Yah, that definitely almost happened.

Finally today, a light bulb went off.

I haven’t made a good dip in awhile, and there happens to be a container full of black beans in my fridge.

Problem.  Solution. 

Smoked Bacon{ish} [...]]]> Did you think I was going to forget to post a delicious Labor Day recipe?

Yah, that definitely almost happened.

Finally today, a light bulb went off.

I haven’t made a good dip in awhile, and there happens to be a container full of black beans in my fridge.

Problem.  Solution. 

Smoked Bacon{ish} Black Bean Dip

So what is the bacon{ish} twist to this dip?

You know I didn’t put bacon in it!

It’s called Liquid Smoke.  But it’s more like liquid magic.

A little goes a long way, with this super smoky, liquid seasoning.  Along with a handful of other spices, you are left with a smoked, bacon-esque flavor.  Even the husband thought so!

To take this dip a little further, I thought I would add some roasted pepper + corn, for a few reasons.

• flavor
• crunch
• color

I’m out of propane for the grill, but our panini grill pan worked great in its place.

It only takes about 8-10 minutes to roast the peppers + corn and is worth the extra effort.  These veggies added so much flavor.

Delicious, but slightly boring, smoked black bean dip.

The addition of corn + peppers made things much more exciting. 

Most was mixed in the dip, but I saved some to sprinkle on top.  And you know how I love sprinkles lately.

This dip goes with just about anything.

• tortilla chips
• crackers
• cucumbers
• peppers
• carrots
• tacos
• pita

Or you can just eat it with a spoon…like I did from the bowl of the food processor.

Smoked Bacon{ish} Black Bean Dip [yields ~1 3/4-2c] inspired by Kathy’s Tempeh Bacon

• 1.5c cooked black beans [1, 15oz can], drained + rinsed
• 3T olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2t liquid smoke [hickory flavor]
• 1/4t Bragg’s/tamari/soy sauce/
• 3/4t ground cumin
• 1/2t fine grain sea salt
• 1.5t pure cane sugar
• pinch of smoked paprika
• black pepper
• 1/4c red pepper, once roasted [opt]
• 1/3c roasted corn [opt]

1. Grease your grill with a high-heat oil [I use sunflower], or a grill pan, and preheat to med-high ~400*. 
2. Slice the red pepper and place on the grill pan along with an ear of corn, or with 1/3c frozen corn.
3. Let roast for 7-10min turning 3-4x, until softened with nice char marks.
4. While roasting, process the 1 clove of garlic in your food processor.
5. Add in beans, olive oil, liquid smoke, cumin, soy sauce, salt, sugar, smoked paprika and pepper and process until smooth, scraping down the sides + bottom of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients. 
6. Taste, and add more salt/pepper if needed.
7. Chop roasted pepper + cut corn off the cob [unless using frozen], and reserve about 1T of each.
8. Empty dip into a bowl from the processor and add in the remaining pepper + corn.
9. Pulse around a few times and then stir into the bean dip mixture.
10. Transfer to a new bowl, if desired, and sprinkle with remaining pepper + corn.

*Store in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

*If you want a little heat, add cayenne pepper to taste.

*If you don’t have liquid smoke [costs about $2], try adding 1/2-1t smoked paprika or a chipotle seasoning, to get a nice smoked flavor.  It won’t be exactly the same, but still delicious.

Great to bring to a party.

Or just eat by yourself.

Either way, it’s not going to last long.

Happy long weekend!!

I’m off to the market this morning, then hopefully getting in a workout, watching the Ohio State game [GO BUCKS!!!], then off to check out Tour de Fat.  Has anyone ever been to Tour de Fat?  This is my first year going, and I’m pretty excited.  It’s hosted by the amazing + generous brewery, New Belgium.  Seriously, this brewery is always doing great things for the community + beyond.  Lucky for us, since New Belgium is in Fort Collins, we always get a Tour de Fat!  If you’re headed there today, be on the lookout for me!

Yes folks, the Tour de Fat will once again be meandering and pandering through 13 U.S.
cities spreading the good word about the positive societal offerings of the bicycle.
Along with our exceptional ability to roust a city’s inner-cyclist, in 2011 we hope to drive
our message even deeper by bringing you the biggest, most enjoyable traveling bike festival
that we know of. [source]

Ashley

I loved the way you came in and took charge in time of need.  You were there for me when I needed you most.  I owe some quick + creative ideas to you, so I wanted [...]]]> Oh, mock-kitchen.  You were so loved.  You were reliable + organized [usually] + so out in the open.

I loved the way you came in and took charge in time of need.  You were there for me when I needed you most.  I owe some quick + creative ideas to you, so I wanted to say thank you and good riddance!

