Sweet Potato Tortilla Pie

I am a bit frustrated today. I haven't been blogging much, but today I thought i'd sit down and blog and have noted  problem with my blog. And i wonder if anyone else with blogger is having trouble?!

In the Post section where blog posts and draft posts are recorded. My thumb nail image is incorrect, it is inserted with someone else and some of my blog posts - draft and those posted have been inserted with images that are not mine.  However, outward - it all appears un-affected. Is anyone else with blogger encountered this problem? Please let me know. I have left feedback with blogger, but don't know if they will respond; and if so how long. 

I will leave you with this Sweet Potato Tortilla Pie.

Didi Emmons writes if 'Mexicans had invented quiche, this is the way they might have made it'.  The crust of the pie is made from tortilla filled with eggy mixture enhanced with cumin, coriander, and cheese and roasted sweet potatoes.  

It was extremely light to eat, that I will be making it again

The recipe is adapted from the Vegetarian Planet: 350 Big Flavour Recipes for Out of this World Food Every Day by Didi Emmons.  

Black chickpea and sweet potato frittata bites

I made these Black Chickpea and Sweet Potato frittata Bites over the festive period. 

I had some friends coming over for a few hours, so wanted to make some light bites and nibbles for them which included these Black chickpea and sweet potato frittata, which was sliced into bite size pieces.  Its both sweet and savoury.  You can see the studded black chickpeas and orange sweet potato chunks with a flicker of red here and there from a red pepper.  It was nice to nibble. 

As usual, I made way too much of this Black chickpea and sweet potato frittata bites. I wanted to give some to my guests to take home, but they were on their way somewhere else, so I ended up giving it to D to take into work the following day for his lunch at work.  He very much enjoyed it.  

I would like to add this is perhaps one of the easiest recipes to veganize by substituting the eggs for chickpea flour.  In fact, I may do that one day. 

By the way have you noticed that the food on my blog this week has been mostly burnished brown colours?!  

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. 

Homemade Green Chilli 'Doritos' Chips and Guacamole

I quite like Chilli Heatwave Dorito crisps, and can often be found munching on them either a Friday Night or Saturday nights, so I was really thankful to Krys who I have been friends with for a long while for sharing a recipe link to make homemade Doritos. 

Krys said was going to make a vegan variation of this recipe; and I responded back that I would make a vegetarian version as the recipe used Parmesan cheese as a flavouring.  Parmesan cheese is not suitable for vegetarians as it is made with animal rennet.  I found a good alternative: Old Winchester which is made in the UK and makes for a good vegetarian alternative to Parmesan.

So when I started to pull together the ingredients to make this recipe including chillii and paprika, I was reminded of a packet of Peruvian Jalapeno green chilli powder that I have had for a long time unopened.  I decided to use that instead of the chilli and paprika.  I was rather impatient coating the green chilli concoction over the sliced triangular tortilla wrap pieces and it shows, but the taste result was awesome.  It was really spicy.  I can handle chilli kicks, but this was super duper spicy so to calm it down a little instead of my usual red salsa, I decided on making some guacamole. 

You know what, I make guacamole all the time, but have never ever shared it on my blog.  I guess because blogosphere is covered in the green stuff, why bother with another guacamole recipe which is much of a muchness.  Anyway, the green guacamole did tone down the heat.

So last night, when we settled down to watch Game of Thrones - we are watching the whole released series in readiness for the new series to be released on DVD.  (No I don't want to know that Jon Snow died in it - Spoilers!)  

We also ripped open  a packet of the Chilli Heatwave Doritos too and you know what, we could hardly taste the spice (compared to my home-made green version) as the sugar dominated. Its amazing the difference when you make something at home and compare.  We would never have noted the overwhelming sweetness had we not made them at home.   I am sharing this with Credit Crunch Munch hosted this month by Travels for Taste and often co-hosted by Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food For All. 

