Hominy Quesadillas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

Hominy Quesadillas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
Vegan; Serves 8; 30 minutes or fewer

Welcome summer with this light tasty meal. Letting the grill and the food processor do a lot of the work, makes this a super easy meal to prepare on a weeknight. I soaked cashews in the morning, before going to work and was able to make a cashew cream to take place of the goat cheese that the original recipe from Vegetarian Times called for.

3 large or a combination of small and medium equal to 1/2 cup, husked and halved
1 large poblano chile, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded (I used 1 1/2 smaller poblano chiles)
1/2 onion cut into chunks
1 Tbs. lime juice, plus extra to cut into lime wedges for serving (about 3 limes total)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup cooked hominy or canned hominy, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked pinto beans or canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
8 flour tortillas (I used green chile flour tortillas)
1/2 cup cashew cream
1/2 cup pepper jack daiya cheese
hot sauce

1. Preheat over medium heat, you may have to coat the grill grate or the grill pan with cooking spray. We didn't and didn't lose any veggies...

2 Coat tomatillos, poblano, and onion chunks with cooking spray. Grill for 10 minutes or until charred.

3. Pulse grilled onion chunks and tomatillos to coarse puree in a mini food processor. Add poblano and lime juice; blend until poblano is chopped. Transfer to bowl, and stir in cilantro.

4. Pulse hominy, pinto beans, and 2 Tbs. of tomatillo mixture in food processor until just beginning to stick together.

5. Press one-quarter hominy mixture over half of each tortilla. Add cashew cream and sprinkle pepper jack daiya cheese and fold tortillas in half. Grill quesadillas for 6 minutes or until filling is heat through, turning once. Let stand for about 2 minutes and serve with hot sauce.

Poblano White Chili

Poblano White Chili
Vegan; Gluten Free

This is a thinner chili, then the usual stick to your ribs chili. Instead of the goat cheese that the original recipe (adapted from Vegetarian Times) called for, to keep the tangy flavor that this needs, I used cashew cream. Hope you all like this. Serve over rice and blue corn organic chips!

3 cups cooked white beans, black beans, or kidney beans (I used a combination)
1 recipe Rajas (see recipe in blog)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 Tbs. lime juice, divided
3/4 cup hemp milk
2/4 cashew cream (see recipe in blog)
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
white pepper to taste

1. Bring beans, Rajas, broth, oregano, and cumin to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook 2 minutes more.

2. Warm milk in separate saucepan. Add cashew cream, 1 Tbs. lime juice, season with white pepper and stir until smooth. Serve chili garnished with cashew cream sauce, pumpkin seeds, and cilantro.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
Vegan; 1 hour total; Can be made Gluten Free; Serves 4

Alright, I made these for the boys and added the cashew cream wrapped in the enchilada. The boys ate the dish all up, with corn tortillas and daiya cheese, this is a SUPER kid friendly dish. To make this easier, you can use taco seasoning or (like me) use a variety of seasonings. This recipe does require an extra set of hands. So get a friend or loved one to help and make it an extra special meal....

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans
1 cup vegetable broth
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 sweet onion, minced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1 package "chicken" seitan (omit if making gluten free)
1 cup cashew cream
1 cup daiya cheese shreds (I used pepper jack)
1 package corn tortillas (organic)
2 small cans tomato sauce
Chili Powder to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 cup fresh salsa (be creative here, my favorite is either the one Bruce makes or apple chipotle salsa)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small, wide bowl combine tomato sauce and seasoning. (You'll be dipping the tortillas in it.)

2. Over medium heat; in a medium pan combine the vegetable broth, seitan, onion, garlic, chipotle pepper and sweet potato. Cook sweet potatoes and black bean mixture until broth has evaporated.

