Pan de muerto

I adapted this recipe  for bakers in the US and it worked out really well for me.

Makes 24 mini or 3 large breads.

Ingredients

Wet:

3/4 C + 1 tb cinnamon tea plus plant milk (to make the tea, boil water with whole cinnamon sticks-use canela mexicana or ceylon cinnamon, not cassia-add star anise, blessing seeds, and whole allspice to taste)

1/2 C aquafaba

4 tb orange blossom water

2/3 C margarine and/or shortening

Dry:

1 packet of yeast

2 pinches of salt

1/2 C + 1 tb sugar (turbinado, Zulka, or grated pilonsillo)

4 3/4 C AP or bread flour

Ground ceylon or mexican cinnamon to taste

Extra shortening to coat pans and tops; cinnamon sugar for dusting

Instructions:

Bloom yeast in warm tea/milk mixture.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Using a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or hand mixer, cream butter and sugar, then add aquafaba.

Combine well, then add yeast mixture and orange blossom water.

Switch to a dough hook or spoon, then add dry mix 1 C at a time.  

When the dough ball comes together, machine or hand knead until you get windowpane.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and proof until doubled.

Punch down the dough, then form shapes as desired or use molds.  

Cover and proof for 1 hour.

Bake at 350º F for 50-60 minutes, depending on their size.  They should be crisp on the bottom and golden on top.  

Leave them in the pans on the stovetop to cool for 30 minutes.

Un-mold, bathe in butter, and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  

Notes:

You can use whichever flavors you prefer. I don't like cloves, so I use allspice.  Some people use ground spices instead of making the tea, but I like the cinnamon to be more subtle than the orange blossom water.  You could also use orange juice and zest of you don't like orange blossom water.  Sometimes sesame seeds or blessing seeds are used to top the finished bread.  

I used molds with details for half my dough.  They baked at the same time as the large shape and I lost the detail by covering them in cinnamon/sugar.

Make an extra test piece to check on doneness at 20 minutes. My breads passed the toothpick test at 20 minutes, but weren't done until 58 minutes total in the oven.  

I Bought a Zoodle Maker

I made this lovely dish with it:

1 large zucchini per person

1/4 C uncooked rice per person (basmati or jasmine pair well)

1 tb peanut butter per person

Soy sauce to taste

Sriracha to taste
(You can add ginger, lemongrass, Thai basil, or whatever flavors you like most)

Cilantro for garnish

Steam the rice according to the package's instructions. Zoodle the zucchini and set aside. Add PB, soy sauce, and sriracha (and any extras) to a sauté pan and blend together. When the mixture comes to a simmer, add the zoodles and stir to soften them. When it looks done, it is. Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro leaves. 

I'm guessing the Zoodler would take well to carrots, mole, curry, or even sweet and sour sauce. If you're on the IC Diet, omit the sriracha and soy, try my Asian sauce from this blog post, and sub cilantro with greens you can tolerate.

Rice Cereal Marshmallow Treats

This is how I make them:

2 bags of Dandies Marshmallows
1 box of puffed rice cereal
1 stick of Earth Balance
1-2 tb of Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste
Cooking spray

Spray your container/Disney with cooking spray. Melt the Earth Balance buttery stick in a soup pot over a medium flame.  When just melted, add the vanilla and stir.  Now the marshmallows!!! And stir, stir, stir!!  When they are as melted as possible, without being burned, add the cereal, turn off the flame, and fold the heck out of it to make sure all the rice is covered in mallow goodness. Scoop into your container(s) and pat until even.  Chill, cut, and serve.

Cocoa PB Puff Cereal Treats

Ooey-gooey deliciousness!!

