Burritos with Carrot Cumin Sauce

The New Year is upon us, so I guess it’s time to make public confession of all our laziness and to proclaim our sincere efforts to lift ourselves from the gutter of our sorry ways. UGH! I hate it!

I am more of the inclination to begin each and every day with tiny little resolutions….you know….

”Today I will call my mother.”

 “Today I will not eat any junk food.”

“Today I will scour the bathrooms and pick up the piles.”

“Today I will go for a walk.”

Somehow I don’t beat myself up as badly when I break these small resolutions because I can always say, “There’s always tomorrow.”  I just can’t bear that horrible feeling when, on January 3^rd, I wake up and realize that I have already broken all of my resolutions! Talk about depressing! (As if I really could ever in my wildest dreams run a 5K or learn to play the church organ!)

One thing I should learn to do in 2013 is to estimate the weight of things, in particular, potatoes. I do believe I put in too much potato in this lovely Carrot Cumin Sauce.  But no worries, “There’s always tomorrow.” And since I have resolved to go all-out-vegan for the month of January, I will be making these again real soon.

Baked Burritos with Carrot Cumin Sauce (from frieddandelions.com)

Here’s what you need:

1 large Yukon gold potato -11 ounces (….. and here you can sympathize with my heavy handed use of the potato…. )

3 C water

6-8 medium carrots (…. I had less fear/problem with the carrots…. Love them!)

1 head garlic

2 t cumin

2 t salt

Pepper to taste

1 T tomato paste

Here’s what you do:

Peel and cut the carrots into coins about ¼ inch thin. Toss with oil, cumin and salt. Place on baking dish. Prepare the garlic for roasting by removing some of the papery skins, slicing off the top, drizzling with olive oil, sprinkling with salt and wrapping up tightly in foil. Place on sheet with carrots and roast it all for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.  After 25 minutes, remove carrots and continue to roast the garlic for about 20 more minutes.

Peel and dice the potato and cook in the 3 C water until fork tender – don’t throw away the water.

Puree the carrots, potatoes, garlic (squeeze it out of all the skins), tomato paste and some of the water to create the sauce. Add as much of the starchy water as you want.

I filled my burritos with black beans and some rice. I added some tomato paste, cayenne pepper and saffron threads to my rice to make it yellow to match my sauce. 

 Be sure to put some of the sauce in the burrito as well. I think it would have been better if I had stuffed the burrito with some other veggies: diced tomatoes, cilantro, onions, green pepper, etc.

Roll them up, smother with the sauce, bake till hot and bubbly, serve with all the fixin’s . ... obviously, mine needed more! 

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago: Santa Fe Appetizer Tart 

One Year Ago: Creamy Saffron and Chicken Soup

Spice Rack Challenge: Cumin (Edamame Hummus with Spiced Pita Chips)

My camera did no justice to the beautiful, beautiful color of this dip - trust me!

As you may know, I am participating in a monthly Spice Rack Challenge, hosted by Mother’s Kitchen. Her post announcing cumin as August’s spice is especially fun and interesting…. What do chickens, Ann Arbor and cumin have in common? Click here to find out!  

If you are a cumin lover (like me) then you will absolutely LOVE this dip and these pita chips. Both recipes can be found on  www.finecooking.com . Originally from Ellie Krieger, you know they will be excellent! We polished all this off in one day and I will definitely be making more soon.

Here’s what you need for the dip:

2 C edamame (I used fresh. You can also use frozen and cook according to package directions)

1 C silken tofu, drained

½ t salt

Black pepper to taste

1 ½ t cumin

3 cloves garlic

¼ C olive oil

1/3 C fresh lemon juice

Place everything in a food processor and blend until very smooth. (Do you know the trick of dropping the garlic cloves into the processor while it is running? The result is very finely minced garlic. No one wants to bite into a big piece of raw garlic, right?)

Here’s what you need for the chips:

6 whole wheat pita breads, cut into 6-8 wedges and split

¼ C olive oil

2 t cumin

1 t ground coriander

½ t cayenne pepper

1 t garlic powder

½ t black pepper

½ t salt

Combine the oil and spices in a bowl. Add the pita bread and use your hands to mix it well. Bake on 2 baking sheets at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the chips over after 7 minutes. 

