Kind of a Jerk Tacos: Spiced Sweet Potatoes, Black Beans, and Jerk Sauce

Because I didn't have all the ingredients that normally go into a jerk sauce these are only "kind of a jerk" tacos. Grilled sweet potatoes, seasoned black beans, jerk sauce and lettuce tossed with some chopped up cilantro and a little lime juice* make up these tacos. Feel free to add avocados, onions, cheese or cheeze and to replace the lettuce with slaw if you're feeling really ambitious.

This dish was inspired by a trip to Taco Mamacita on a recent vacation. Their taco uses fried plantains, a mango salsa, and flour tortillas and was delicious. I prefer the crunch and lighter flavor that corn tortillas bring to the dish. I've also omitted the mango salsa because I am not a chef in a restaurant, I'm a mom of three and have to fit all my dinner prep in between things like nursing babies and cleaning poop off of the walls (don't ask).......

oookay then....

All good and hungry? Let's start on that recipe.

This is actually pretty easy to make if you already have seasoned black beans in your freezer like I do. If not, then I think you could heat up a can with some garlic, cumin and chili powder and get a similar effect. Long term though I really think everyone should have some seasoned black beans in their freezer, they are great for so many things, nachos, soups, tacos, black bean burgers. This recipe could be further simplified by using premade taco shells. Garden of Eatin' is a good brand for taco shells. :)

What you need:

Seasoned black beans (about 2 cups)

jerk sauce (I had no rum and baby sparkles doesn't like it when I eat chili so I omitted those and still had a yummy sauce)

Taco shells (I made my own out of corn tortillas)

2 cups chopped lettuce tossed with 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro and lime juice to taste

3 large peeled and sliced sweet potatoes

1tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

dash of cayenne

Large Ziplock freezer bag

Add the olive oil and spices to a large Ziplock bag and add the sweet potatoes. Close and shake until sweet potatoes are evenly coated with spices. Grill (or pan fry..mmmmm) until cooked throughout, flipping once. Take care when adding sweet potatoes to the grill to not inhale the spices like someone I know who shall remain nameless (**cough**) . Assemble the tacos as desired.

The hubster and I ate these with the works, I omitted the jerk sauce for the kids. These were the best dang vegan tacos I've ever made. They hit all the right notes for me, the crunch of the shells the sweet spicy contrast of the sweet potatoes and the jerk sauce. Definitely a winner.

*Big thanks to my friend Kelli who suggested adding cilantro and lime to the taco lettuce, it really gives it a pop.

Vegetarian Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a big deal in our house. Any occasion that permits me to eat Mexican food is a big deal, so Cinco de Mayo, Tuesdays, and every third Sunday or so rank pretty high on my list of good days.

Originally I was to be spending tomorrow evening at an appreciation dinner. Due to sick contagious kiddos I will instead be spending tomorrow night at home, much to my husbands delight. Unfortunately I had nothing planned out, but a plethera of old recipes to choose from, so I think we will be ok.

Vegetarian or vegan burritos

Vegetarian tortilla soup, with spicy unmeatballs

Oh my! I almost forgot about this dish, it was so tasty! I can't believe I haven't made it since.

Vegetarian bean and potato tacos

These are so simple it's ridiculous, even my super A.D.D sleep deprived self can make them.

Avocado and black bean tacos

These are very tasty, and another great taco for hot days. Great for avocado lovers, and well received by those who have tried them.

Drunken Veggie Fajitas

After having some fajitas in California with just a hint of tequila in them I couldn't resist but try them out on my own. You could most certainly omit this ingredient if you like.

Pumpkin and black bean enchiladas

This enchilada sauce is super simple and (check your ingredients) gluten and soy free! Winning! You could use it as a substitute for any enchilada recipe you like.

Looking at this I am thinking I will be making ALL of these in my near future....perhaps I shouldn't blog while hungry.

Other ideas....

Nachos - This is another really simple idea, use beans you've made or if you must use canned check out Amy's brand organic refried beans. Let family members add their favorite toppings, jalapeños, avocados, olives, diced onion, grilled veggies....you get the idea. You can make it as simple or elaborate as you like.