Chickpea Herbed Veggie Burgers

Curried Sweet Tater Soup + Curry Grill-Baked Sweet Tater

Same Salad 3 Ways

Grill Baked Tofu

Taco Salad Night

Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats

Curry Grilled Tofu

Banana Cornbread Cake + Cornbread Muffin-Cake

Creamy Smoked Kale Salad

Oh, mock-kitchen…..You will not be missed!!

And now for the first real meal, out of my very real kitchen!

At first, I had on our main kitchen light and track lighting on above the stove, but it was terribly yellow.  I need to get bright white lights for the new fixtures!  I thought I would try using my light box lights, instead.  The photos are different, but interesting, in a glowing sort of way.

I like the sort of night-glow quality, but I may just be crazy.

Creamy, coconutty quinoa, cooking away.

And my best curry dish to date!

The mess was so worth it.

Curried Chickpeas with Coconut Quinoa [serves 3-4]

• 2T unrefined coconut oil
• 2c cooked chickpeas
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 1 large sweet bell pepper, chopped [or about 2c frozen chopped bell pepper mix]
• 1, 15oz can diced tomatoes + juice [can use whole peeled tomatoes as well, just mash them up a bit in the pan]
• 2T apple cider vinegar
• 1.5T curry
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4t turmeric
• 1/8-1/4t garam masala [depending on level of heat you want]
• 1/4t ginger
• 1/4t cumin
• 1/4t coriander
• 3/4t fine grain sea salt
• black pepper
• few dashes of cayenne [optional]
• 1-2T coconut milk [optional - from a can, low-fat is fine]

1. In a large skillet, melt 2T coconut oil, over medium heat.
2. Add in onion + pepper, stirring every few minutes, until soft and lightly browned.  ~5-8min
3. Add the curry, minced garlic, turmeric, salt, pepper, garam masala, ginger, cumin, and coriander and cook until fragrant.  ~1min
4. Add the canned tomatoes, with juices, chickpeas and the 2T apple cider vinegar.  Stir and let simmer [reduce heat if needed] for about 15-20min, until the liquid turns into a thick sauce.  Stir every few minutes.
5. Add cayenne pepper and/or more garam masala, until desired spiciness is reached.  Also add more s+p if desired, or possibly a small amount of sugar. *see note below
6. Right before plating, stir in 1-2T coconut milk, for added creaminess.

For the quinoa:

• 1c coconut milk [from a can, low-fat is fine]
• 2c water
• 1c quinoa, well rinsed
• 1T unrefined coconut oil

1. In a medium sized pot, over medium heat, melt 1T coconut oil for the quinoa.
2. Once melted, add in quinoa and toast for 2-3min, stirring frequently.
3. Add in water + coconut milk and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to simmer for 15min.  Do not stir.
5. Fluff with a fork + serve.

A few notes…

*Instead of chickpeas, you could add toasted tempeh or cooked tofu.

*Feel free to mix in other veggies as well, like peas or broccoli.

*If you don’t have coconut oil, sub in butter or earth balance.

*There are many different types of curry powder.  If you have a curry that is a bit earthier in flavor, you may want to add 1-3t sucanat or pure cane sugar to the mix.  I used a curry that has a bit of sweetness to it, so it tasted fine without.

First real meal, in my real kitchen.  It felt like a dream!

Enjoy!

Ashley

I gave the [...]]]> Don’t you love when unplanned meals turn out to be amazing??  After seeing Angela’s delicious looking olive oil + red pepper pasta dish the other day, I knew I needed to make it.  I made some adjustments, to use ingredients I had on hand, and I was 100% pleased with the outcome!

I gave the dish a bit of a Mexican flare.  The second I threw ground cumin in, it was either going to be delicious, or a disaster.

Luckily, it turned out delicious! 

I used mung beans, instead of lentils.  If you don’t like mung beans or can’t find them, lentils will work great, like in Angela’s recipe.  They are both packed with protein + fiber.  The mung beans have a nice crunchy texture, which I absolutely loved.

There are walnuts mixed into this recipe as well, which I was a little apprehensive about at first, but for some reason it works!

You could definitely cook up some tempeh or tofu to throw in this as well!  I used brown rice pasta and it worked perfectly.  Some brown rice pasta becomes sticky/gummy after cooking, but I’ve had the best success with Lundberg Brown Rice Penne Pasta.  The texture + flavor are great!