3/4-1 stick of Earth Balance

1 box of Whole Foods cocoa peanut butter puffs cereal

2 bags of Dandies marshmallows (the minis melt faster)

1/4 C Sunspire chocolate chips

2-4 heaping tb of PB & Co Smooth Operator (or chunky would work well too)

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and pour cereal out into a gigantic bowl, sprinkling chocolate chips on top. Melt margarine in a sauce pot, then add mallows, stirring constantly. When the mallow margarine mix is melted, pour over the cereal/chocolate chip mix. Quickly melt the PB in the same pot, stirring constantly, then pour over the mallow mix.  Fold everything together until the fragrance of PB and chocolate make you nutty. Put the mix into the casserole dish and pat it down. Chill until set, turn out onto a cutting board, and slice into bars. You can put it back into your casserole dish, arrange the bars on a platter, or wrap each bar in parchment.  Warning:  your hands will get chocolatey and your mouth will be happy.

Fideo

This is how I make it:

1 section of fideo nido (wrapped around itself, as opposed to fideo corto, which is cut)

1 vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 2 C of water (or 2 C vegetable broth)

1 small can of tomato sauce

Chik'n style seitan

Water

Canola or corn oil

Salt and pepper

(You can add a little garlic if you like-I don't usually, but sometimes I add a can of diced tomatoes)

First, you must fry the fideo. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of your soup pot (a tb or two) and keep the fideo moving. It burns quickly.  When the pasta is golden and toasted, add the tomato sauce and cover.  That sauce will spit at you like an angry cobra. Make sure to shake the pot by the handle (like when you make popcorn) to keep the sauce from burning. When it turns orange-y and smells yummy, add the broth, pepper, seitan, and garlic if you choose to add it. Add water up to an inch from the top of your pot and bring to a boil. Give it a good stir, then reduce to a simmer. When the fideo is tender, it's ready to season and serve. I like eating fideo with golden, dark yellow corn tortillas. 

I've had it with limes and/or mayonnaise added as condiments (no clue about the Reason why people use mayo, but it does taste good). This doesn't keep well because the noodles absorb the broth, but it still tastes good the next day, so I'm advising you to make small batches. And the best part is that it only costs a few dollars to make a pot that serves four people.

Rice and Beans

Rice:

2 C long grain rice

4 C water

1 6 partly can tomato sauce

Minced garlic to taste

2 tb canola oil

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a soup pot and toast the rice, stirring frequently. When the rice is toasted, add the garlic. Next, add water that has been mixed with tomato sauce and pepper. Cover and allow to simmer, reducing the flame to the lowest level. DO NOT TOUCH IT until the rice is tender--it should look like little Xs. Let it stand covered for 5 minutes, then add salt to taste. You can garnish it with green peas and cilantro sprigs. 

Rice is a fickle mistress and it takes practice to make this well. Be patient. It's worth it 

Beans:

For a Party-->

A massive can or large pot of cooked pinto beans

Canola oil

Jalapeños (whole, fresh-roasted or pickled)

(If you use fresh beans, make them with garlic and herbs. Bay leaf and epazote work best.  If you use canned beans, you may choose to rinse them to reduce the sodium, sugar, and unpleasant bloating stuff.)

Heat oil in a large soup pot, then add the beans with some of their liquid.  When the start to simmer, use a smasher to crush about half of them. Add the jalapeños and simmer until they thicken. If you don't like them too spicy, remove the jalapeños. 

For Lunch With the Girls-->

2 tb coconut oil

2 regular (or one medium can) vegetarian retried beans (or smashed beans you made from scratch)

Daiya Mozzarella Shreds to taste (or your fave brand)

Water

Heat the coconut oil in a pot, then add the beans, breaking them down any large pieces. Add enough water to soften the beans into a smooth consistency. When the start to bubble, add the Daiya and stir to encourage melting. Remove from heat and serve. This reheats and freezes well. 

Roasted Potatoes

1 lb of waxy skinned potatoes (red, yukon, white, etc.), cut into small pieces

4 cups of large mushrooms (your choice of variety), sliced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2-1 bunch fresh parsley (curly or flat), chopped

Olive oil

Salt, pepper, paprika optional

Put the chopped potatoes, mushroom, parsley, and garlic into a mixing bowl.  Add olive oil to coat the mixture, then sprinkle in the seasoning.  Mix well with your hands or your favorite utensils.  

