Mexican Style Black Eyed Beans Soup

I had my vaccination yesterday morning. I took the rest of the afternoon off from work as I was feeling rather nauseated, as well as anxious for a number of reasons, including the fact that i have not gone out for such a long time - only to be surrounded by so many people in one place.  It was anxiety inducing to say the least.  When I got home, i got a blanket and snook under it on the sofa and snoozed for a couple of hours.  I am feeling much better today, but have been taking it easy, which means the garden is neglected again for another weekend.

Anyway, early  in the week, I made this Mexican Style Black Eyed Bean soup. It was after making the Kunde -  Black Eyes Peas and Tomatoes in Peanut Sauce last week and laying my hands on the black eyed peas jar, i thought i'd  make another recipe with them.  

Also its been quite cold here. I am not ashamed to say that i have been cuddling my hot water bottle like a childhood teddy.  

We even had a flurry of snow at one point and although it did not stick.  It was rather beautiful falling.  If you have watched the movie Edward Scissorhands, then that is the snow fall i am referring to, as in fairytale like.

This is a Black Eyed Beans soup with red pepper happens to be vegan, but too tone down the spices, I garnished it with grated cheddar cheese for coolness. To make more of a substantial meal of it, i made cornbread. I remembered the packets of cornbread mix that my American friends brought over a couple of years back.  By the way, i also have Quick Grits and Corns grits too. 

I am sharing this Mexican Style Black Eyed Beans Soup with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Chocolate 'Beef' Chilli in Blue Tacos

I'd like to say I made this for Halloween , but the truth is this blog post Chocolate Chili in Blue Taco's has been languishing in my draft box for over a year.  

I was actually meant to be working on Halloween night, so had given D instructions to give out the trick and treating children sweets when they came knocking on the door, that responsibility often falls upon me, but as it turned out - the evening event got cancelled, so I was able to still be the giver of sweets to trick and treaters banging on the front door, but there were not many children as in past years.  I think the sodden weather kept many of them away, I have to be honest I was kinda glad as I did not have much energy to be jumping up and down like jack in the box to answer the door.  

Anyway, back to this Chocolate Chili in Blue Taco's - the recipe was adapted from a meat based recipe from Clodagh McKenna's Chocolate Beef Chilli.  I replaced the beef with soya mince and omitted the bacon lardons.  

I remember it being  very rich and 'too chocolatey' for my liking and I wasn't a great fan of the Blue  Corn Tacos either.  They broke on folding. 

I was glad that I was able to try the Blue Corn Tacos having admired them afar before, but I am in no rush to try them again, unless I go to Mexico and they are fresh. 

April In My Kitchen

In My Kitchen... 

I have some red Chard and leeks (not shown) harvested from the allotment garden plot over the Easter weekend. 

In My Kitchen, some ethically sourced Brown Rice from smallholders in Malawi.  It was being sold in my workplace by a charity to raise awareness of Fairtrade fortnight.

Purple Green French Beans, Carrot and Potato Tacos

I have been in the garden plot picking the last of the plums for plum jam and purple climbing French beans. Ah they have been lovely to grow, but upon cooking they turn a dull green.

I made this French Bean, Carrot and Potato filling in order to make some Taco's.  I used Wahaca Yellow Corn Tortilla, and finished it off with a generous dollop o soured cream.  Folded it over  and the smothered it further with some Tomatilla Salsa.  

This Purple Green French Bean, Carrot and Potato Tacos were very good to eat.   I am  sharing this recipe with Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen.  I hope she will accept this Mexican style sandwich.  

Creamy Avocado Soup with Tortilla Cheese Topping

Although I have tinkered with the recipe a little bit, here is another vegetarian recipe scratched off the bookmarked list.  I've had this Creamy Avocado Soup recipe bookmarked for a vey long time, in fact ever since I got Celia Browns cookbook Entertaining Vegetarians in 2004.  

Avocado in soup may sound a bit strange, perhaps not to those of you who have been tucking into trendy smoothies made with the Avocados - anyway think Mexican guacamole flavours!  This is not a steaming bowl of soup and nor is it a cold soup, its warm, barely warm in fact as it is flashed under the grill for the cheese to melt and then served up immediately.   No waiting around.  