Mexican Spiced Veggie Pasta [serves 4-5] inspired by Angela’s pasta recipe

• 4 servings cooked pasta [cook to package directions]
• 1c chopped walnuts, toasted
• 3c broccoli
• 1.5c cooked mung beans [or green lentils]
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 1/4c nutritional yeast
• 1.5c marinara sauce
• 3T olive oil + 1T olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1.5t cumin
• 1-2T chipotle/adobo sauce [optional - or sub cayenne for heat]
• 1T mild chili powder
• 1T tomato paste
• 2-4T water/veggie broth

1. In separate pots, cook pasta and mung beans according to package directions. 
2. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.  They should take roughly the same time to cook.
3. In a large pan set to medium heat, toast chopped walnuts, stirring frequently. 
4. Cook until golden brown, about 5-8min, watching closely.
5. As walnuts are browning, sauté broccoli over medium heat with 1T olive oil, covered [in another pan] for about 6-7min, until slightly softened.
6. Add in chopped pepper, and cook another 2-3min, until the pepper is just starting to soften.
7. When walnuts have browned, add minced garlic to the pan and stir for 30sec.
8. Add in marinara, nutritional yeast, olive oil, cumin, adobo sauce [if using], chili powder, tomato paste and 2T water, to the walnut + garlic mixture.
9. Stir and bring to a simmer for 3-5min. 
10. Add in broccoli, peppers, mung beans + pasta and cook until heated through, stirring every minute or so. *If the sauce is too thick add another 2T of water or veggie broth, until it’s to your desired consistency.

Dish up!

The textures in this were awesome!!  Loved the crunch from the mung beans and walnuts, especially.  The nutritional yeast made the sauce creamy + thick.  The bold flavors were delicious and this was such a fun twist on pasta.  I originally planned to just throw marinara over pasta with broccoli for dinner.  Boring!  This took a little longer, but was totally worth it. 

It was up + ready in 30min!  Thanks for the inspiration, Ang!!

The wood floors are now sanded and look AMAZING.  It made such a huge difference!!!  Can’t wait to see what they look like with the color put on.  We went with a fairly light, nutmeg stain, which will really help keep the natural look of the wood.  It will show a lot of the character from the natural grain.  I’m super excited!  Going with a lighter stain will also make the house feel bigger.  We decided to get water based top coats put on because of the toxic fumes off-gassed from the polyurethane finishes.  The VOC [volatile organic compounds] of the water based is sealer is about 100.  For the polyurethane it’s 750!!  For typical paint, the VOC count is around 250-380.  We’re using all non-VOC and low-VOC paint and wanted to do the same for the floors.  It will be so nice working in the house, not breathing in all of those heavy fumes for the next month or so.  It’s also a bit kinder to the environment!

The floors will be done tomorrow!   

Back to IKEA ordering…

Ashley

…

Thank you all SO much for helping vote me through to ROUND 2 of Project Food Blog 2010!!  For this round we were asked to, tackle a classic dish from another culture.  Foodbuzz wanted us to reach outside our [...]]]> *Update: Voting is now open for Round 2!!  Thanks in advance for your support!!

…

Thank you all SO much for helping vote me through to ROUND 2 of Project Food Blog 2010!!  For this round we were asked to, tackle a classic dish from another culture.  Foodbuzz wanted us to reach outside our comfort zone and try something completely new to us.  Mexican cuisine jumped to my mind first.  I think this is because it’s such a staple cuisine around the US, but it’s not always easy to find authentic Mexican food.  Sure I’ve made burritos, enchiladas, tacos, etc., but I wanted to dive in a little deeper this time.

I’ve always been intrigued by Chiles Rellenos and have thought about making them many times.  How can you go wrong with stuffed peppers, especially when oozing with cheese.  Flipping through the latest Vegetarian Times magazine, I came across a whole spread on Mexican meals, side dishes, etc.  They even had a recipe for baked Chiles Rellonos with a spicy tomato adobo sauce!  Perrrrrfect. 

Before heading to the store, I did some reading on poblano peppers.  I found that they are mild in heat and that the most flavorful poblanos will be dark green and firm. 

But what to make for the rest of the meal?  Corn was on the brain.  Corn is a staple in Mexican cuisine, and I wanted to think of another way to incorporate it into the meal.  The peppers were partially stuffed with corn, but that wasn’t enough! 

Cornbread??  I couldn’t figure out if that was a Southern or Mexican tradition…so I nixed it.

I then consulted my culinary guru Emily for some advice.  She mentioned having a corn dish at Mexican restaurants similar to cornbread but much softer + creamier in texture.  After a little googling, I figured out that she was referring to Sweet Corn Cake.  It’s basically made with corn, butter + sugar.  How bad could it be??? 

Still, I needed something else.  Rice or beans?  Rice or beans?  Rice won.  I decided to make Mexican spiced, short grain brown rice.

I found a clear cut recipe for Sweet Corn Cake, on the Bob’s Red Mill website.  The ingredient list was short, and the directions were clear.  Although, there were a lot of little steps in the making of this. 

Processing the corn…

creaming the butter…

and boiling water to put in a double baking dish…  It was a good thing I read through the directions before I started.  I would have never guessed I would be boiling water for this!

