Spicy Tacos

Inspired by a recipe description someone posted online, I decided to make tacos similar to the enchiladas we made a few days ago.

 

 

Ingredients :

8-16 oz mushrooms
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 handful fresh spinach
16 oz tofu

Corn tortillas

Fresh tomatoes, chopped
Cilantro
Lime

Sauce:
1/2 cup cashew butter
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 lime or lemon
Seasonings (garlic, pepper, etc)
Poblano pepper

Broil the poblano pepper 10 minutes on each side.

Sauté the onions, pepper,  and mushrooms until the onions become translucent. I let them go a bit longer this time to give them a little more flavor and sweetness. Then, throw in the garlic and spinach, toss and remove from heat.

 

 

Scramble or bake the tofu, seasoning well beforehand.

Warn the tortillas. We use the microwave for 2 minutes for 4 tortillas...they get a little firm but not crispy.  3 minutes gets you crispy chips, if you want them.

Mix the cashew butter, squeeze of lemon or lime, almond milk, and the scrapings of the poblano in a blender or food processor, adding seasonings to taste.

Then, assemble your tacos and top with the sauce.  Enjoy!

Healthy Chocolate Muffins

I've never attempted Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Chocolate Cake recipe because it calls for ingredients I don't usually keep on hand (mainly, dates!), but we decided to revamp the recipe to fit our tastes and needs, and this is the delicious result. 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

1.75 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

 

4-6 tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

 

1 large zucchini

5 large carrots

1 large beet, peeled

 

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks

1 large apple, organic or peeled

2 bananas

 

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup dried pineapple

1 tablespoon Vanilla

 

Walnuts, optional

 

 

Combine flour, baking powder, cocoa, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

 

In a food processor, process all fruits, vegetables, dried fruit, vanilla, and milk together until nearly smooth.  

 

 

 

Add to dry mixture and combine, adding walnuts if you use them. 

 

Spoon into muffin cups, filling the cups because these don't rise much as they bake.  Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.   This batch made 18 muffins. 



Served like this, they make a great breakfast muffin or snack. 

For dessert, you can top with a chocolate cream frosting (below) or just dollop some peanut butter on top for a delicious chocolate peanut butter moment. 


Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup cashews, made into cashew butter
1/2-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup dates, pits removed
2 teaspoons cocoa powder

Blend all or process in a food processor until smooth.  Use enough milk to get the consistency to your liking.  Less milk will give you more of a fudgy consistency and slightly more will make it thinner and easier to use less on each muffin. 

Enchiladas with Poblano Cream Sauce

We've made these enchiladas before and love them, but the addition of this sweet and spicy cream sauce really bumps the flavor into the incredible zone.   In addition, the recipe is extremely versatile as you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and not worry if you are missing one or two because it's doubtful you'd miss them. 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Corn tortillas, 1 small package  



1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
Mushrooms, 8-16 oz, chopped
16 ounces spinach or other greens, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped, seeds and juice removed

Other vegetables, shredded or diced, as many as you'd like.  We used 2 medium zucchini and 1 eggplant.

Cashews, 1 cup nuts made into cashew butter
Unsweetened almond milk (or other plant milk), about 1/2 cup
1 large poblano pepper
Lemon, about a teaspoon of juice
Seasonings, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, onion powder, etc. 

Directions:

Roast the poblano pepper on a baking sheet.  Broil 10 minutes on each side or until blackened. 

Chop all vegetables.  Saute the onions, garlic, bell pepper until the onions just start to soften, then remove about 1/4 cup of the cooked mixture and set aside for the sauce.   Add the mushrooms, greens, tomatoes, and other vegetables to the pan, and saute 2-3 more minutes, season the mixture, then remove from heat. 

 

 

Prepare a baking pan by rubbing it with olive oil using a paper towel or oil mister.  Layer corn tortillas along the bottom then fill with cooked vegetable mixture.  Put a few more tortilla strips along the top as another layer, then bake on 350 for about 15 minutes. 

While it's baking, assemble the sauce.   Add the cashew butter, milk, lemon juice, cooked onion mixture, seasonings, and the scrapings from the roasted pepper (no seeds, no skin) into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.   We used black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and a dash of cayenne.

Remove the dish from the oven, top with sauce, and serve.  It tastes great reheated, if necessary.

I have some ideas on how to bulk this dish up a bit by adding more vegetables, perhaps even roasted vegetables, as well as black beans.   For now, we serve with black bean soup and salsa. 

Blackberry Cobbler Bars

After the success of the blueberry muffins, I decided to try a twist on the traditional blackberry cobbler that we grew up eating.  That was the dessert I always chose first when we had family reunions or any kind of mult-dessert offering.  

These aren't that, of course, but the flavor is very reminiscent. 

Recipe:

2 ripe bananas
1 large apple or pear, minced, or 1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1-2 eggs or chia/flax eggs
2.5 cups oatmeal
1/4c dried pineapple
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup seeds (sesame or pumpkin)
8 oz frozen blackberries, drained of water
dash cinnamon and teaspoon of vanilla

Combine everything except the blackberries and mix well, then gently fold in the blackberries.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   

Blueberry Muffins

also known as, The Muffins You Are Always Going to Make for Me, named by Ryder because they are so delicious.   

 

• 1-3/4 cup any flour (we used whole oats)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (optional - was fine without)
• 1 egg or 1 flax egg
• 1/2 cup plant milk (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 large apple, minced
• 1/4 cup dried pineapple, minced
• 1/2 cup concentrated orange juice (frozen)
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (or other nuts)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped seeds (pumpkin, sesame, etc)
• 1.5 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

If using oats, put them in the food processor and process into flour.  I was able to make the entire mix in the food processor, including chopping the apple in it, mincing the pineapple, and so on, folding in the blueberries by hand at the end.  Otherwise, mix the dry ingredients by hand, then the wet, then combine.  Add the blueberries last unless you want purple muffins.  Mix until just combined, bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.