I have actually made this Creamy Avocado Soup twice in last two weeks.  Once with soured cream and the second time with coconut cream left over from Christmas and Boxing Day cocktails and mocktail Pina Coladas - oh no I've said too much.   D declared the Creamy Avocado Soup as delicious.  Its a blanket of green velvet lushness.  I wasn't sure if I would like this luke warm Creamy Avocado Soup, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only did I like it, I loved it. 

I wanted to serve it with some fancy blue maize tortilla chips, but D had a few days back opened a packet of Doritos that I found tucked away in the bread bin, so I used them.  I am sharing this with Creamy Avocado Soup with Tortilla Cheese Topping with Eat Your Greens challenge that I co-host with The VegHog;  Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen;   Elizabeths's Kitchen for No Waste Food Challenge; as the tortillas were beginning to soften and crisped up within moments under the grill and No Croutons Required hosted by Tinned Tomatoes and Lisas Kitchen. 

Little Red Bottle of Annatto Achiote Oil

Since picking up a copy of Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero all those years ago, I have been making her popular vegan Chorizo sausages recipe.  Her newer cookbooks Salad Samurai and Protein Ninja are on the wish list too, but I still find myself dipping into Viva Vegan now and again, and did so recently with her Veneuzuelan Black Beans.  

However, the last time I made the vegan chorizo sausages was when I was on my vegetarian adventure and I made what had become a popular dish on the menu Chorizo, potato Quesadilla's, but haven't made any since as I struggled to find vital wheat gluten in Wales.  But now I am able to find some as most independent places that stock vegetarian and vegan ingredients sell vital wheat gluten.  My trouble now is getting hold of annatto seeds, also known as achiote seeds for making Achiote oil.  

Achiote oil is not hard to make, the hardest part is acquiring achiote seeds. When I lived in Glasgow I was able to pick this up at Lupe Pintos in the West End, but now I live in the Welsh valleys, I love it - but some ingredients are not easy to find, so a trip to the city, whether its Cardiff or Bristol is always welcome.  

Well I found some achiote - annatto seeds and I decided to make some chorizo sausages.  If you can't find the seeds, don't worry - you can still make the vegan chorizo sausage recipe without it, but it does add something....mostly colour. 

Easy Vegan Pulled Jackfruit 'Pork Quesadillas

I made these easy vegan pulled Jackfruit 'pork' Quesadillas after work one evening when we had hardly any fresh vegetables in the house. 

I had some tortilla wraps left over that we ended up using for some of the Somalian Fava Bean dish, I had thought about making some vegetarian cheesy Quesadilla's, a back up lazy hunger pang filler, but then I remembered my stash of tinned Jackfruit.

At the same time  I remembered a fellow blogger mentioning on one of my previous Jackfruit posts had I tried it in taco's or Mexican food.   I had not, so it got me thinking.  Quesadillas are not hard to make, its really the filling that is the part that needs the most focus and once that is done, well your ready to make Jumping Jackfruit in a flash! 

 For this particular Quesadilla filling I decided to adapt a vegan chorizo, potato and thyme quesadilla recipe and the BBQ pulled Jackfruit and this is what we ended up eating with a side of leafy greens and tomatoes.  

Jackfruit is fast becoming one of D's favourite dishes as he exclaimed 'Ah this is one of my faovurite dishes, I could just eat it from the bowl' taking a mouthful. 

Calabacitas - Courgettes, Sweetcorn and Butter Beans in a Tortilla Basket

I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for inspiration to use up the last of my courgettes.  Apparently, the descriptive 'Calabacitas' is often used in Mexican restaurants to describe a vegetarian filling that usually contains squash, corn and spices.  

The recipe suggested serving this as a Taco filling, but I am not into taco's that much - Burrito being my first choice, always, but this time round I fancied a bit of crunch and decided to make some Tortilla baskets.

The calabacitas was utterly gorgeous, not just the colour: gold, green and cream, but also to eat, the sweetness from the sweetcorn, the buttery butter beans, the zing from the lime.  For me though, it was both the coriander and jalapenos that elevated the courgettes to a thing of sheer culinary delight. 

I served my portion of Calabacitas in a tortilla basket.  The crunch was amazing.  D insisted on having his burrito style with soured cream, grated cheese and salad.  I personally don't think it required cheese, but hey ho - each to their own tastes.  I am sharing this with Meat Free Mondays. 