Coleslaw Curry

I like traditional coleslaw, but I also like coleslaw with twists and have made my fair share of variations over the years.  Some of which have been shared on my blog such as the Black Sesame Seed Coleslaw,  Cool Coleslaw with Raisins and a smoky one, appropriately called Gun smoke Coleslaw, its one of my favourites.   Anyway, now and again, I will also make a Curried Coleslaw with South Asian spices and toasted cumin seeds.  Today though I wanted to go one step further and apply some heat to it, yeph cook it.

This is ultimately just a dry cabbage and carrot curry, but I think Coleslaw Curry sounds a bit more interesting.   The Coleslaw Curry can be served with chappati, roti or with naan bread, but I wanted to use up the tortilla wraps in my bread bin.  

Kale and Potato Tortilla wraps

aka the 'Winter wrap'.

You know for winter greens, this was a very tasty tortilla wrap and a well deserved snack after a hard days graft in the garden.

I've been hankering for a reason to make Post Punk Kitchens (PPK) 'Potato and Kale enchiladas' which I found truly exceptional on its own, but even more delicious when drenched in 'Roasted Chile sauce'. However, when I saw this recipe for 'Winter Wraps' in Thomasina Miers cookbook 'Mexican Food Made Easy', I was more than happy to change my mind as I really like Thomasina Miers approach to cooking. The texture of the filling, namely the curly kale was substantial with real bite, what I'd describe as chewy 'green meat'. The main difference with this version was its flavour. PPKs Potato and kale enchiladas have warming spices like cumin, whereas this one has a citric undertones. Still very good, just different. The recipe recommends using a combination of winter greens, curly kale, spinach and chard. For my recipe, I just used curly kale and spinach. Delightful.
 
Kale and Potato Tortilla wraps
Serves 4 - 6 people
Ingredients
450g- 500g winter greens and curly kale, washed and sliced
400g potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, finely sliced
2 red chilies, sliced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Optional 200ml creme fraiche
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put a large pan of water on to boil and season with salt. When it is boiling, add the greens and blanch for 5 minutes or so until the leaves have softened. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and now add the potatoes to the boiling water. Cook the potatoes until they are soft. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan and cook the shallot, garlic and chilli over a medium heat until they have softened. Add the greens and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in the potatoes, vinegar and season to taste and cook for a few minutes. Optional: If using creme fraiche, add to the pan and bring up to a simmer and cook gently for a few minutes so that the cream can reduce.
 
Fill your tortilla wraps generously with the filling, then roll and put in a moderately hot oven for about five minutes to heat up. Slice in half and serve immediately. These are okay to eat cold too, but I preferred them warm. Adapted from Thomasina Miers Mexican Food Made Easy.

Chorizo, potato and thyme quesadillas

Did I say I was not going to eat any lazy food, well I guess I’m a fibber then.

After making the vegan chorizo sausages I had to find ways of consuming it.

First it was chorizo hash, then Quesadillas.

The chorizo sausages sliced beautifully and then upon cooking, they kept their shape well. The spicy flavour of the chorizo sausage infused the other ingredients. It was really good. I have frozen three of the sausages for when D returns, I think its only fair he tries some too.

Chorizo, potato and thyme quesadillas
Serves 2 greedy people

Ingredients
1 large potato, chopped into cubes then boiled until tender, drain and set aside
½ onion, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
200g chorizo sausage, sliced or chopped
A couple of sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 – 3 flour or corn tortilla wraps
Cheddar cheese, grated
Olive oil

MethodHeat oil in pan, add the onion and cook until soft then add in the potatoes and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, then add in the chorizo and fry for a further 5 minutes. Mix in the thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the quesadillasSpread half of the chorizo mixture on one half of a tortilla wrap. Sprinkle generously with cheese, then fold over so you have a half moon.
Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a wide frying pan, then place the tortilla gently in the frying pan and cook for a minute before flipping over for the other side to be golden and crisp. Serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining tortilla(s). Cut in half and enjoy with salsa. Adapted from Thomasina Miers Mexican Food Made Simple.

