Aphorisms of a Dancing Girl!

Albondigas Al Chipotle - Vegan - Mexican Meatless Black Bean Meatballs in a Chipotle Sauce

1/25/2017

Albondigas Al Chipotle
Mexican Meatless Bean “MEATBALLS” In Chipotle Sauce

Meatball Ingredients:
1 - 15 oz can of Black Beans (rinsed & drained)
2 cloves of Garlic
1⁄2 cup of Gluten Free Rolled Oats
1 teaspoon of Chipotle Powder
a few sprigs of Cilantro
salt to taste

Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon of Chipotle Powder
1 - 15 oz can of Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
2 cloves of Garlic
1/2 of an Onion
1/4 teaspoon of Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon of Mexican Oregano (whole leaf)
a few sprigs of Cilantro
Salt to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.

Combine all of your meatball ingredients into a food processor. Pulse til smooth.

Use your hands to roll the mixture into medium-sized meatballs.
If the mixture is too dry, then add water.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Make your sauce by combining all the ingredients into a blender. Blend til smooth.

Pour into a pot. Heat up the sauce and simmer over medium heat for a few minutes.

Out of the oven, coat the meatballs with the chipotle sauce.

I like to serve mine over a bed of greens with brown rice and avocado.

Note: If you prefer to cook your own beans, you'll need about 2 cups. You can switch to chipotles in adobo if you can't find the powder. You can always make your own fire-roasted tomatoes, about 4-5 would work.

Learn how to make this dish by watching my video on it here:

https://youtu.be/P6Fdam-NDus

Rajas Con Crema - "Pepper Slices With Cream" - Vegan & Gluten-Free

9/13/2016

Rajas Mexicanas
Con Crema

Ingredients:
5 Anaheim chiles, charred, peeled and cut into strips
1 medium Onion
3 tablespoons of Hemp Seed Crema
Salt to taste

Cilantro Lime Hemp Seed Crema:
1/2 cup of Hemp Seeds
Juice of 1 Lime
1 teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup of Water
a few sprigs of Cilantro
Salt to taste

Directions

Directions for Broiling your Anaheims:
Pre-heat your broiler. Set it to Hi (400-450 degrees). Place the chiles under the broiler and roast until the skin of the peppers char and blister but don't completely blacken them.
It takes about 5 min.

Pull out your peppers. Flip them and roast for another 5 min. Keep a close eye on them, you don't want them to completely blacken.

Put your roasted chiles into a plastic bag and let them sweat for 15 min.
Sweating your chiles will loosen the skin.

Peel your chiles. Cut the stem off the peppers and de-seed them.

Directions for the crema:
Make your crema by putting all the ingredients into a blender and pulse til creamy smooth.

Directions for the Rajas Con Crema:
Slice your onion.

Cut the peppers into strips.

Saute your onions til they soften up. You can use oil, water or broth to saute.

Add the peppers and mix them together.

Add the crema.
I used 3 tablespoons but you could add more or less depending on how creamy you like them.

Stir well. Salt to taste.

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Homemade Chamoy - Fruit Salad & Mangoneada (Vegan & Sugar-Free)

7/31/2016

Homemade
CHAMOY
(Vegan & Sugar-Free)

I love Chamoy but commercially available Chamoy is sweetened with a lot of sugar. So here's my version of Chamoy. I decided to sweeten the sauce naturally using Papaya preserves instead of sugar. So its delicious and sweet without being sickly sweet. The result was a sweet, sour, spicy and tangy taste unlike any other Chamoy you've ever had. The recipe includes a simple recipe for making your own apricot and papaya preserves.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Apricot Preserves
1/4 cup Papaya Preserves
2 tablespoons of Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon of Ancho Chile Powder
Salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and pulse til smooth.

Use this sauce in fruit salads, mangoneadas and more.

Below are the recipes for the Apricot and Papaya preserves.

The above photos illustrate making Apricot Preserves.

Ingredients for Easy Homemade Sugar-Free Apricot Preserves:
1 pound of Apricots
a twist of lemon or lime juice

Take the seeds out of the apricots. Combine the apricots and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat. Slowly bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Cook and stir until they thicken.

Ingredients for Easy Homemade Sugar-Free "Dulce De Papaya" Papaya Preserves:
2 cups of chopped Ripe Papaya
a twist of lemon or lime juice

Make sure to pick out a very ripe Papaya as it will be used as the sweetener in the sauce.
Combine the papaya and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat. Slowly bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Cook and stir until they thicken.

The photos below illustrate making Dulce De Papaya (Papaya Preserves).

Fruit Salad With Chamoy
Ensalada de Frutas con Chamoy

Ingredients:
1/2 Jicama
1 Cucumber
2 Mangos
1 cup Pineapple
Chamoy to taste

Directions:
Chop up the ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Top with Chamoy sauce.