Tamale for Breakfast with Eggs Over Easy

I make Mexican Style Tamale Pies every other month and it is perhaps my favourite weekend brunch or morning breakfast.  I often describe it as a Mexican Shepherds Pie, the bottom is made from soy mince, borlotti or pinto beans and mixed peppers and spices, and in place of the mashed potato, we have polenta.  It is utterly delicious and comforting.

I usually eat this Polenta Pie on its own with sometimes a dollop of Sriracha sauce, but then there are weekends when I want a little bit extra on my plate, I will serve it with a fried free range egg - done over easy, where the rich yolk serves as the sauce.  By the way the above breakfast plate belongs to D, I can only eat one Tamale - not D he has a much bigger appetite than me.

I am sharing these Tamale Pies with Dom over at Belleau Kitchen for Simply Eggcellent: Breakfast  Challenge: How Do you Like Your Eggs in The Morning.

Mexican Style Rice, Achiote Tempeh 'Steaks' and Guacamole

I made this Mexican Style Rice, Achiote Tempeh 'Steaks' and Guacamole some time last week.  What day it exactly was I cannot remember, but I know it was warm and I thought, this was a good dish to enjoy eating out in the garden.

I had been given some Recado Rojo aka Achiote (Annato) Paste a long while back by a fellow blogger.  And it is her recipe suggestion that I have followed for the marinade, she called it Pibil. 

There was something Tandoori paste like about the achiote paste, but it was not as highly seasoned, spiced or particularly fragrant.  It did however impart a fantastic muddy red saffron colouring to the tempeh.  I have used annatto seeds in the past, mostly for the vegan chorizo sausages that require annatto infused oil, of course I made my own Annatto infused oil (and in the future I will have a go at making my own Achiote Paste too).  

Tempeh has always been a bit of a hit and miss with me, but I have to admit, I had not had this brand of tempeh before and if was soft and moist, whereas tempeh that i have had in the past have been quite firm and the soy beans texture was too prominent.  

Okay, I don't have a recipe as such for this Mexican plate, but here is what I did.  For the Achiote Tempeh had been marinating overnight in the sauce: 25g of the 100g packet of achiote with 100ml orange juice, a couple of cloves of garlic, minced and a dash of lime.  Combine well, then coat the sliced tempeh slices on both side and leave to marinade.   The following day, I baked them in the oven, flipping it over halfway so both sides were cooked for 20 - 25 minute. 

I cooked plain white Basmati rice in advance and allowed it to cool down.  Heat a little oil  in a pan, then saute an onion that has been sliced and a couple of garlic cloves that have been crushed until soft.  I then stirred in some cooked black beans (left over from a previous dish), sweetcorn from a can, minced jalapenos from a jar and a pinch of red chilli flakes and lots, and I mean lots of fresh coriander until it began to smell all wonderfully fragrant, finally I stirred in the cooked rice. 

Served with home-made guacamole and optional soured cream.  It was quite good, delicious in fact.  I had some Mexican style rice left over, so took it into work for lunch the following day.  It worked well cold (room temperature) too.  I am sharing this with Jac over at Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays; and also to No Croutons Required hosted this month by Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen,

Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad

I am hoping to go to my secret wild garlic foraging spot this weekend, but this today I share with you an aromatic green flecked pasta dish.  

This is perhaps one of my favourite cold pasta salad dishes.  I've made it at least 6 time in the past two months, not just because I like it, but because I had picked up a bundle of coriander, of course I had to have a reason.

This pasta salad is based on this Jalapeno, Coriander and Avocado recipe,that I made a few years back,  It is enhanced further with sweetcorn and red peppers.  It has now also become a firm favourite of my nephews and nieces too, who often opt for those horrid claggy cheesy tomato pasta from the supermarket outlets.  

I often make a large batch, to last us for 2 -3 days during the working week; and sometimes to share with family and friends. While it sits in the fridge the jalapeno vinaigrette infuses the pasta further.  Just dig your fork in, you will find it flavourful and zingy. 

This pasta salad is essentially flavoured with jalapenos and coriander, however for bite and colour there is red pepper, spring onion (and sometimes red onion) and a little sweetness from the sweetcorn. To elevate this pasta dish further, I like to finish it off with some natural buttery ripe avocado slices, but that doesn't happen that often, as avocados are a bit of a luxury in our home. 