Butternut Squash Tortilla wraps

Here is a light snack for when you don't want something too heavy to eat. Light does not mean lack of flavour.

These tortilla wraps were sweet from both the butternut squash and sweet corn, but not overly sweet as they were toned down by the optional creamy blue cheese.
Butternut squash and sweet corn tortilla wraps
Makes 6 - 8
Ingredients4 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for coating)
400g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 cm dice
2 garlic clove, crushed
165g from the cob, frozen or tinned sweet corn, well drained
1 small onion, minced
Optional: 100g Gorgonzola or other blue cheese
1 teaspoon fresh (lemon) thyme
6 – 8 tortilla wraps
Salt and pepper to taste
MethodHeat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a moderate heat, add the onion and cool for 8 – 10 minutes until soft, then add in squash and sweet corn and cook further until just tender when pierced with a knife. Remove to a bowl, add the thyme and optional cheese and lightly mash with a fork. Season to taste and leave to cool.
Place the tortillas on a flat surface, fill the centre of each with the mixture, then fold each tortilla in half over the filling to make a semi circle.

Brush the tops lightly with olive oil. Place on a preheated hot grill pan and grill for about 2 – 3 minutes until golden brown. Brush with olive oil, turn over and grill on the other side OR if you have one, make these tortilla wraps in your Panini press for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Artichoke and mozzarella wraps

Its been a busy day of house-cleaning, so it was a quick lunch today with some store-cupboard and fridge ingredients.

I can hardly give you a recipe for this. So will just let you know what ingredients I used. You will need a panini press for this.

Artichoke, mozzarella and greens wrap

Ingredients

Some artichokes from a jar in oil, drained of oil

Greens such as rocket, watercress, spinach

Mozzarella cheese, the type used on pizzas

Tortilla wraps

Pepper to taste

Method

Put in required amount of ingredients into the tortilla, then wrap well and cook on a panini press till cheese has melted.

Chilli Cucumbers and Chimichangas

Many of the towns and cities in parts of the U.S of A have their own Canteena Mexicana. The way Indian and Chinese food is popular in the UK, I guess in the USA it is the same with Mexican food. In Scotland, there have been a couple of attempts to open a Mexican restaurant, but have been disappointing and extremely expensive, for ingredients that were relatively cheap such as the tortillas and rice.
I know in London, the first British MasterChef winner 2005 Thomasina Miers has successfully opened Wahaca (correct spelling Oaxaca - it has been changed to make it easier to pronounce) aims to offer authentic Mexican food to Londoners. I really like her approach to food, there is no pretense or nonsense. I am so envious of those of you who can easily access the Oaxaca restaurant or even a decent Mexican eatery where you are. If I lived near one I would have worked my way through every veggie friendly dish there was.

There is one excellent Mexican-American shop in Glasgow, the West of Scotland, Lupe Pintos which I frequent now and again for specialist ingredients, but otherwise spice heads like me, have to make our own Mexican dishes, inauthentic as they are, they serve our fiery appetites well. So here is one of the most popular ones: Chimichangas.

One of the great things about Chimichangas is that once you’ve assembled the main components, you can put them in the fridge and forget about them till it’s time for cooking. Oh yeah, chimichangas are traditionally deep fried, but these are oven baked.

Make the refried beans and the red hot sauce
Make the chive sour cream sauce, which is real simple: 1 pint of sour cream, a small handful of chives, thinly sliced and optional 100g cooked sweetcorn. Simply stir all the ingredients and season. Then chill until ready to use.
Make your own favourite guacamole recipe.

I wanted a vegetable accompaniment, and with cucumbers being in season and at their best right now, I thought why not some chilli cucumbers. I grew up eating spiced cucumbers and spiced tomatoes this way, so this combination was quite acceptable to me, but was a new one for D. He did enjoy it, saying it was both spicy and refreshing!
Chilli cucumbers

1 large cucumber, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon of salt

1 generous teaspoon of chilli powder

Method

Simply mix the the salt and chilli powder together and scatter evenly over the sliced cucumbers.

