Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Very Veggie Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans with Spinach

Hi, everyone! I missed being away. We had a fantastic beach vacation, but I did return home with a wicked ear infection so I’ve been a little slow getting back into the swing of things. I had to go to my GP, whom I hadn’t seen in so long my file was in storage. I totally can’t hear out of my right ear, and it is very frustrating. I’ve got pills and drops and am patiently waiting for my hearing to return. Anyway, I hope to get a few pictures together soon so I can share a bit of our vacation with you.

Per Chase’s special request, Sunday dinner was a Tex Mex meal. The entrée we made is what we lovingly refer to as “Spa-chiladas” as the recipe is adapted from my Lake Austin Spa cookbook, Fresh. I finely chopped zucchini, cauliflower, yellow potatoes, red bell pepper, onions, and added in a little corn. I hope this doesn’t get to be an obsession with me, but I prepared over a dozen different vegetables again in this meal. Anyway, here’s the filling.



While I prepped the sides, Chase and Liz steamed the tortillas and beautifully rolled up a dozen enchiladas for our dinner and a dozen for them to take home and eat later.



The sauce is made simply from reduced tomato juice, onions, garlic, adobo paste, a bit of brown sugar, and spices. I poured it over the enchiladas and then baked them.



When the enchiladas are hot out of the oven, you top them with a lightly dressed salad of shredded lettuce, slaw, radishes, cilantro, and green onions.



Chef Conlan says you will never go back to regular enchiladas once you eat them this way. They are truly our favorite.

Of course we had to start with homemade chips and guacamole – you know we love Alton Brown’s recipe.



For our sides we had the requisite rice and beans. I used slightly adapted recipes from Rick Bayless’ Mexico One Plate at a Time. I made it easy on myself and selected recipes that were best made a day ahead.

Arroz Rojo, which I made into Arroz Rojo con Serranos y Cilantro. I added in the frozen peas before reheating the rice.




Frijoles Enchipotlados con Espinacas, which is Chipotle Beans with Spinach. This is a fantastic recipe, which actually calls for the addition of masa dumplings for a stew. I will definitely make this again in the winter for a hearty black bean stew dinner. I brought the already prepared beans to a simmer before dinner, then added in a bag of baby spinach. The spinach is a wonderful addition – I highly recommend it.




I also made Melty Cheese Sauce from LDV – not bad, but not necessary either. Here’s our table.



Here’s my plate – there’s always room for broccoli!




Have you counted a dozen veggies yet? Now we can add 4 fruits. Chase also requested a warm apple pie in a crispy phyllo crust. I blind baked the phyllo in a pie pan, then added in caramelized cinnamon apple slices. In keeping with the Tex Mex theme, I also made a fruit “salsa” of blueberries, strawberries, and mangos to go with it.




A nice slice.



A couple of personal items: On Saturday I took my four favorite kitchen knives to the Knife Sharpist, the only professional knife sharpener in town. $3.50 apiece, while you wait, money well spent - I’m so happy.

Veggie Girl – thanks for naming me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger! You rock too!

Crystal – I will email you my mustard recipe.


The beach is so much nicer than my office …. *sigh*

24 comments:

Kayla said...

Wow, wow wow! I'm glad that I'm having enchiladas with all the fixins tonight, because otherwise I would be really jealous. I'm glad you had a good trip, despite the terrible ear infection. It's good to have you back!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

welcome back!! I'm so sorry about your ear - I hope you can completely hear again soon.

wow, that Tex-Mex feast looks sooo delicious - that guacamole looks especially tasty :0)

thank you for the little shout-out at the end of the post - you certainly deserve that blogger award; your posts are always AMAZING!!

vko said...

OMG! I can't believe you made all that amazingly gorgeous, tasty, healthy food all the while not feeling a hundred precent with an ear infection. Impressive food to begin with but even more impressive considering your ear.

Welcome back- hope you had a nice time at the beach and hope you are better soon!

Sheree' said...

Welcome home! You were missed! Wow!, This spread makes me want to move to Texas and have dinner with you. I love the enchiladas. I really need to try these.

I need to try everything. Have you ever had recipe overload. That is what I have everyday. I want time to stand still so I can try all of the yummies everyone is cooking. I am like a kid in a candy shop!

How is smokey? Glad you are back.

laura k said...

I'm so glad you're back! I'm sorry about the ear infection though--they are aggravating, I know. :( I hope your hearing returns straight away!