Cherry Tomato, Sweetcorn and Coriander Salsa

Oh I know Friday is the start of the weekend for many people, but this week for me its Saturday.

I am looking forward to tucking into this super easy Cherry tomato, Sweet corn and Coriander Salsa later on. 

Now all I have to do is try and decide what movie to watch?!  

Sweet Potato Dauphinoise with Smoked Chilli Feta Cream

This Sweet Potato Dauphinoise is made without cream or milk and before you go 'ahhhhhh...'  In place of the the cream and/or milk, salty feta cheese is blitzed to a cram with smoked chilli paste, producing a deeply flavoured thick warming sauce.  

This dish pleased my husband very much on a number of accounts, but namely because it had feta cheese in it, one of his favourites.   I don't eat cheese much, but the flavour combinations in this one did excite me and it did not disappoint when it came to the eating either.   In fact I would go as far as describing this recipe as awesome too.  The sweetness from the potatoes balanced very well with the smoky chiilli and saltiness from the feta cheese.     

Ready to go into the oven to turn all golden and crispy

The smoky chilli flavour can also be achieved by adding a teaspoon of chilli powder with liquid smoke; or even at a push with smoked paprika, however I actually made it with a ready-made smoky chilli paste,  I  had completely forgotten about it, then whilst rummaging for some seeds I stumbled upon it.  The jar contained a couple of tablespoons of paste, enough for this recipe, it was last used for a Risotto recipe.   

Tamale for family and friends

This vegan Mexican Tamale dish is one that I make almost every month, sometimes twice.  Its a firm favourite with my husband and younger family members likes nephews and nieces.  Regular readers will have seen Tamale appear on my blog in different guises, as a pie see here and or served in individual dishes see here, often served with a lovely green salad. 

There will be days when we will have it for Saturday or Sunday brunch instead of a veggie fry up, but not this time.  I decided on making a much larger version that could be brought to the table. 

My brother is by no means a vegetarian, or vegan for that and would never dream of becoming either, I served him Tamale when he came over for a short visit that ended up being a couple of hours and he totally loved it.  He said he really did not note much difference between the soya mince or the real minced stuff.  I really do think this is one dish that meat-eaters would be more then happy to try, especially if they like a little spice too. 

For the recipe follow this link.  
The only thing to note is that this Tamale was made in a large casserole dish, the polenta flowers are optional.

Smoked Chilli Paste and Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

A couple of months back, I entered my individual vegan Mexican Tamale Pie recipe in a blogger contest and was runner up.  I was sent a jar of Gran Luchito - a smoked chilli spice paste with medium heat.  It came beautifully packed like a little present.  In place of a bow, tied to the box was a smoked pasilla oaxaca chilli, the scent drifting from it was deep and smoky.  

Well this is the first dish that I've made with it - a golden bowl of Smoked Chilli Paste and Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto.   Enjoy.

Its been strange weather the past few days.  One day its blazing hot, then the next its pouring by the bucket load.  I enjoyed this risotto immensely.  The colour  enhanced a little by paprika, was a bit like a log fire - belly warming.  The taste was just right: first comes the smoky hit, then the liquid sweet followed by the mild heat from the chilli and spices.  It was just right.  I was enjoying tucking my spoon in and out of my mouth, until it was all gone.

Wild Garlic, Mushroom and Brie Quesadillas

Some of you already know of my home-made Garlic Mushroom and Parsley Pies, but another dish that makes the most of garlic and mushrooms are these Garlic, Mushroom Quesadillas.  This is such an easy peasy recipe knock up when the hunger pangs rumble.

I've used Brie cheese here, like cheddar cheese it tends to be in my fridge, but feel free to use whatever you like - a strong blue cheese would work well, as would oozy mozzarella.

Well early in the week, there was not much in the house to eat in the way of fresh vegetables, except for some mushrooms starting to look a little tired and an open packet of tortilla wraps that were beginning to go hard as I had not wrapped the packet properly.  So this is what  I made to eat as a light snack.  Except it not a light snack when you eat a whole one!

