Tofu vermicelli salad & spicy peanut sauce

This is an easy dish - I purhased some tofu noodles from the local market (produce section near the tofu). I rinced out the noodles, drained and put aside.

For this salad I used bean sprouts, red pepper,cucumber and spinach from local farmer's market

spicy peanut sauce:
hot chili oil, soy sauce, organic peanut butter - mix

I merely sauteed all ingredients in 1 very hot pan for 2 min - poured sauce over added peanuts and cucumber for garnish

Very healthy and delicious meal :)

Dips

Who doesn't enjoy dips; I'm crazy about them! I make homemade dips for parties, gatherings or Saturday afternoons for a great snack. I purchased some eggplant, onion, tomatoes, red pepper and jalapenos from the local farmer's market

Prepared Dips:
Babaghanoush
salsa
hummus

For the babaghanoush I used the eggplant - cut it up and roasted it in the oven with onion/garlic. Once it was tender - I blended the eggplant and garlic/onion together with olive oil, lime juice, sesame seed oil and fresh parsley -had it with flat bread and was so nutty and flavorful (salt/pepper to taste)

For the salsa I roasted onion, tomato, garlic, jalapenos and green pepper - once tender I blended it with fresh cilantro and lime juice (salt/pepper to taste) Just serve with tortilla chips of your choice.

Last but not least: hummus - used 1 can of chickpeas and 1/2 roasted red pepper. blended it with olive oil, lemon juice, sesame seed oil and salt/pepper served with Pita Chips!

Chili Cheese Enchiladas with New Mexico Chili

I have my gravy down packed and am happy to report that for the past 8-10 times I've made enchilada gravy, the sauce has come out impecable and uniformed. I do experiment using a variety of different chili powders - and recently made a gravy using ground new mexico red chilis - so good and spicy! I paired it with steamed red corn tortillas stuffed with 4 different cheeses :)

gravy ingredients:
olive oil
flour
tomato paste (for color)
1-2 tablespoons of chili powder (depending on heat)
onion
garlic
green pepper
cumin
salt/pepper to taste
water

First sautee your base veggies in olive oil until slightly tender, add 2-3 teaspoons of ground cumin (I cut my veggies very small - almosted minced). Next, make a roux!
I use olive oil and flour as my base - about 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of flour. cook out flour
slowly add water a little at a time and continue to stir (do not stop stirring or you will get clumps). This will take about 7 min. Then add the chili powder (always first taste your chili powder for heat) keep stirring - then add about 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for a creamy sauce and bright color! Now it's time to season your sauce (to taste) using kosher salt and ground black pepper. Simmer for at least 15 min!

Of course if you'd like to add meat - go ahead and prepare your ground meat with the sauteed veggies - I like mine vegetarian style. Enjoy :)

Farmer's Veggie Fried Rice

One of my favorite things to eat is rice (any rice) I love preparing rice dishes and experimenting with different rices. I picked up some veggies from the local farmer's market

Ingredients:
Green Pepper, Onion, Butternut Squash, Green Beans, and eggs (all from the market) and of course rice and spices

Boil 1 cup of rice of choice and follow box directions (I used Basmati rice)

While rice is boiling - prep and begin cooking veggies. I used a small stove top wok and olive oil to sautee the veggies - cut them all in a uniform fashion so they may cook evenly.

Once the rice was prepared I added sauteed garlic and black prepared black bean sauce (1-2 tablespoons) then mixed. I then added the 1 egg to the sauteed veggies, and stired. Once the egg was cooked, I added the rice mixture and stirred everything together for a lovely veggie fried rice. To make vegan, omit the egg:) Very good, healthy and pocket book friendly :)

Stuffed roasted Zuchinni Flowers

Zuchinni Flowers from Farmer's Market https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Texas-Food-Revolution/224565997568092

We try and visit our local farmer's market every saturday for fresh produce and meats - I had picked up some lovely looking zuchinni flowers and although I wanted to deep fry them, I don't have much experience deep frying foods so I did not want to ruin these lovely veggies. Instead, I stuffed the flowers with tomatoes, arroz,onion, and squash. I got the baby tomatoes, onion and squash also at the market.

ingredients:
zuchinni flowers
onion, squash, tomato, prepared rice, olive oil

because I had leftover rice I decided to roast some squash, onion, and tomatoes to add to the rice - I stuffed the mixture within the blossoms, drizzled with olive oil, salt n pepper and baked in a 300 oven for about 20 min - served with fish!

Coconut Curry Veggies and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

pictured is red pepper hummus and coconut veggie curry



Coconut Veggie Curry:

I love simple curries, and was craving it the other day, so I went to the grocery store to pick up some coconut milk and curry powder. I had the following veggies at home: red potatoes, japanese eggplant, 1 sweet potato, onion, garlic, frozen organic green peas, (zuchinni and squash from farmer's market)

clean and dice all veggies. In olive oil, sautee sweet potatoes, garlic and onion, add the red potatoes, squash, zuchinni and eggplant, saute until tender, and add 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, stir, salt and pepper to taste, then slowly add 1/2 can of coconut milk, 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice and chopped fresh cilantro and mint along with a cup of frozen peas, let simmer for 10 min.

Serve with flat bread. Add any protein that you like, I served this just vegetarian style :)

My hummus recipe is as follows:

so easy - get fresh chick peas and soak (1-2 cups)

rinse and boil in hot water for about 2 hrs (add kosher salt)

when soft, drain and place in blender with 4-6 cloves of garlic

add good olive oil, slowly stream in - I also add 1 tsp of sesame oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and 1 large roasted red pepper (with seeds out). To roast the red pepper just place in oven with drizzled olive oil for about 15 min until soft and blistery. I had 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds at home, and toasted them and threw then into the blended mixture, I have to say that they added an earthy layer of flavor. If you have fresh flat leaf parsley, add 1 hand full to the blender and blend until smooth.

Serve with flat bread, so good!

Homemade Easter Cupcakes

On Easter Sunday I made the most simple white cake batter for cupcakes, I use this recipe quite often. I didn't have any butter left to prepare butter cream, so I used a store bought white frosting that I had in my cabinet. Decorate your cupcakes any way you like, I love coconut so I topped mine with a shredded coconut

For my recipe, I used:

1 cup natural sugar
1/2 cup organic butter
2 organic eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 tsp pure vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup organic milk



This recipe makes 12 large cupcakes. Cream the sugar and eggs, add milk, flour and other ingredients and whip. Butter your baking cups and preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20 min or until golden brown