This Tex-Mex meal has my mouth watering for sure... this is the kind of food I could eat all the time!

Anonymous said...

mustard? you have a mustard recipe??

oh please! oh bended knee; please!!

Sheree' said...

Sorry tex, I was rambling about food that I forgot to wish you a speedy recovery of your ear ache. I went to my chiropractor today and told him I have an ear ache. After one quick adjustment of my neck and my ear ache was gone. Yeepeee! I hope you are feeling better already.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry about the ear infection , i have one like a year ago and was very painfull.

the food looks outstanding!!

Anonymous said...

Those enchiladas have me drooling. They look so delicious and fresh and healthy. I can just imagine the pure delight biting into one of them. Mmmm!

Anonymous said...

wow you made a lot of food! your enchilada looks fabulous!! mmm!

Almost Vegetarian said...

This is what I love about this time of year - there is such an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables that you can have such beautifully colorful meals. Like yours! Especially the fruit salsa which I think I will try to replicate.

Cheers!

bazu said...

Good to have you back, Diann! I hope your ear infection is clearing up- that can be such a pain in the butt. Or ear, actually!

You're going to hate me, but I've never made enchiladas. I've only eaten them once or twice in my life! What's wrong with me? I'll have to try yours.

The desserts look wonderful, too.

We desperately need to have our knives sharpened. I hope Syracuse has a knife sharpist! I'll go look for one right now.

urban vegan said...

Welcome back...and I hope your ear is all better.

At least you have such lovely food to come home to!

Amey said...

Hi Diann!
I'll put this comment in both places, so you'll be sure to see it.

Oh my! You certainly didn't offend me... it takes an awful lot to offend me! But I think maybe I just forgot to answer you. Sorry!

No, it's not really a fundraiser... it's mostly just something we do to raise vegan awareness. Our main goal is to break even, and then if we make any extra income we save it for our next vegan event. Does that make sense?

We have thought about doing some explicit fundraisers though... but at this point it's just a matter of time and energy.

:) xo!
Amey

erica said...

Hi Diann-
The Raw Food World Summit is a series of podcasts/pre-recorded phone calls that you simply listen to on the phone or the internet, you don't have to go anywhere! But, each speaker's call/podcast can only be listened to for free for 24 hours after it first airs, that's the catch. Otherwise, you have to pay for them.

ooh, I just noticed the blueberries. Mmmmm...

Johanna GGG said...

love seeing your spread of food and love the look of that enchilada dish - makes me look forward to summer!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you had a great time at the beach! Your food looks amazing, like always. I am a huge fan of enchiladas but have avoided them since I went veg because I find the normal vegan ones bland. Your version looks amazing and I bet you don't even miss the cheese!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Nice dinner. Hey just wondering, I am in Austin and I noticed you were a fan of the market in the China Town Center. My boyfriend and i went and couldn't find much. We were more specifically looking for mock meats, TVP, etc. Did you find any of this there?

aTxVegn said...

Thanks anonymous. MT has a HUGE bin type freezer about 15 feet long toward the front of the store with all kinds of faux meat, fish, chicken, and pork. Some days it's not as well stocked. There was a great kung pao shredded chikn that we loved and I've only found it once. There's also lots of canned mock meats in one of the aisles, but I'm a little leary of those. Good luck!

mare - see this recipe for my mustard recipe, but be sure to use 1 and 1/2 cups mustard powder, not just 1/2 as the recipe states.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/236722

Veggie Cookster said...

Wow, looks amazing!! Yum! :)

Kati said...

Welcome back! You sure outdid yourself (once again!) with all your amazing fruits and veggies. The spa-chiladas sound excellent. Hope your ear infection is all better by now!

david santos said...

Congratulations for your work, that is very good, and have a good month of vacation

Lica said...

I had this post starred in my google reader and just now got to making it. IT WAS FABULOUS!!! Everyone really enjoyed the food..even the non-vegans around the table. Thank you so much for the inspiration!

Simple and Divine said...

You are seriously SO awesome!! Those greeen thumbs! Must be from all the broccoli ;) <33333

-PS- Have you ever made Saag before? I adore(!!!) it, using it a a dip for raw red bell peppers...OUT OF THIS WORLD and am trying out my recipe today (so excited!!), but I sincerely value your opinion, s if you wouldn't mind lending me your thoughts, i'd love to hear your take!
-PPS- Have you ever (seriously) considered self-publishing a cookbook?! I'd be your manager ;) hehehe