Bake at 450º on a sheet pan or casserole dish covered in parchment until the potatoes are both fork tender and covered in roasty golden goodness.  Stir while baking a few times to keep the veggies from sticking.  This particular batch took about an hour to bake, but the time will vary with your oven and the size of your potatoes.

Make sure to transfer to a serving bowl or container shortly after you take them out of the oven so that you can soak your dish.  Roasting juices are hard to clean off after they've dried.  Also, these are unlikely to burn as long as you keep an eye on them after they start to roast.  

BEAST BURGER!!!!!!!

I had a Beyond Meat Beast Burger for the first time today. I defrosted the patty in the microwave for a minute and a half, then cooked it in a pan for about two minutes on each side to crisp it up. For the last minute, I let a sandwich slice of Daiya provolone get gooey and delicious. Made the sandwich with toasted bread, avocado chunks, and mustard/mayo/ketchup. 

While I cooked the patty, it smelled like carne asada.  Thankfully, he texture was hearty, but not gristly like real meat. The flavor was smoky and tasted like grilled food, but it didn't taste like real meat. I appreciate this because too much realness in a veggie meat makes me queasy. Overall, the sandwich was deelish.

Blueberry Pancakes

Blueberry Pancakes made with +Bob's Red Mill Organic Pancake and Waffle Mix

1 C of pancake mix

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 C sweetened vanilla almond milk plus 1tb to replace the egg

1 tb canola oil

1/4 C dried blueberries

Alton Brown's show GOOD EATS, though not vegan at all, offers great technique and some cool science behind yummy food.  Check out his pancake game here.  It is true that most people over mix their pancake, especially when there is no egg to help cushion the flour from the wet ingredients.  Leave some lumps and let your batter sit for a minute or two before pouring onto your griddle.  The pancake will cook best in the middle of the griddle on a medium flame and is ready to flip when the edges look dry and there are some bubbles/holes on the top.  The second side is done when the center of the pancake starts to look a bit like a cone in the middle.  

If you find that your batter is too thin, you can sprinkle in a small amount of mix or quick cooking oats, folding gently so you don't overmix.  If it's too thick, add a scant tsp of milk.  

I chose to use dried blueberries for a couple of reasons.  Thawed frozen blueberries work well, but are very juicy and tart.  Save them for your smoothie.   Fresh blueberries, even at room temperature or warmed in the microwave, contributes to uneven cooking of the pancake, which leads to raw and burned areas on the same cake.  BUT I'm only speaking from my own experience.  If you have luck with fresh or frozen berries, please tell me how you did it,  :P dried berries are more expensive than frozen.

I keep my pancakes on a warm plate while I cook the rest, and serve them with maple syrup warmed with a pat of Earth Balance Buttery Spread.  2 pancakes per person, maybe with a slice of protein.

Platanos Machos Fritos (Fried Bananas)

1/2 to 1 platano per person

Canola or corn oil for frying

Salt

Side dishes

Platanos Machos look like a caveman style banana.  They have the same shape as Chiquita bananas, but are bigger, rougher, and thicker skinned.  Since they are starchier, they fry up very well.  Pick a platano this is still a little green, if it's too ripe it will stick to your pan.  

To peel your patano, I find it helps to cut off the ends, then score skin on the outer curve to peel.  Slice in rounds or angled cuts about a half a cm thick.  in a pan large enough to hold your sliced platanos with space between them, heat canola or corn oil.  You should use a few Tb, maybe the same amount you would use to fry potatoes.  

When the oil is hot, add your slices gently, the oil will splatter.  Fry until golden brown on each side, turn when they move easily if you jiggle the pan handle.  If you find that they are sticking, carefully use a spatula to lift and turn them over.  Season and serve with yummy sides.

