef (it’s awesome) or any brand you like. You need about 1/2 cup of total fake meat.
• 1/3 cup daiya pepperjack flavor (you can omit this, but it is delicious!)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• cilantro for garnish. And flavor!
• hot sauce (I recommend Tapatio for this)

Now, roll out your dough. Have I given instructions about how to make pizza before? Yes! The real difference between this pizza and the link is that you order the toppings different: salsa, onions, garlic, squash, corn, then beef. Bake until the squash is done, being careful not to overcook the crust (so if you need to turn down the temp a little, that’s fine). Add the daiya, and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes, until it’s nice and melted. Let the pizza cool and add the cilantro, avocado, and hot sauce.

Other toppings that would taste great: black olives, green onions (sprinkled on with the cilantro), green peppers, and diced green chilies.

My husband gave this pizza a rating of: “It made both my stomach and mouth happy.” Good enough for me!

 

No-Huevos Rancheros

The saddest part is that this is the best picture I took. This dish is amazingly delicious, and yet I could only take the most horrendous pictures of it. Poor Huevos Rancheros. Look at you: homemade salsa, homemade corn tortillas, tofu scramble, veggie refried beans, cajun potatoes, avocado and a little bit of lime. Does it get any better than that?

I would love to make this again. However, it’s what’s known as a “kitchen destroyer” in that it takes up literally every mixing bowl and pot and pan that I have. And the food processor. Good grief! This dish has about as many elements as a Thanksgiving dinner. I think the best idea is to eat it when you have leftover salsa, leftover tortillas, and then you just have to make the scramble, beans, and potatoes. Do you see what I mean? That’s still a lot of work.

Happy Herbivore says she likes to make this when nursing a hangover. How could anyone have the stamina to make this while hungover?

 

 

Chilaquiles…what?

I had no idea what chilaquiles were until I made this. And I thought I knew a lot about Mexican food! Guess not.

These are the Tofu Chilaquiles from Happy Herbivore. I gotta say, it tasted a lot like a tofu scramble, but with a little flair thrown in. I’m not sure I loved it as a dinner, but as an enchilada filling or a breakfast burrito (with some roasted potato) this would be divine. And look at the tomatoes! God bless my friends out in the country. I couldn’t grow a decent tomato here if my life depended on it. And trust me, I’ve tried.

 

Chickpea Taco Salad

I literally cannot stop making taco salad. It’s just so good! Everything I love about both tacos and salads, thrown together in a bowl. Also, it’s a perfect excuse to buy corn chips, which I love with a burning and undying passion.

So, this is just basic homemade salsa (with homegrown tomatoes–thanks country friends!), baked chickpeas and edamole from the Happy Herbivore. I did buy one of those huge Florida avocados, but it went bad before I could make dinner. I think it was probably bad when I got it. But…crazy avocado! How could I resist?

What I’m saying is, make taco salad. Make as much taco salad as you can possibly eat before the summer is over, because when fall comes, you will not want to eat that sh*t. You will want squashes and casseroles and noodles up to your eyeballs. But right now, summer is king, and tacos are where it’s at.

 

Baked Chimichangas!

Mmm…mmm…chimichangas! It’s fun to say. And fun to eat!

I love me some baked burrito. I love how it makes the outside all crispy, the bottom all mushy, and you can eat it with a fork! And a knife! And put pretty three colored sauces on top! I filled this one with brown rice, black beans, anasazi beans, tomatillo salsa and vegan chorizo. That recipe is so awesome, and makes TONS. I don’t even know what to do with the rest of it! Maybe some bowls, since I’m all out of tortillas now.

The sauces on the top are a little more tomatillo salsa (just from a jar, I KNOW), some quick salsa (no onion), and some onion cashew crema that I made up myself! Actually, out of desperation, since I totally messed up the cashew sour cream recipe from Vegan Brunch. Oops!

Onion Cashew Crema:

• 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for an hour at least
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp mild vinegar
• 1/2 of a small sweet onion
• 2 T dehydrated onion flakes

Now, put all ingredients in a blender and whip them up! Try to get most of the bits of cashew all ground up–this isn’t easy, so give it some time. When it’s done, just pop in the fridge to cool down. Makes a ton–at least a cup. I only used about 1 T to top these burritos–er–chimis, so now I don’t know what to do with the rest of it. The cashews make it a little bit diet unfriendly, but it’s worth it. I mean, you’re probably only putting about two or three extra grams of fat on there. Don’t sweat it! You need to eat fat to live! TO LIVE.

So, yay! Thanks again for the awesome dinner, Happy Herbivore!

Anasazi Bowl!

I love Anasazi beans. I know I’ve mentioned that before, but it needs to be said again. GREATEST BEAN EVER. I also didn’t realize that you don’t need to soak them–which makes sense, because I do soak them, and they cook in half the time of normal beans. They are like pinto beans, but better, with a stronger flavor and a very tender texture. I can’t get enough of these beans! And luckily they are sold in stores where I live, but they are completely worth ordering online, just to try them. I sort of want to do a road trip out to Dove Creek, Colorado, for some bean tourism.

So this bowl features the best beans in the world, but it also has brown rice, crispy summer squash (slice thin, spray with oil, bake at 425 for 30 mins), and homemade salsa.

Do you love homemade salsa? Me, too. Here’s how I make mine:

Homemade Salsa (makes about 2 cups):

• 4 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped in half
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed
• 1/2 cup sweet onion
• 1 jalapeño, seeded
• juice of one lime
• 1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro

Put all the ingredients in your food processor, and pulse it a few times. Not too much! You still want it to be a little chunky. If you don’t have a processor or blender, that’s fine, just chop everything up as small as you can, and mix it together in a bowl. It’ll taste the same, but the consistency won’t be as saucy. Don’t worry! Also, let your salsa chill out in the fridge for a while for the best flavor.

I was thinking of other items that would be good in this bowl: corn, marinated carrots & jalapeños, jicama and sweet potatoes all come to mind.  And most definitely a little avocado. We’ve had really bad luck with avocados lately, so I didn’t feel like spending $2 to see if we’d get something tasty or some gray-black mush. Ew!

I like it this way, though, with squash and beans just like the Anasazi would have eaten it! Though consuming dinner in a cliff-dwelling you carved yourself might make it taste even better.