Seven layer bean dip....or seven layer bean dip casserole Once again, you can totally customize this to suit your families needs.

Tamales! If you have access to tamales go for it. Be they from your freezer, your favorite restaurant, or your local farmers market (If this is the case I don't wan to hear about it, I'm so jealous you don't even know). Serve with beans and rice.

...No fooling.....I seriously just took a break to make some chips and dip....alright...I'm settled again...

Mexican "pizza"

You can easily make your own Mexican pizza in the toaster oven. Brush a corn tortilla with olive oil and toast until crispy. Add toppings such as refried beans, salsa, cheeze, cheese, and olives. Heat again until warmed through. Add more toppings such as chopped tomatoes, lettuce, onion, jalapeños...etc. This has always been a favorite in our house, it's quick, easy, and an excellent meal on a hot day as it doesn't require the use of an oven.

Now that I've made the decision that much harder for myself, I'd love to know what you are planning on making.

To my readers

Dear neglectarinos,


My poor blog, my poor readers. You all deserve a big apology, sprinkled liberally with some explanation (and a smidgen of excuses). I've been pretty absent ever since the start of this pregnancy, and I'm grateful beyond words for those of you who have continued to stop by and read my recipes. Thank you so much.


When I started this blog I was unsure of what I wanted to do with it, and where I wanted to go. I can tell you the sirens call of advertising and racking up readers has tempted me more than once. Neither of those are bad things, but I felt I should have an idea of where I was going before I started on that road. I think I mentioned that in my early blog days I was contacted by a website that wanted me to do an online vegetarian cooking show. I am not what you would call 'camera friendly'. I sweat and shake profusely when forced to talk in front of people, even in casual settings. If you are lucky I would make it off camera before vomiting......that would be a lot of luck. As much as "girl who makes a curry then vomits" would be a youtube hit I'm sure, I just didn't think I was ready for that kind of fame. Before coming to any conclusion on the matter one way or another, I deleted the email on accident......sigh.


The point of that confession being this, as much as having a cool company to back me in advertising, or the fame that would come with being "that vegetarian girl that vomits while cooking", what really warms my heart, and what makes me feel like I've accomplished something is hearing from you! When I hear that a child has tried a new veggie as a result of my blog, or that someone has made and liked one of my recipes or discovered a love for a meal without meat I'm overjoyed. That's why I will continue on with my blog, sporadic as it may be.


I'm not sure if I've complained about it on here or not yet, but we've been busy. After being away from home for quite a while we came back to pick up the pieces from stormageddon 2011. Our losses were nowhere near as much as some of our neighboring towns in the recent storms, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes and their family members. We did however loose part of our chimney, a little of our fence, and our ENTIRE fridge and freezer contents. Anyone with children with allergies knows you need freezer meals, especially with a new little one on the way. So I have been busy in the kitchen restocking our freezer, and hoping, and praying that we don't lose power again before baby number three makes it's appearance. Meanwhile my two big kids are fighting off a stomach flu, and pneumonia/sinusitis, I fully expect them to trade illnesses by the end of the week. In short, I've been cooking, but not uploading photos, or properly documenting, and I don't expect to have any consistent blog routine set up again anytime soon as there are more pressing matters at hand.


I'd like to once again thank all of you. I have plenty of old recipes I'd like to invite you to try out, as well as the lovely ladies over on the right somewhere who have their own blogs that they post on quite a bit more frequently than I do. I'd also like to say that I'm working through about 600 emails in my inbox right now, I'm working on those as well. I do plan to continue when time allows. Baby sparkles is due May 25th, and you may see me once or twice before then, most certainly once in a while after that.

Sincerely,
Mama

Creamy Garlicky Asparagus Soup

No picture tonight, but I wanted to get this recipe up before Easter because I think it would make a super yummy addition to any Easter dinner. This soup was souper (hehehe) flavorful, and other than that, what sets it apart from other asparagus soups? For one it's vegan, and two it pairs really well with homemade croutons or garlic rubbed crostini. I think next time I make it, I may prepare it like french onion soup with the big hunk o' crusty bread on top. Usually I would have used olive oil, but I bought some soy free Earth Balance to use for baked goods, so I decided to use some in this soup.