Nopales

1 jar of nopales
1 8oz can of mushroom slices/pieces
1 8oz can of jalapeños, or fresh slices, to taste
1-2oz sun-dried tomato packed in oil, sliced
Fresh or dried herbs to taste
1/2 to 1 bag of veggie chicken strips
2 tb oil
Your favorite sides.

(This recipe doubles very well)

First, drain the nopales and rinse VERY VERY well under running water.  They tend to be starchy and salty, so wash 'em good.  I used Embasa Nopales here because I hate onions, but Doña Maria makes nice prepared nopales that are already seasoned.  I don't have a cactus or a grill, but making your own from scratch is easy with tweezers and a potato peeler.

Next, saute the mushrooms in oil until they're warmed through.  Add the nopales and stir to help reduce some of the residual liquid on your ingredients.  When the mixture is more dry, add the tomatoes, jalapeños, veggie chicken, and any dry herbs you may be using.

When the liquid cooks off a little, add any fresh herbs you may be using.  When the herbs are wilted and completely incorporated, you're done.

I used +gardein Teriyaki Chik Strips here and discarded the sauce.  Beyond Meat frozen strips also well in this dish.  Any protein you use will be good in this dish will taste good, but I like the strips because they make nice tacos.  

If you use dried herbs, use maybe a tsp or to to start, then taste before adding more.  Fresh work well in this, but know how strong each herb tastes in relation to the others you use.  Here, I used dried oregano and thyme, and fresh parsley and cilantro.

You may have noticed that I didn't list any salt or pepper among the ingredients.  Jarred nopales are very salty, even after being rinsed.  I used canned jalapeños and mushroom, drained but not rinsed, which adds more salt to the dish.  If sodium is an issue for your diet, used fresh ingredients whenever possible.  Mushrooms can be sauteed the day before, they keep well overnight.

Some good sides for this dish are corn tortillas, tortilla chips, beans, rice, israeli couscous, polenta slices, avocado slices, or Johnny Cakes made out of masa harina.  Let me know how you serve nopales, I'd like to hear it.

Reuben Sandwich

Toast up two slices of bread. Rye is traditional, but you can use whichever you like.
Smear the bread lightly with Vegenaise.
Top one side with some Gold Mine Raw Sauerkraut.
For the other side, top with a slice of Tofurky Deli Slices. I put my slices in the microwave for a few second to melt some Daiya Mozzarella Shreds to a lovely gooey texture.
Add Follow Your Heart Thousand Island dressing in the middle and nosh.

SouthWest Style Pasta Salad

1/2 lb spiral type pasta

Red veggies:  bell pepper

Yellow veggies:  corn, squash, bell pepper

Orange veggies:  carrots, bell pepper, pumpkin, kabocha

Green veggies:  bell pepper, zucchini, parsley, asparagus, cucumber

Sliced black olives

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

What you see in the picture is green bell peppers, boiled carrots, corn, and olives.  Since the SouthWestern flavor profile has bothersome ingredients, you may want to use ingredients that complement the spices and chiles you would find in a more traditional version of this dish. This will add a familiar taste to the salad without irritating your system.  I listed a few ingredients above that work well with the flavor and the pasta (so that it doesn't get sticky or mushy).

Boil your pasta to a firm al dente, strain, and rinse in cold water.  While the pasta is cooling off, prepare your veggies.

Add your cooled pasta to your mixing bowl, season, coat with oil, and mix well.  Add your chopped veggies and mix well.  Chill and nom.  

In order to keep from going into a carb coma, make sure that at least half of the total volume is veggies.  1/2 lbs of pasta serves 8 at 30g carbs per serving, but this doesn't include the veggies.  If you need to keep an eye on your blood glucose levels, just use a 1/4 lb of pasta and keep the serving to 8 portions.  Adjust the proportions of ingredients to favor low GI veggies (lots of cucumber, peppers, and parsley; less corn, carrots, etc.)

This will keep in your fridge for at about 5 days.

IC Friendly Red Pizza

1-2 pizza's worth of your favorite dough

2 roasted peeled seeded red bell peppers, puréed

1/4 C water

4-6 large cloves of garlic, chopped

Fresh basil, shredded with your hands (use dried if you prefer)

If you have access to other fresh herbs, you can also add thyme, oregano, tarragon, parsley, etc. 

1 tb olive oil

Salt to taste

(Optional, red and black pepper to taste)

1 bag of Daiya mozzarella shreds

1 can of sliced olives

(Optional, artichoke hearts packed in water, mushroom slices, seasoned wheat gluten, or any of your favorite pizza toppings)

Purée the red bell peppers in a blender, food processor, or use a stick blender. You may need to add a little olive oil to get things moving. Set aside.

Warm your olive oil in a sauce pot over a medium low flame.  When you can feel heat from the oil, add your chopped garlic and turn the heat all the way down. Let the garlic infuse the oil for ten minutes or so.  When your kitchen smells like grandma's house, turn the heat to medium and pour in the bell pepper purée. 

Add your herbs and water, and simmer (stirring occasionally) until it thickens to a pizza sauce consistency. Take off heat and salt to taste. If your sauce is bitter, you can sprinkle in some sugar. Making sure all the seeds and skin are removed cuts down on bitterness.

My favorite dough recipe, made in a bread machine:

3/4 C semolina flour

3/4 C spelt flour

1 3/4 C bread flour or AP flour

3 tb sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tb olive oil

1 1/4 C plain unsweetened almond milk, warm

1 envelope of yeast

Using the dough setting, add the ingredients according to the manual for your machine. I add salt and sugar first, then liquid followed by the semolina and spelt. Next comes the yeast and finally the wheat flour. I let the dough mix for a bit, then use a scraper to push down the flour and dough pieces that stick to the side. Wait until the first mixing cycle is done to decide to add more flour or almond milk. A good dough ball will be round and firm, but not sticky (too wet) or flaky (too dry). To fix a dough ball, add a tb of flour or almond milk to get it right. 

This dough is ready to bake when the bread machine is done, or you can knead and store in a zippy bag coated with olive oil for the next day. This will develop the gluten and make your dough chewy and puffy. When you roll out your dough, you may need to let it rest if the gluten gets fussy.  You'll see this if the dough keeps shrinking back to its original size.  Letting it relax in the fridge for a few minutes will make rolling it out easier.  The higher the gluten content of your flour, the puffier our crust will be.  Bread flour has a high gluten content, AP flour has less, pastry flour has low gluten content.  You may need to play with different types of flour to get the crust you like.

Top your pizza with a few tb of sauce, olives (and other veggies), a handful of cheese shreds, and bake at 450° for at least 10 minutes. Check the crust for crisping, depending on the thickness, it may take 20 minutes or so to cook through. The thicker the crust, the lower in the oven it should go. You may need to broil the top to get the cheese to melt. If your crust is golden, take the pizza out of the oven while the broiler fires up so that the bottom doesn't burn. 

Serve hot, keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.

Rocket Salad with Kite Hill Cassucio Cheese

I needed some superfoods after Christmas, so this is what I came up with.  

2 handfuls of wild rocket, or arugula

1 persian cucumber, diced

1/4 C red bell pepper, chopped

2 tb sliced black olives

1-2 oz Kite Hill Cassucio cheese, diced (check the ingredients, if they're bothersome, use garbanzos)

1 tb orange infused olive oil (aranciolio)

Salt and pepper to taste

Lay greens on the plate, then cucumbers and bell peppers.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Top with cheese and olives.  Nom, nom, crunch, crunch.

As it is, this salad is low carb, fiber rich, full of healthy fats, vitamin C, and other stuff that is good for winter stricken bodies.  Also, it is IC Friendly.  But if you like, you could add more veggies, croutons, wonton strips, nuts, seeds, or use limonoilo instead of aranciolio.

IC Friendly Pozole

Pozole is a lot like menudo as it has hominy cooked in a spicy broth.  From what I've been told, the difference types of soup is the meat you make it with,  Menudo has tripe while pozole has pork and chicken.  Pozole can be red, made with red chiles, or green, made with tomatillo and green/yellow chiles.  If you want to make this recipe green, use yellow bell peppers that you've roasted, seeded, and peeled.



1 jar of roasted bell peppers (about 3-4 peppers)
1 large can of hominy (the really big one that looks like it's about a gallon)
Thyme (I used about 4 heaping tb dried)
Oregano (if you use fresh, start slow, you can always add more)
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
2 boxes of sliced mushrooms
(optional ) 1 C of your favorite chik'n substitute, sliced (unflavored wheat gluten/seitan works well.  I used +gardein Crispy Mandarin Orange Chik'n without sauce, but it has soy)
1/2 - 1/4 C maseca (masa harina)
Canola or corn oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Water or IC Friendly broth for cooking




Traditional IC Friendly garnishes include shredded cabbage, avocado, radish slices, oregano, and thyme. *

You're gonna need a big soup/stock pot for this quantity of pozole, but I guarantee it's worth it.  Everybody will want some too and it will last until the end of the next day.  **

The first thing I do when I cook with hominy is drain and rinse it.  Just dump it in a colander, run the faucet, and leave it to drain while you cook.  Then, put your mushrooms in a dry pan to sweat.  Cook them until they're soft.  They don't need to dry out, the juices will add flavor to your broth.

Add the bell peppers to your pot with a 1/2 C of water and bring to a boil.  Put the peppers with the water into your blender (or you can use a boat motor), keep the pulp or strain if you like, then back into the pot with 2 quarts of water.  Add your garlic, herbs, salt, pepper if you can tolerate it, and bring back to a boil.  Taste your broth to see if it needs more herbs or salt.  Add the mushrooms, chik'n, and hominy and cover with more water, about two inches over the hominy.   Boil for about 15-30 minutes, stir so it doesn't stick.  It;s ready for the roux when the hominy is tender, but still toothy (al dente).

While the soup boils, make your masa roux.  For masa roux, I like to use 1 part oil to 2 parts maseca. Heat oil in a saucepan, then sprinkle or sift in the maseca.  When it's cooked through, ladle some broth from your pot (about a cup) and add water to thin.  Work out any lumps and stir while you bring to a boil.  If your hominy isn't soft when the roux comes together, set the roux to warm and stir about every minute so that it doesn't burn or stick.

When, the hominy is soft add the masa roux and stir so that it mixes evenly.  Bring back to a boil, stir well, and serve with hot corn tortillas.  What you see in the picture is pozole topped with shredded cabbage and avocado slices.

*If any of the ingredients in this recipe are bothersome for you, substitute them for something else.  For example, parsley instead of oregano or diced zucchini instead of mushrooms.  

**to make a more manageable quantity, use these proportions:

1roasted, peelers bell pepper

1small can of hominy

1 tb thyme and 1 tb oregano

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 C to 1 C sliced mushrooms

(Optional)1/2 C chik'n, sliced

1 to 2 tb maseca

1 to 2 tb canola or corn oil

Salt and pepper to taste

The hominy and herbs will be cheaper at the Mexican market, and they may have better corn tortillas.  My favorite are dark yellow, grainy, thick, and smell like fragrant masa.  They steam very well.  I've seen hominy that has been frozen in supermarkets before, but I've never used it before.  If you have massive leftovers, freeze them in a zipper bag for no longer than a month. The Middle Eastern store may have large jars of roasted peppers at a good price.

Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo Style Seitan

I lifted this recipe from Aaron Sanchez; he demoed this on Melting Pot some years ago.  My recipe, however, is vegan, cholesterol free, and lower in fat.