If you don't have any wild garlic, that's okay as the crushed garlic cloves in it would give you enough garlic hit.   I've used wild garlic here for two reasons.  One, I had some in the fridge and secondly for the green colour.  You must admit the colour of sauteed 'sluggish' mushrooms is not always the most attractive to the eye.

Papaya Salsa

I've made my popular Black Turtle Bean and Red Pepper Chilli so that we could have enchiladas for supper in the the next few days. To accompany the enchiladas I sometimes make my own tomato salsa or even one with the added crunch of celery.  However, as I still had half a papaya in the fridge left over from the  'Mauritian Beef' Soy Chunk and Papaya Curry early in the week, I thought I'd try my hand at making a papaya fruit salsa.  

I knew it would work, as I've tried both pineapple salsa and mango salsa in the past, but I did not know how much I would like it.  So what was the verdict?!

Quesadillas with Jalapeno Pinto Beans

I must have been introduced to Mexican food when I went to University all those good years ago, but even then it was limited to the corn chips, salsa or the avocado green guacamole which was all the rage at the time and the dips of all dips!  If I am honest, it was really on my first visit to America to see my best friend Leah that I got a chance to try proper Mexican food and I was hooked, the flavours were bold and unapologetic. 

When I got back to the U.K, Mexican style food had become a way of life for me.  One of the dishes, I've been making on and off for years has been Quesadilla.  Quesadilla's  are not only very simple and economical to make, they make for a surprisingly filling and delicious snack anytime of the day.  They consist of nothing more than two tortilla wraps filled and stuck together with melted cheese, then halved and served.  I have to say I prefer them more than I do a doughy doorstop toastie any day. 

Black Turtle Beans and Pepper Enchillada

I am not joking when I say I must have made this dish over a hundred times in the last five years.  So I am rather surprised at myself that I never got to post it, perhaps because I thought it such a simple and easy recipe to post, that I overlooked it.  The closest to enchiladas that I got to post were in my first year of blogging - a blog post that I called Chilli Cucumbers and Chimichangas.  Here's the link to it if you are interested in viewing it

The last time I made Enchilladas was a couple of months ago for my business venture.  It was described by customers 'as lush', well I wouldn't go as far as that in describing it, but it certainly is delicious, wholesome and filling. 

Vegan Mexican Tamale Bean Pie

The girl from Mexico approves of my Mexican Tamale Bean Pie, other than it could have been a touch hotter and spicier and of course, traditionally its wrapped and cooked in corn husk, it got the thumbs up.  It made my day. 

I make this Mexican Tamale Bean Pie all the time, partly because its an easy dish to make, partly because I like eating it too.  I have posted it on my blog before, see this link, but it has changed a lot since then - before it was suitable for vegetarians, this one is suitable for vegans, though there is nothing stopping you from putting a handful of grated cheese on the top then putting it under the grill to melt or even topping it with a fried egg or two, but too be honest with you it doesn't need either.  It s quite tasty without the additional toppings mentioned. 

I am sharing one of these pies with One Ingredient hosted this month by Laura of How to Cook Good Food and Nazima of Franglais Kitchen who are featuring my favourite ingredient chilli this month. Also the soy mince, kidney and black beans in this vegan Mexican Tamale make this post suitable for My Legume Love Affair 57, this popular, legume-centred event was created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and is now run by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen.  This March it is being hosted by PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds.  

Vegan Mexican Tamale Bean Pie
Serves  4 - 6 depending on the size of your pie dishes
Ingredients
for the pie filling
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
50g – 75g jalapeno from a jar, minced
Pinch of chilli flakes
350g reconstituted organic  soy mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
400g cooked black and kidney beans
300g vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
for the polenta topping200g quick cook polenta800ml water
4 tablespoons fresh coriander
Method for the pie fillingHeat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened slightly. Add the jalapenos, chilli flakes, soy mince, tomatoes, tomato puree, beans, stock, lemon juice and remaining coriander and cook on gentle heat for 30 minutes until thick like stew. Season to taste and pour into an ovenproof dish.
Preheat the oven to medium to high. 
for the polenta topping
Either cook polenta acording to packet instuctions Or
Boil the water, then slowly pour in the polenta whisking all the time, until it begins to thicken and splutter. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the coriander and salt to taste. Evenly pour over the pie filling and smooth. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or so.  Serve immediately.