What you need

1 bunch asparagus washed and trimmed

1 peeled baked potato

2 tbs butter, "butter", or olive oil

1 diced onion

3 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 cups veggie broth (I used low sodium)

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add trimmed asparagus and boil until tender. Mine took about 6 minutes.

Drain and set aside.

In the now empty pot melt two tablespoons of "butter" or olive oil over medium low heat and add the diced onion, salt, and pepper. Cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook one to two minutes more, taking care not to burn.

Remove from heat.

Place asparagus, potato, and onion mixture into your food processor and blend until smooth slowly adding veggie broth.

Pour into a pot and stir in coconut milk, salt, and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve along side crusty bread.

I'm an asparagus purest. I usually like it grilled, or sauteed with light flavors like butter and lemon. I was truly worried that I wouldn't do the asparagus justice and would regret pureeing the daylights out of it. However, I really enjoyed this dish, and so did the hubster and kiddos. I will be making it again.

What's on your menu this Easter?

Drunken Veggie Fajitas

Here you can see that I used mostly sweet potatoes and onions for these fajitas. Also pictured; refried black beans, smashed avocado, and the fact that I still don't know how to work a camera in a way that results in aesthetically pleasing food.....a fact that I'm not all too concerned about to be honest.

These veggies came out very flavorful, a lot of tang from the lime, some sweetness, a little heat from the cayenne, and a bite of tequila. The marinade makes quite a bit because I had to add more lime juice and tequila after a rather unfortunate kitchen catastrophe...you will understand when you get to that part of the recipe. Still it came out rather good in my opinion. The only thing I would change is to maybe add a clove of garlic next time. Served with some corn tortillas (you can use flour if you like), black beans, Spanish rice, mashed up avocado, and some lime and cilantro sour cream this was a complete and super tasty meal that was thoroughly enjoyed.

Fajita Marinade

What you need

3/4 cups lime juice

4 tbs tequila

1 tbs bruised cilantro (press the cilantro with the back of a spoon to bruise and infuse cilantroy goodness into the marinade)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tbs brown sugar

more salt and cayenne to taste

What to do

Whisk together all ingredients and pour over veggies. Stir to coat. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Using a slotted spoon transfer veggies from container to grill or frying pan and cook until done. Add salt and cayenne to taste a few minutes before veggies are fully cooked.

What I did

Whisk together all ingredients except 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1 tbs tequila. Pour over veggies in a sealable* but non airtight container you friggen idiot. Proceed to shake, and turn container upside down.....aaaaahhhhnd panic a little as you watch your marinade run all over the counter. Collect yourself, add an extra 1/4 cup lime juice and an extra tablespoon of tequila. Breath.....it's going to be ok.....dinner will be super tasty anyway.

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do here, but I'm going to strongly recommend you try this recipe out by following the first of the two examples.

*Why isn't that in the dictionary? It should totally be a word, I know what it means...I should add it. Also on my list 'cilantroy', both are pretty high priority to be scrabble valid words if you ask me.

P.S. I missed you. :)

P.P.S. Formal apology, hormonal ranting, and gushy complimenting to follow.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dessert Quesadilla

I <3>

You will need fresh tortillas for this, they are not super easy to find everywhere. Though these are cooked, they will need to be cooked again to achieve the brown "puffy" look of regular store bought flour tortillas. If you are in California you will probably be able to find them in your supermarket, in other states try a Mexican grocery store if you have access, check out local restaurants, or complain, whine and moan at your grocery store manager until they give in and find some for you.

`

I used a dark chocolate spread that I got at World Market for this dessert quesadilla. I like it because it happens to be dairy free, and peanut free... and delicious. You may remember it from an earlier (not so nut free) post of mine.* The jar says it may contain traces of some nuts, but thankfully we don't have to worry about trace amounts. You can use Nutella if you like, but I'm pretty positive Nutella contains nuts and dairy......so that's a no no for us right now.