To assemble the chimichangas You will need
4 large Tortillas
225g Mozzarella cheese, grated
Optional Lime wedges to garnish

Refried beans

Method
Take a tortilla and fill with refried beans. Fold over. Place on a well oiled tray. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cook in the oven Gas mark 5 for 30 minutes or until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve on plates along with sauces and accompaniments as desired.

Spicy green bean, potato and carrot tortilla

I made the spicy filling for these tortilla wraps yesterday, so when I came in from work, all I had to do was fill them, roll them and bake in the oven. It was another way to use up some of those green beans, plus the carrots I picked yesterday from the carrot box at the allotment.

As you can see these spicy tortillas are a bit of a mish mash of ethnic cuisines, it has South Asian spices, but is rolled in a Mexican tortilla. Well if the fast food chains can get away with it, then why can't I?! This is also my contribution to this months Grow your own (GYO) which was started by Andrea's Recipes. I am becoming quite a regular contributor to this, primarily because it supports the principle behind my blog that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves, and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. This month GYO# 35 is being hosted by Praveen of Masala Heaven.

Spicy green bean, potato and carrot tortilla

Ingredients
225g French beans
1 large potato
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large carrot, grated
2 tomatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
Method
Top and tail the French beans and cut into ¼ inch.Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Lower the heat, add onion and fry until soft. Stir in paprika, turmeric, garlic and chilli and cook for a couple of minutes. Turn the potatoes in the spicy mixture and season with salt and pepper. Add the beans, cover and simmer over a low heat for 15 – 20 minutes, tossing from time to time until almost tender. Add the carrot and cook for a few minutes more.

Half and deseed the tomatoes and chop the flesh. Add to the vegetable mixture with the coriander leaves. Check the seasoning. Allow to cool. Put in a spoonful or two of the spicy vegetable filling into tortillas and wrap well. Place on a baking tray and scatter with some grated cheese. Bake in moderate hot oven for about 5 - 8 minutes or until cheese had melted and serve with a dollop of lime soured cream. Adapted from Leith's Vegetarian Bible.

Quesadillas with drunken beans

I made this recipe early this week, for a quick after work meal. Once the beans have been made the rest is pretty straightforward. And what a good way to end a working week.

Quesadillas with drunken beans
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoon of olive oil
2 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 - 6 fresh red and green chillies, chopped
1 x 400g canned chopped tomatoes
2 x 400g canned pinto or borlotti beans
1 small bottle of light pilsner beer, you will only need 200ml
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
4 tablespoons of jalapeno vinegar from the jar
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
For Quesadillas
8 large tortilla wraps
4 spring onion, chopped
200g cheddar cheese, grated
Optional: Sour cream and Jalapeno peppers to serve
 
Method
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onions, and fry until soft and translucent. Add garlic, chillies and cumin and fry until fragrant, then add the tomatoes.

Drain one can of beans and add to the pan, then add the other with its liquid, along with vinegar, 200ml lager and slat and pepper to taste and stir well. Bring pot to the boil, then reduce and simmer for about 30 – 40 minutes, or until thickened. Taste for seasoning and stir in coriander.

You can eat it like this served simply in bowls with sour cream, but I take it a step further and make Quesadillas.

To assemble: Lightly oil a baking tray, then put on one tortilla wrap, spread drunken beans evenly, and cover with another tortilla wrap, sprinkle cheese and spring onions. Repeat the process for other tortilla wraps until you have four, then bake in oven for 10 minutes till cheese has melted and crispy on the edges. You may have to do this two at a time, if your oven is small like mine.

Although this recipe contains some alcohol it does evaporate on cooking.

