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.

Traditional Mexican Salsa

Traditional Mexican Salsa

The history of Salsa sauce originated with the Inca people. Salsa (combination of chilies, tomatoes and other spices) can be traced to the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. The Spaniards first encountered tomatoes after their conquest of Mexico in 1519-1521, which marked the beginning of the history of Salsa sauce. Aztec lords combined tomatoes with chili peppers, ground squash seeds and consumed them mainly as a condiment served on turkey, venison, lobster, and fish. This combination was subsequently called salsa by Alonso de Molina in 1571.

This is the traditional Mexican Salsa from the Mid section "DR" Mexico City region:
Four plump Tomatoes or six Roma Tomatoes
1/4 cup on white onion (best onion for salsas is the vidalia)
One Jalepeno
One yellow or red pepper
One Tomatillo-used to cut down on heat and bitterness of Jalepeno
One cup of Fresh Cilantro
1 1/2 to 2 limes depending on how tangy you like it.

Instructions:
Cut or use a food processor to cut vegetables finely
Mix together in a bowl
Add salt to taste
Squeeze one 1/2 to 2 limes in bowl (to taste)

Let sit for 45 minutes

Add Mango or Pineapple to give a different dimension.

Cumin and Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Cumin and Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4; Vegan; Gluten Free

I made this for a potluck last week, and it was a huge hit. Super simple to make, the longest part of this is the roasting time. I added a few things to the original recipe, so I’ll add stars to them. Happy Eating!

1 large sweet potato or garnet yam (1 ¼ lb.), peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
**¼ onion, coarsely chopped (those who follow me, know I never put the amount of onion called)
Original calls for 1 large yellow onion (about 2 cups)
**1 jalapeño seeded and chopped
**1 tsp. Safflower oil (I added a little extra, the potatoes were drying out)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 lime, halved
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray. Toss sweet potato, onion and jalapeno with oil on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with cumin and paprika, and season with salt if desired. (I didn’t add salt, I added lime zest instead.) Squeeze juice of half lime over the sweet potato mixture. Roast 45 minutes to 1 hour (mine took 42 minutes), tossing halfway through cooking time.

2. Remove vegetables from oven; squeeze juice of remaining ½ lime over top, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Per 1 cup serving: 135 cal.; 3 grams prot.; 2 grams total fat (<1g sat fat); 29 grams carb.; 0 mg chol.; 36 mg sod.; 5 grams fiber; 10 grams sugars

Found: Vegetarian Times Sept. 2012 2nd place winner in readers contest

Fruit and Nut Bars

Fruit and Nut Bars
Vegan, Raw, Gluten Free
Makes one 6 x 10 pan, makes about 8 bars

1 cup dried fruit of choice (cranberries, blueberries, bananas, apples, cherries, strawberries) home dried in low heat dehydrator is best to remain food integrity. You want the fruit to remain tender, not crunchy if you're going to use it in this recipe.
1 cup dates (whole- roughly chopped and pitted)
2/3 cup Raw almonds
2/3 cup Raw cashews
2 tsp. finely grated citrus zest (lemon, orange, lime-I use a combination)
3-4 drops almond extract if desired

1. Spray or oil pan, set aside.

2.Place fruit, dates, zest and extract in food processor/blender/Vitamix and process until you have a smooth paste. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Pulse nuts in blender until finely chopped but not pureed/mushy.

3. Combine nuts and paste. Mix well (fingers work best). Transfer to prepared pan, smooth and allow to sit until firm. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Sweet Potatoes with Coconut, Pomegranate and Lime

Sweet Potatoes with Coconut, Pomegranate and Lime
Vegan; 15 min. prep.; 45 min. bake time

Happy New Year Everyone! From my family to yours we wish you a safe and wonderful holiday!

In honor of the holiday I chose this recipe because of all of the beautiful jewel tones.....

4 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup light coconut milk (divided)
1/4 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup pomegranate seeds
2 limes cut into wedges
Kosher salt or sea salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Arrange sweet potatoes, pricked with a fork, on rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. To toast coconut flakes: heat a pan on medium heat and toss in flakes, stirring until they turn golden and become fragrant.

2. Slice tops and mash sweet potatoes with a fork. Divide coconut milk, toasted coconut flakes, cilantro and pomegranate seeds among the sweet potatoes.

3. Season with salt if using. Garnish with additional sprigs of cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Per Serving: 272 cal.; 8 grams sat. fat; 1 gram unsat. fat; 0 mg chol.; 44 grams carbs.; 58 mg sod.; 5 grams prot.; 9 grams fiber.

Found: Whole Living December 2010