All you have to do is heat some butter or "butter" in a pan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and hot add the tortilla, it may sputter and bubble a little, that will give it some nice golden brown spots. If your tortilla starts to burn, or you have molten butter flying all over the kitchen, please turn down the heat. Add a spoonful or two of dark chocolate spread (or whatever you happen to be using) and as it starts to melt spread it out to cover the tortilla. If I had chocolate chips I might have tossed a few in there for extra chocolaty goodness at this point. When your tortilla is cooked, and your chocolate is melty and gooey add strawberry slices to one half of the tortilla add a drizzle of honey (optional) and fold in half. Viola, you are ready to dig in.

This was enjoyed by all (was there any doubt?). I can't wait to use other filling combinations. I love the fact that it's a super quick, super tasty, egg free dessert that we can all enjoy. If you want to fancy it up a bit you could serve it with ice cream, or coconut ice "cream". This is one circumstance where I would opt for fake butter instead of an olive oil substitution to make this vegan. Also important to note you should be looking for tortillas that don't contain lard.

Update: Oops! Upon further examination I didn't use this chocolate spread in my earlier recipe. I used chunks of chocolate...still a good recipe though, and worth checking it out. I'm leaving the link in. :)

I will not get sick(er) sandwich : avocado, artichoke, and spinach oh my!

I'm still alive. I'm still cooking. We have just been in transition mode for a while. First off we had to clear out the fridge for a vacation. Now, actually on vacation, I've been doing much less cooking. Above and beyond that, I have been doing next to no picture taking, which results in (as you may have noticed).....no blogging. For those of you here to hear about the sandwich feel free to scroll to the last paragraph where you will find what I'm sure is at the forefront of your mind (as it is usually in mine)...food.

Also.......have I mentioned this....

Certainly not the finest picture of me on the interwebs.........certainly not the worst. Yes amongst the packing, traveling, unpacking, settling in, getting sick and getting better I have also (not so) patiently been biding my time awaiting the day when I can bend freely and cough without wetting myself...in other words, I'M HAVING A BABY!!!!!! :)

Perhaps you remember back in October when I hurt my arm. This was directly followed by morning sickness of doom and a sharp decrease in blogging. Well I'm feeling better now, but I'm not in my kitchen. I am not sure how much blogging you will see in the next few months as I rely on things I can make with few ingredients, but I felt you all deserved a heads up. Thank you so much for reading! You have no idea how it warms my heart to hear of people cooking and enjoying my recipes or discovering new veggies they thought they didn't like. Please hang in there while life happens and expect to see me getting back into the swing of things after the little nursling is born and has started eating only 10 times a day instead of 12....should be somewhere around October.

Now for that sandwich. My little ones had been booger faced (you are hungry now right?) and cranky for a few days when I determined not to get sick......I failed....however, the cold didn't hit me nearly as hard as it did everyone else....that may not have anything to do with this sandwich, but it sure was tasty. Definitely worth a try. I also ate plenty of citrus and loaded up on water.*

I took two pieces of bread and toasted them in the toaster oven. If you are using butter (or "butter) you will want to add it after the bread is toasted. If using olive oil you can brush it on ahead of time. I sprinkled one clove of fresh (not jarred) chopped garlic on the bread and spread on some artichoke spread. Then I added thick slices of avocado, seasoned with salt and pepper, and topped the whole thing with heaping handfuls of baby spinach. Voila. If you are not sick, and would prefer a more understated sandwich you could certainly add the garlic before cooking so that it cooks up a bit and you don't get that raw garlic bite. Add cheeze or cheese if you like, but I think this veggie filled sandwich is pretty good as is.

*I am not a doctor....(though you might find me dressed as one at Sci-fi conventions but that's besides the point) more importantly I am not your doctor. I am not qualified to diagnose or treat you, I am qualified to make you a super tasty sandwich. Though I don't feel this needs to be said, if you are dying go to a doctor......you can read my blog later.

P.S. I did notice all the horrific run on sentences and other errors when I read through this. I felt since it has been a month since I last posted, and because I don't know when I'll get another long stretch of free time....I had better just hit that publish button now, and work on that later (maybe...you know me). So here we go....