3. Cover the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch pan with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

4. Heat corn tortillas (this will help them from breaking). Place tortilla in spice/sauce mixture and fill with sweet potato and black bean mixture. Add cashew cream, salsa and pepper jack cheese. Roll and repeat till tortillas are gone. Sprinkle the remaining fillings (salsa, cashew cream, black beans and pepper jack cheese) on top. Cover with foil and bake for minutes. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Marinated Portobellos With Cashew Cheese and Pesto

Marinated Portobellos With Cashew Cheese and Pesto
Vegan; Makes 3 servings; Gluten Free

This recipe takes a little bit of prep, but it's SO worth it! From the cashew cream (soaking the cashews), to making the pesto~ the prep is easy and the presentation is a beauty for any table.....

For the Mushrooms:
1/2 Tbsp./tsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari (use gluten free)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. dried basil
6 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

1. Combine all ingredients, except for the mushrooms, in a bowl and mix well.
Coat each portobello with the mixture, and then place on a plate. Pour the remaining mixture over the mushrooms. Set aside until ready to bake.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

3. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, place the mushrooms on the pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

4. Remove mushrooms from the oven, fill with cashew cheese (recipe in blog), and top with pesto (recipe in blog). Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve immediately.

For the Cashew Cream~ See Recipe in Blog....

For the Basil Pesto~ See Recipe in Blog....

Found and modified from PETA

Pumpkin Black Bean Tacos

Pumpkin Black Bean Tacos
Vegan; 30 minutes or fewer

When I made these, I really wished I would have had some cashew cream made to use as a sour cream and some salsa made. This was kind of a last minute idea, SO next time I make this I'll be more prepared. This takes a new twist on black bean tacos.... I hope you enjoy! I served these with green chili tortillas for extra kick!

1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin (ground)
1 15 oz. can black beans
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (chopped) {For less spice, use 1/2 a pepper}
2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
6 tortillas


1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.

2. Add the chili powder, and cumin and saute for about a minute. Add the beans, water, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until most water has evaporated.

3. Remove the beans from the heat and mash half of them with a fork. Mix the pumpkin puree, chipotle peppers and cilantro into the black bean mixture.

4. Heat the tortillas and place some of the pumpkin black bean mixture into the tortilla and wrap it.

Top with salsa, shredded Daiya cheese, cashew sour cream etc.

Cashew Cream Stuffed Strawberries

Cashew Cream Stuffed Strawberries
Vegan; Gluten Free; Raw

Well, these little red creamy jewels are truly the taste of the summer sun.... Super easy to make, use the cashew cream (I used 1/3 of the recipe for this recipe and the rest for spinach artichoke dip) in the blog, adding sugar to it.

1/2 pound of strawberries, cleaned and hulled
1 cup cashew cream (with 1 teaspoon of sugar)
2 Tablespoon almonds
1 teaspoon sugar

1. Clean the strawberries and hull "hollow" the strawberries. Fill with prepared cashew cream.

2. In a coffee grinder (this seems to be my best method, so if you have one make sure it's a clean one) put almonds and sugar. Grind until coarsely ground and sprinkle on top.

Enjoy as a snack or as a light dessert!

Spinach Phyllo Spanakopita

Spinach Phyllo Spanakopita
Vegan; Serves 4

With all of the steps I took to make this, it truly is a labor of love. The tofu feta recipe and the cashew cream was used with this. Bruce loved it and the boys really liked it. So, the next time I make this; I will have to triple the recipe. I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart's Spinach Phyllo Pie....

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic cloves, minced
1 pound baby spinach, sliced in 1 inch slices
1 cup crumbled vegan tofu feta (4 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 teaspoons roasted garlic and bell pepper seasoning
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium pan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Cook spinach, adding 1-2 Tablespoons of water, tossing, until wilted. Stir in pine nuts and add roasted garlic and bell pepper seasoning. (To store, refrigerate, up to 2 days.)

3. Unroll phyllo. Place 1 sheet on a work surface (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying); brush with oil. Lay another sheet on top and brush with oil. Repeat until you have 10 layers of phyllo. Spread spinach mixture and tofu feta lengthwise down middle of phyllo stack. Roll into a log, brushing the seam with oil before sealing. Brush log with oil. Using a small sharp knife, make 8 diagonal cuts on top.

Serve with Cashew Cream