This was good even before it went into the oven.  I was on pins + needles waiting to dive in!

While that was in the oven baking for 50min, I got to work on the poblanos.  New foods don’t intimidate me too much, but new techniques definitely do!  I had to roast these babies and then stick them in a covered bowl to steam, before peeling the skin off.  Sounds easy enough, but I really had no clue what I was doing.

I tried to choose the straightest peppers I could find, to allow for easier stuffing.

The directions said I could roast them in the oven, on the grill, or in a pan on the stove.  I opted for the grill because it seemed to be the quickest method.

Washed and ready.

I preheated the grill to 375* and closed the lid.

Love the vibrant dark green color of these local beauties.

After a short 5min, just look at the progress! 

While the peppers were on the grill, I got to chopping + sautéing the veggies that were going inside.  After they were done cooking I mixed in a cup of Organic Valley Pepperjack cheese.  At that point, I wanted to stop right there and just dig into the bowl of cheesy veggies…

zucchini + onion + corn

But, then I came to my senses and waited for the peppers to finish on the grill…

I flipped them 3 times total and it took about 20 minutes to get them completely charred and blistered.

I threw them in a bowl, covered it with foil, and set to the side to steam for 15min.  I’m not going to lie, peeling these suckers was not easy!  They were still pretty hot, and the skin was sticking to me.  I got them peeled the best I could! 

Then came the de-seeding.  I cut a 3” slit in the pepper, as directed, and started to scoop out the seeds.  This was also, no easy task.  These peppers were quite limp from being cooked, steamed, and peeled.  They’re also fairly narrow.  There was no way all the seeds were coming out! 

I got as many out as I could and started stuffing the peppers with the cheesy veggie deliciousness.  At one point, I took tiny bite of pepper + veggies to see how it tasted.  After about 20sec my mouth was on FIRE.  My lips were burning and so was my tongue.  I thought poblanos were mild?????  I’ve never actually ordered a chile relleno at a restaurant, but have had many bites of Chris’s plate before and it was never spicy!!?? 

A little disappointed, I trudged on.  I knew I probably wouldn’t get to enjoy this meal because that’s how hot it was!  The peppers were sealed with toothpicks, dipped in an egg + water bath, and then coated with panko breadcrumbs.  

While the peppers baked, it was definitely Beer Time.  Not Mexican, but still delicious!

Before the peppers went in, the sweet corn cake came out. 

Oh dear me.

Can you tell how buttery delicious this is??  The only change the recipe I made was subbing 2T Greek yogurt, in place of heavy whipping cream [which I forgot to buy].  There was no way you could tell.  It was a perfect substitute!

I ate a spoonful, squealed, and then ate another.  Seriously.  I can’t get over the amazing texture and delicious corn flavor of this dish. 

Next on the list was the spicy tomato adobo sauce.  There was a lot of prep for this meal!!  This recipe also came from Vegetarian Times and was super simple.  You basically sautéed tomatoes, onion, and a few spices, then blended it all together with an adobo pepper, until smooth.

Finalllllyyyy.  My hot little peppers were done!

I now present you with my first ever attempt at baked Chiles Rellenos! 

Served with a side of lime, tomato adobo sauce, sweet corn cake, and Mexican spiced brown rice.

As expected, the peppers were off the chart with spice!!  I don’t think it was just because of the stray seeds I left hanging around.  The skin was definitely really spicy too!

I managed to eat a whole one though.  I just had to, after all that work!  The flavor was actually really good.  I loved the tomato sauce and the crunch from the breadcrumbs was delicious.  The cheesy vegetables were amazing too.  

For the rice, I cooked 1.5c short grain brown rice, in 3c of water with 2T olive oil.  I also added 1 heaping teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, a pinch of coriander, salt + pepper.  I cooked it for 50min, simmering with the lid on, and then let it sit covered for 10min. 

Rice perfection!  And oh man…that sweet corn cake….mmmmmmm

The next day, I fed Chris + Chris the rellenos.  Somehow, they snuck a little of the sweet corn cake…

I tried to hoard as much as I could!!!

I could not stop eating this.

I consider this meal a success, even though I burnt off half of my tongue eating the pepper. 

Through this challenge, I learned that even when you read up on an ingredient, things may not always turn out as you expect!  However, I now feel like I’ve conquered an authentic Mexican meal, picking up a few new techniques along the way! 

Hope to see you for ROUND 3!!!  Voting starts Monday morning.  I’ll update then with a link or you can click the photo of me in my left sidebar.

Adios!!

Ashley

I think I’m going to shed a tear when peach season is over.  Move over nectarines, Colorado peaches have just wooed me.

So has that FiCoco spread!  My goodness.

In the mix: