Green Chile Sauce

This recipe makes a great green enchilada sauce. I've started using it in place of the stuff in cans since the price of buying the chiles is comparable, plus I sort of prefer the taste to the canned sauce. So far I've only used it in these honey lime enchiladas, once with chicken and once with pork (both were good).

The recipe is really easy, but does take a little time. Next time I make it I'm going to double or triple it and freeze some for later.

Recipe from Cooking Light magazine, December 2007

6 fresh Anaheim chiles (long, slender green chiles found in most grocery stores)
1 T. canola oil
2 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. salt
1 14-oz. can chicken broth

Preheat broiler.

Place chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil chiles for 14 minutes, or until blackened and charred, turning after 7 minutes. Put charred chiles in a heavy-duty ziploc and seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove from ziploc and peel and discard skin. Cut a lengthwise slit in each chili and remove tops and seeds (I find that they're usually attached, so when I pull off the top the seeds come along). Chop chiles and measure 3/4 c. (I always end up with more than 3/4 c. chopped chiles, but I throw it all in anyway. I suppose you could save the rest of the chopped chile for later and use in place of a can of green chiles or something.)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. (Mine always starts to burn when I add the garlic, so you might try reducing the heat a bit, or stir more often.) Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Add chiles, coriander, salt, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Scoop half of chile mixture into a blender. Remove center piece from the blender lid so team can escape and put a dish towel over the opening while you blend. Blend until smooth. Return blended mixture to pan and stir well. Remove from heat and cool.

Makes about 3 cups sauce.

Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce

Are you a fan of delicious flavor?

This is the BEST recipe I've tried in a long time. The dish tasted like something you would get at a Thai restaurant. The peanut sauce is phenomenal; I've tried probably half a dozen peanut sauce recipes in the past, and never really liked any of them. This one is far and away the best I've tried. If you're not a tofu-lover, you could do the exact same recipe with chicken instead of tofu (just increase the cooking time a bit).

Step 1) Cook some brown rice. Steam some vegetables (I used broccoli and carrots).

Step 2) Prepare the tofu. Cut a block of extra-firm tofu into 1-inch cubes. Put them in a bowl with a cut-up red bell pepper. Marinate them for 15-20 minutes in a mixture of 2 T. soy sauce and 2 T. sesame oil.

Step 3) Make the peanut sauce. No cooking necessary. Just place the following ingredients into your blender or food processor and whir them up: 3/4 c. coconut milk, 1/2 c. peanut butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 1/2 t. curry powder, 1 1/2 T. brown sugar, 1 T. fresh lime juice, 1 T. canola oil, 1 1/2 T. soy sauce.

Step 4) Pour 1/3 of the peanut sauce mixture over the tofu and red peppers. Spread the mixture, single-layered, into a baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes in a 450-degree oven.

Step 5) Assemble. Brown rice plus steamed veggies plus baked tofu plus extra peanut sauce poured over the top. Top with crushed peanuts, if you like!

I'm not even messing around. This is so good.

African Chickpea & Spinach Soup (Vegan)

2 Tbs olive oil
1 med onion, chopped (about 1 c.)

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp if you are using prepacked minced garlic)

1/4 c. smooth natural peanut butter

2 c. low sodium veggie broth, divided

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp coriander

1 15 oz. can chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans), rinsed & drained

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 c. spinach, chopped

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

1) Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, sauté 5 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add garlic, and cook 2-3 more minutes until garlic is soft and lightly browned

2)Blend peanut butter and 1/2 cup broth in food processor (or blender) to make a smooth paste. Blend remaining broth into mixture.

3) Add paprika, coriander, and cayenne to onion mixture, sauté one minute or until fragrant. Stir in peanut butter mixture, chickpeas, and tomatoes.

4)Simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in spinach and cilantro just before serving.

***I would say this needs to simmer at least 5 minutes, but can simmer as long as you need it to; I simmered the soup for 20+ minutes. I added two can of chickpeas to give it more substance. I used only half of the spinach...oh, and I used frozen, prechopped spinach. And my cilantro was slimy, so I didn't use any. ***

***I pulled the coriander jar from my spice rack to find little dried seed pod looking things. I didn't know what to do with them, so I measured 1 tsp then kind of crushed them with the back of a spoon. Maybe you have skillz with coriander, but I don't...so that's what I did. Seemed to work***

***This was really good paired with cornbread. And I have found the cornbread of my dreams. I got it at Costco, it is Marie Callenders. So good. So tasty. ***

Elephant Stew

Ok, I lied. One more recipe.

1 medium elephant
2 rabbits
Brown gravy
Salt and Pepper

Cut elephant into bite sized pieces. Cook over kerosene fire at 460 degrees for 4 weeks. Add gravy, salt and pepper. Serves 5 -630. If more stew is needed add rabbits. However, this is an emergency measure only because most people don't like hare in their stew.