(printable recipes)

One Year Ago: Pesto (need I say more?)

creamy southwest chicken soup

(adapted from Cuisine at Home magazine, October 2010)

I’m the type of person who goes in and out of ‘phases.’ Just ask anyone who knows me and they’ll remember my ‘I’m going to read all the classics’ phase, or the ‘history of the whaling industry’ phase (no kidding….that phase began after I read Moby Dick). I have also become obsessed for a season with Mt. Everest and thoroughbred horses…..  Can’t say why this happens!

I guess all cooks go through food phases also; at least I do. For me, there’s nothing better than a pasta phase or a Thai phase. Well, I announced to the family yesterday that I think I’m entering a soup phase. Must be the cold snowy weather. Here is the first recipe to share.

Here’s what you need:

2 T butter

1 red bell pepper

1 poblano pepper

½ C diced onion

1 T minced garlic

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin

½ t ground coriander

6 T flour, divided

3 C whole milk (you need whole milk here because the fat content keeps the cheese from separating)

12 oz beer

1 C chicken stock

½ C dry rice

3 C shredded pepper Jack cheese

2 C shredded chicken

Garnishes: sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla chips

  

Here’s what you do:

Remove all the seeds and veins from the peppers and dice them, but not too small. The poblano has a little heat, so determine how much you want to use. The real heat is in the seeds and veins, so be sure to remove them if you want less heat.

Saute peppers, onions, garlic and spices in butter for about 5 minutes or until veggies are soft. The kitchen smelled so good!

Whisk in half of the flour. Allow the veggies to continue to cook for about 2 minutes longer while stirring in all the flour well.

Slowly add the liquids to the pan. I suggest adding only 1 C at a time and scraping up the bottom of the pan, stirring and whisking well between each addition. At any rate, do not add it all at once – that’s how you get lumps!

Bring to a gentle simmer and add the rice. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. Don’t rush this step.

Mix the remaining flour with the shredded cheese – this handy trick keeps the cheese from separating in the hot liquid. Another trick – add the cheese in small handfuls and stir well between each addition. I added the cheese off the heat.

Add the chicken and allow the warm soup to heat the chicken. It's ready to serve. Wonderful, spicy, cheesy, comforting, rich and definitely a keeper!

(printable recipe)

I would love if you would post a link to a favorite soup recipe. I tend to make the same ones over and over. What's your favorite soup to make? 

cheesy green enchiladas

This is a meal that I adapted from an old Vegetarian Times Magazine. You may have noticed that I am not a vegetarian, but I do love vegetarian meals. We often go for days without a bite of meat. I must say, these were very satisfying and very low calorie. I served the enchiladas with my Texas Caviar, which you can find here on the blog under snacks. The enchiladas would have been better if I also served lime wedges and avocados slices in keeping with the 'green' name. A dollop of sour cream never hurts either. Cilantro for garnish too. 

Here's what you need:
24 oz fat free, large curd cottage cheese
1 C shredded cheese - today I used reduced fat with no noticeable difference - every calorie counts, eh?
1 14 oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilis - drained.
1/2 - 1  t cumin ( I used a teaspoon and it was a little too much for my taste....start on the low end )
low fat flour tortillas
green salsa

As you can see from the picture above, I did not use the canned tomatoes..... I went with fresh tomatoes from the garden and a small can of chopped green chilis - only difference was the the fresh tomatoes were very wet.... making a 'soggy' enchilada. Maybe too soggy for some of you, but fine for us.
        

Here's what you do:
Rinse and drain the cottage cheese.....yes, I know, but do it anyway. Let it drain for about 15-20 minutes.
Mix tomatoes, chilis, cottage cheese, cumin and 1/2 C shredded cheese
Fill tortillas with about 1/2 C cheese/tomato mixture.
Place in a sprayed casserole.

As you can see, the fresh tomatoes created a puddle in the bottom of the casserole. Most of the liquid was absorbed by the tortilla. Using a drained can of tomatoes would be drier.

Smother the enchiladas with green salsa and cover with the remaining 1/2 C cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

One great thing about vegetarian meals is their low cost. This was a hearty meal, there were leftovers for lunch the next day, and it hardly cost a thing. Give it a try. I'd love to know what you think about this one.