Mexican Oven baked quesadillas with eggs

Another Mexican influenced brunch for the weekend. Quick to put together in the morning if you make the red hot sauce and refried bean in advance. Tinned refried beans are so expensive. So I make my own, of course it's not authentic because it does not contain epazote, a Mexican herb which is difficult to get hold of in the UK.
Makes 4 large tortillas
Ingredients
For the red hot sauce
400g can tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
A few slices of picked jalapeno chillies
1 tablespoon jalapeno chilli juice from a jar
1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Place the sauce ingredients in a small pot and bring to the boil. Simmer very gently till reduced and thick. Allow to cool.

For the cheats refried beans
1 tablespoon of sunflower or vegetable oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove
1 tin of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
salt to taste

Over medium heat the oil in a non stick pan, then add onion and garlic, stirring frequently until soft and browned, then add the rinsed beans, stir till heated through. Then using a fork or a potato masher, mash the beans as they warm through, add salt and mash further until the beans are smooth. Take off the heat. The beans should not be dry.

For each quesadilla, you will need
1 flour tortilla (wrap)
2 tablespoons of sour cream or cream cheese
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 egg
A little olive oil for frying the egg

Place the sauce ingredients in a small pot and bring to the boil. Simmer very gently till reduced and thick.

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6.

Spread the beans on one half of the tortilla, then spread over either sour cream or cream cheese. Sprinkle with spring onions and fold over. Brush gently with olive oil and place on lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes first, then flip over and bake for a further 5 minutes until golden brown and warmed through.

Meanwhile heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry eggs until cooked to your liking. I like them over easy.

Serve the quesadillas with a fried egg and a little red hot sauce spooned over or in a dish on the side.

Baked mexican eggs in tortilla cups

Here are some products I purchased from the Fairtrade event held at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. I decided not to purchase the usual suspects of chocolate and coffee as I get these all the time, so decided to spend my money on these Streetwires key rings: chilli pepper, strawberry and a ladybird - all made in Cape Town, South Africa. But me being me, have decided to use these as Christmas decorations, instead of sticking them with my clunky keys.

Yes, I know Fairtrade products are expensive, but that is the point - its about fair wages.
As you would expect there were many stalls there, including a Cooperative called Greencity. I often see their products being sold at Roots and Fruits. I tend to buy in bulk and could easily spend lots of pounds there, so asked the lad could I come along and make some substantial purchases. But the lad at the stall said they only deal with traders. Surely the point is to widen ordinary peoples knowledge of ethically sourced products and encourage them to eat more wholesome and healthy food, it left me feeling that it was not very welcoming to the ordinary person on the street. So what was the point of them being at the Faritrade where the majority of people their are individuals with families who were not permitted to shop at Greencity, should they not be at a Trade Fair?

Something else struck a chord with me as well, the Green Party were there too with a petition questioning whether Glasgow City Council really warranted having its fairtrade status. But more thoughts on that later.

Anyway, after wandering the streets of Sauchiehall, I came home and made a Mexican Themed breakfast which D named Baked Mexican eggs in tortilla cups. Fancy name eh? A friend of mine, who now lives in America made these for me one time. I tried to memorise the ingredients, the sauce is not authentic, it should be chipotle sauce, but I don't have any of that, so I used some red hot sauce I made a few days ago.
Ingredients (Makes 6)
For the red hot sauce
400g can tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
A few slices of picked jalapeno chillies
1 tablespoon jalapeno chilli juice from a jar
1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Place the sauce ingredients in a small pot and bring to the boil. Simmer very gently till reduced and thick. Allow to cool.

For the tortilla cups
Olive oil
3 large/medium Tortillas, each cut into 4 wedges
6 eggs
75g Mature cheddar, grated
3 spring onions, sliced
1 teaspoon smoked cayenne pepper

Heat the oven to gas mark 6. Generously oil 6 of the non-stick muffin tin holes. Use two wedges to line each muffin hold (overlap them so that the pointy end lay on top of the other, flat across the base). Brush the tortilla with olive oil, then spoon in a generous tablespoon of red hot over the bottom of each and crack in an egg. Top with the grated cheese and spring onion, then lightly dust with smoked cayenne.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes or until the egg is set to your taste.
Serve salad and extra red hot sauce on the side.