You need: 

14 oz of washed and trimmed brussels sprouts

1 package of +UptonsNaturals Chorizo Style Seitan

2.5 oz of +Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Chile powder (optional, for heat)

! tb canola oil

1/2 C water

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a saute pan or wok with canola oil and sprinkle with a dash of salt.  Add your brussels sprouts.  If you washed them right before cooking, make sure you dry them off well; moisture will cause oil splatters.  Cook the sprouts well and try to get black roasty spots on all sides.  Salt well and add the water to steam.  When the sprouts turn bright green, reduce the flame, add seitan, black pepper, chile powder, and stir well.  Bring the heat back up to cook the seitan, then stir in shredded cheese until it melts.  Take off the flame just before the cheese looks gooey.

I serve these with beans and corn tortillas.  This recipe made 5 meals with about 230 Kcal each, including the beans.  These will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days and freezes well for no longer than a month.  

Enmoladas (Enchiladas with Mole)

It's Christmas time so I got a craving for mole.  The mole you see in the picture is Mole Poblano (from Puebla) and is the familiar (Doña Maria in the jar) sauce with chile, spices, and chocolate.  You could also use red, green (pipian) or black mole to cover your enmoladas.

20 medium to large corn tortillas
1 large jar of mole (2 small jars or about 4-6 cups of prepared mole)
Dried Ancho chile powder to taste
White cheese shreds
Veggies for filling
Canola or corn oil
Salt and pepper

First, cook your veggies.  I used zucchini sticks, bell peppers, and portobello slices that i cooked in a saute pan with salt and pepper.  You could also use just cheese, potato, squash, seitan, tofu, or whatever protein you like.  while the filling is cooling, steam your tortillas.  You can cook them on a burner one or two at a time, but steaming them in the micro is easier.

I fried my filled tortillas before baking to bring out the flavor in the tortillas.  You can just fill, roll, and place in your baking dish if you want to reduce the amount of fat in your finished dish, but you'll need cooking spray for the baking dish.  When you can handle both tortillas and filling with your bare hands, start rolling them into little taquitos.  Use toothpicks to keep them from unrolling and fry them until golden brown in a hot frying pan with sufficient oil to cover half of each taquito.

When they're cool enough to handle, take out the toothpicks and place in a baking dish.  Cover the top with shredded cheese, I used +Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack, and tent with foil.  Bake in a 350º oven for 15-20 minutes, just enough to melt the cheese and allow the mole to soak into the tortillas.  Usually I serve these with rice.

Note for IC Diet:  pipian is IC friendly. Please check the label for irritating ingredients or make it from scratch in a food processor. Fillings can include veggies on he safe list, like red bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, potato, etc.  Daiya cheese shreds are a good non-irritating  non-dairy cheese.

Guacamole with Jalapeno

2-4 ripe avocados

1-2 jalapeños for hot, 1/4-1 jalapeño for mild to medium

Vegenaise

Salt

Pepper

Oil

Read this if you need help shopping for avocados How to pick good avocados. I used a small food processor for this sauce, but a blender works too. Cut each avocado in half, remove pit, and scoop flesh into your processor. Add chiles, stem removed, cut into big chunks, seeds removed if you prefer less heat. Use gloves or coat your hands in oil if the chile bothers your skin. Do not touch anything else until you wash your hands well with hot soapy water. Blend until smooth and taste for heat. You can add more chile after you taste the sauce, so start slow with the heat. 

When you get to the heat level you want, add oil (I like limonolio) and a bit of Vegenaise (about 1 tb per avocado). Keep tasting and blending until you have the taste you like. Add salt and pepper last to avoid overseasoning, you may not even need salt. Serve chilled. Keeps in the fridge for a few days if covered in cling film to keep air off the surface of the sauce. Leave the pits in the sauce to help keep from browning. 

Enchilada Pasta

+Fresh & Easy