Mangoneada

Ingredients:
1 cup of frozen Mango chunks
1/2 cup of Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1 tablespoon of Lime Juice
2 tablespoons of Chamoy Sauce
a pinch of Ancho Chile Powder

Directions:
Put the frozen mango chunks, orange juice and lime juice into a blender. Pulse til smooth.

Put a tablespoon of Chamoy at the bottom of the bowl. Add the mango puree. Top with a tablespoon of Chamoy sauce and a little pinch of chile powder.

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: EZ Salsa Cruda - EZ RAW Salsa - Red & Green

5/28/2016

EZ Salsa Cruda
EZ to make - RAW Salsa
Salsa Roja (Red Salsa)

Ingredients:
2 pounds of Tomatos
1/2 Onion
1 Jalapeno (more if you like it hot)
2 Garlic cloves
a few sprigs of Cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
Salt to taste

Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse til smooth.

EZ Salsa Cruda
EZ to make - RAW Salsa
Tomatillo Salsa
(Green Salsa)

Ingredients:
2 pounds of Tomatillos
1/2 Onion
2 Garlic cloves
1 Jalapeno (more if you like it hot)
a few sprigs of Cilantro
Salt to taste

Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse til smooth.

Lupe's Kitchen: Chipotle Tofu Chilaquiles Con Verdolagas (Purslane)

5/1/2016

Chipotle Tofu Chilaquiles With Verdolagas
& Cilantro Lime Hemp Seed Crema
(Vegan & Gluten-Free)

Verdolagas (purslane) are popular in Mexican cooking but not often used in american cuisine. This edible weed is quite tasty and has many beneficial properties. Researchers have found that there are high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in purslane, at levels higher than in some fish oils, which are widely considered the best source for these beneficial fatty acids. Omega-3s are wonderful in so many ways like lowering your cholesterol. In this dish we usually use tortillas but these days I find that more and more people are using tortilla chips. I prefer using tortillas and instead of frying them, they are baked.

Ingredients to make 1 serving:
1/2 block of Extra Firm Tofu
1 small bunch of Purslane (Verdolagas)
3 Corn Tortillas
Olive Oil
Chipotle Salsa to taste

EZ Chipotle Salsa Ingredients:
1 can of Chipotles in Adobo (7 oz)
2 cups of Chopped tomatoes (or 1 can of Diced Tomatoes)
1/4 Onion
2 Garlic cloves
1/2 cup of Water
a few sprigs of Cilantro
Salt to taste

Cilantro Lime Hemp Seed Crema:
1/2 cup of Hemp Seeds
Juice of 1 Lime
a few sprigs of Cilantro
1 teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup of Water
Salt to taste

Optional Toppings:
Avocado
Lime Wedges
Nutritional Yeast
Hemp Seed Crema
Cilantro

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take your tortillas and rub a little olive oil on each side. Cut them into quarters and bake for 3-5 min per side until the tortillas are crispy and golden brown.

Make your salsa by putting all the ingredients into a blender and pulse til creamy smooth.

Make your crema by putting all the ingredients into a blender and pulse til creamy smooth.

Take a frying pan and add as much salsa as you like into it. Add the tofu and use a spatula to break it up into small crumbly pieces while cooking it over medium to low heat. Add your tortillas. Let the whole mixture simmer for a few minutes. Add the purslane and stir it all in to cook for a few more min.

I serve it with chopped up avocado, cilantro lime crema, lime wedges, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor and a sprig of cilantro.

Lupe's Kitchen Corner - Homemade Adobo Sauce

4/3/2015

Lupe's Homemade Adobo Sauce

Ingredients:

10 dried Guajillo chiles
8 dried Ancho chiles
4 garlic cloves
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 medium red onion
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp salt
1 tablespoon Mexican Oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp pepper

Directions:

Cut the tops off of the chiles and shake out the seeds. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Fry the chiles for a few seconds on each side.

Take a pot and fill it with water, put the chiles to rehydrate for about 60-90 min til they are soft.

Discard the soaking liquid.

Puree the chiles in the blender with the rest of the ingredients.

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Homemade Milpero Tomatillo Salsa Verde

3/31/2015

Homemade Milpero Tomatillo Salsa Verde
I love tomatillo salsa and every once in awhile I come across Milperos which are not as common as the larger variety. The Milperos go from green to purple in color. The flavor of this fruit tends to be sweeter and more flavorful than its larger counterpart.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of Milpero Tomatillos
2 jalapenos
1 medium sized yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic
a few sprigs of cilantro
salt to taste

Directions:

Clean the husks off the tomatillos. Wash them well, they tend to be a bit sticky. Boil water and then add the tomatillos. Cook for 5-10min til the tomatillos go from being a bright green to a pale yellowish green color. Drain the water. Clean and de-seed the jalapenos. Add the tomatillos and the rest of the ingredients to the blender. Pulse til done.