So Corny: Empanadas Humitas!

Last night's dinner, yet again, featured fabulous Vegan Latina tester recipes from the talented Terry Hope Romero! Since I am still craving that corn like crazy, it was the star of last night's dinner again!

These are the Empanadas Humitas, aka Creamy Corn Empanadas, and, as the name suggests, they basically consist of a creamy corn filling inside a flaky, tender pastry crust. I cannot tell which part I love more, the filling or the crust, but for now I will just say I love them both equally! Awesome in a little of the So Good, So Green Dipping Sauce I mentioned a few days ago (another VL tester recipe, of course.)!
And an inside shot...so naughty...I served them up with Tofu Chicharrones, which is Terry's veganized version of the traditional pork chicharrones, which is kind of like fried fat back from pork (ew. i know. but trust me the cruelty-free version is the bomb.)....these are so smoky and chewy and wonderful! They tofu is frozen, thawed, and pressed, which gives these little bits of yum a nice mouthfeel. I ate this plain for dinner, but I want to make lots of this in the future to put in tacos and such.
The other side dish I made was the Braised Brazilian Shredded Kale tester recipe. Fresh kale is braised with onions and liquid smoke for great flavors, and comes out with an amazing texture from the fine shredding technique. This would be an awesome side dish to any Latina-themed meal, but it went especially well with this little VL feast!

Latina Tester Salad and Sauce!

Awesome in-season produce was the motivation for tonight's tasty dinner! The local tomatoes are in full swing, so I used the opportunity to put them in a tester recipe for Terry's upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook. I made the Ensalada Chilena recipe, which is actually the national salad of Chile btw, and it is made up of crisp, sweet vidalia onions, ripe tomatoes, and a tangy vinaigrette dressing. This was awesome and the perfect way to show off those local 'maters!

To accompany the salad, I made Pinto Bean Tostadas (just something I threw together, not a test recipe). They had homemade refried pinto beans layered with shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro, chopped jalapenos, green olives, locally-made salsa, and some tester Pickled Red Onions. But they just weren't complete without a special sauce....These just screamed for another Vegan Latina test recipe: the So Good, So Green Dipping Sauce! Truth be told, the tostadas were just an excuse to make this sauce...I have been eying the recipe in the tester forums for months! This dipping sauce is packed with herbs, garlic, and lime, and has the perfect balance of creamy and chunky textures! This sauce is just sooooo flavorful! Went very well with the tostadas, of course!
I could dip about anything into this.....put tostadas, tamales, tacos, empanadas, or just a plain old finger in this sauce and it would still be so rockin!

Best Week Ever?!

What a week it has been so far...and it's not even over!! Just for a quick recap: I passed all of my pre-internship exams this week, Obama was inaugurated, and season 5 of LOST premiered tonight! For three hours! I can only pay tribute to all the awesome events with yummy vegan food...

First, the end of Bush and the beginning of Obama! I am so excited!!!! I used the toppers from the Bake and Destroy blog, like the ones I used for election night cupcakes, to commemorate our lunchtime sandwiches (Obamawich?) as the inauguration was occurring. Yeah, I am pretty cheesy like that...but don't they look cute!
I also got to utilize some of the Tex Mex food Steven brought me from his Texas trip last month! Yay! I made a Pinto Bean Mole, with the jarred mole sauce he bought, onions, garlic, corn, bell peppers, local zucchini, green beans, pinto beans, tomatillos, Mexican chili powder, and lime juice. It was soooo good! I have never had mole from a jar before, so this was a cool thing to try. It got thicker than I expected, mostly because of the peanuts and cocoa, but it was still tasty. I prefer the homemade stuff, but it's hard to argue with a souvenir and a time-saver! I served it up with some homemade guacamole from the avocados, cumin-lime millet, and fresh lime wedges! I only wish I had some rice milk horchata to wash it all down!

Another plus this week was that I perfected my Creamy Creole Sauce! I am excited about this, because I really like this creamy texture and spicy flavor with dishes like the Cornmeal Crusted Tofu from Veganomicon, with my faux "crab" cakes, and even on sandwiches and veggies. I will give you the recipe, as I am feeling generous! :)

Creamy Creole Sauce (makes about 2 cups)

1 cup spicy brown or dijon mustard

1/2 cup vegan mayo

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp maple syrup or agave nectar

1 Tbs Louisiana-style hot sauce, like Frank's

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until well combined. Pour into a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for about 1 week in the fridge, but it won't stay un-eaten that long!

Now for the sweet stuff: LOST Cupcakes!! I, again, got some cutie patootie cupcake toppers from Natalie's Bake and Destroy Blog. I love these things! It really makes cupcakes taste better, if that is possible. We got a huge bag of crystallized ginger this week at the store, so I decided to make the Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Frosting from VCTOTW!! I hadn't made these before and I am not sure why! They are so moist from all the molasses and so flavorful and delicious! I love the little accent of a crystallized ginger piece!

Oh, and how awesome was LOST??? I will just nerd out for a second and tell how flippin pumped I am for the fifth season!! Is anyone with me on this? Maybe I am just excited for having more LOST-watching parties so I can bake and be with good friends. Maybe.

Here's all twelve different toppers, happy and together pre-premiere:

Moroccan Tagine

I got this perfect and beautiful local eggplant yesterday to make one of my absolute favorite fall dishes: Moroccan Tagine! I have made this for a few years and I am certain it gets better every time! And since I bought the newest issue of Vegetarian Times recently that happened to feature Moroccan cuisine, I have had it on the brain... I often make this recipe so I can eat it for one meal and have another portion for a leftover dinner the next night, but last night I shared my meal with my friend Anna, who had never had Moroccan food before...so it was a treat for both of us!
I served the tagine over whole wheat couscous and drizzled it with a cucumber raita sauce. This meal is seriously divine...and awesome on a chilly fall night!
Tagine for Two (serves...2!)

1/2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, minced

1 medium carrot, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1 small eggplant, diced...and for God's sake leave the peel on!

1 small sweet potato, diced...also with skin on. come on people.

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, quartered

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup chopped tomato

4 kalamata olives, sliced

1 can garbanzo beans

1 cup chopped greens--I like kale or spinach especially

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 T turmeric powder

1 T cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne, or paprika if you're not into heat

pinch of salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes, until it starts to brown and caramelize. Add in the green pepper, carrot, ginger, and garlic, and saute for 2-3 more minutes. Add in the eggplant, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and spices and cook for 5 more minutes. Squeeze in the lemon juice to deglaze the pan (adding a little water if needed), then stir in the garbanzo beans, olives, artichokes, greens, and raisins and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 more minutes, covered. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over fluffy whole wheat couscous and drizzle with Lemon Cucumber Raita sauce (recipe below)!

**I also like to add zucchini, cabbage, or peas sometimes, but this combination is my favorite!

Lemon-Cucumber Raita (Serves 2)

1/4 cup plain soy yogurt

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup cucumber, chopped

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/4 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

pinch of salt and pepper

1 clove garlic

Put everything in a blender or food processor and puree together until it has a smooth, creamy consistency. Chill for an hour or so before serving. Serve drizzled over Tagine for Two!