Cilantro Chutney

My work with UCSF and our study on how yoga can improve female pelvic health is going amazingly well. But the drive is...exhausting. It's ironic that this journey to teach yoga is hell on my body. I spent most of the weekend a kind of tired, sleepy, deranged zombie mom. Thankfully my husband is extra nurturing at times like these, and even took the kids to the pool so I could catch a nap.

In anticipation of my busy week ahead, I spent most of the day in the kitchen cooking up various Indian dishes so I could make myself a little thali lunch each day. Thali is a meal made up of small portions of various dishes. I made potatoes in yogurt sauce, dal (spiced lentils), garbanzo beans with spinach and a tomato/spinach masala with paneer.

But by far the best thing I made today was this cilantro chutney. It's screamingly good and so so simple. You can use it as a salad dressing, or as a sauce for tacos or, like me, as a side to your Indian dishes.

Ingredients:
1 head of cilantro
1/2 of an onion
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 serrano chili
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
water

Heat the coconut oil in a pan and toast the seeds for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then combine the seeds, coconut oil and the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Add water to get desired consistency. Place in a jar with a tight fitting lid and store up to 1 week.

Vegan Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

When pumpkins go on sale, I go a little crazy. You see, I can't buy just one. My head filled with the dreams of muffins, cakes, pies, enchiladas, soups, stews, curries...I just can't help but load the cart full of at least 4 or 5 sugar pumpkins. Some of it will end up in recipes right away, and some of it will end up in the freezer, but the first step is to roast the pumpkin.

 

First cut the stem off. This will allow you to slice the pumpkin in half much easier and without so much risk to life and limb. Pull the top off and set aside.

 

Then, using a large, sharp knife, cut down one side until you reach the bottom. It will probably not want to cut through the base, don't worry about that. Cut along the other side until you meet resistance.

 

 

Then, using your hands, pull the two sides apart. They should break right through that tricky bottom that wouldn't cut.

 

 

Scoop the seeds out and set aside for roasting later. (I am actually mildly allergic to pumpkin, when I touch the inside it makes my skin itchy and red, so Jordan is here to the rescue!)

 

 Place on an oiled cookie sheet, face down, and cook for 40-60 minutes, or until soft. Let cool.

  Scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin, discarding the skin. From here you can puree it to be used in your recipe of choice.

For the soup, you will need:

2 cups of cooked black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1/2 Tbsp of cumin
1 Tbsp of chili powder (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
about 3 cups of broth
half of one roasted sugar pie pumpkin

In a large stockpot, heat a few tablespoons of oil. Over medium/high heat saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add in the spices and cook, stirring, another minute or so, until fragrant.  Stir in the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine your cooked pumpkin flesh and the broth. Puree until smooth. Stir into the chili and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the spices as necessary. Serve hot.

Green Goddess Edamame Chili

Treat yourself to a big bowl of green goodness! I was a little worried this recipe would be too spicy for my littles, but it came out quite mild.

Ingredients:

1 jar salsa verde (we were lucky to have some homemade in the freezer)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 pasilla peppers, chopped
1 tbsp. of fresh minced ginger
5 stalks of celery, chopped
2 bags of shelled edamame
3 cups of vegetable broth
salt to taste
2 large handfuls of fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
avocado and lime, for garnish

Saute the green onion, garlic, celery, ginger and peppers until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add in broth and salsa verde and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in spinach and cilantro until wilted. Spoon chili over cooked brown rice. Top with avocado and a squeeze of lime.

Chili Rellenos with Garlicky Beans and Chili-Scented Greens

This was the first time I've attempted Chili Rellenos and I have to say they came out quite perfect! They taste like a tortilla-free enchilada. Even the smallest natives ate to their hearts' content. The best approval there is!

Chili Rellenos

1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
5 mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
10 poblano peppers, roasted and peeled (these come canned and pre-peeled as well)
15 slices jack or cheddar cheese (or about 1-2 cups shredded)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
1 large jar of green sauce
1/2 cup of sliced olives

Saute the onion, zucchini, mushrooms and spices until soft. Then spread the mixture on the bottom of a glass-bottom baking dish.

Stuff, carefully, each pepper with 1/2 slice of cheese (again, you can use shredded, but slices are easier to handle here). Then coat each pepper in the egg wash, followed by a coating of bread crumbs and lie carefully on top of the onion mixture. Continue until all peppers are stuffed and coated.

Bake at 425 for 12 minutes. Then remove the pan of chilis from the oven and top with enough green sauce to cover the spaces in between (not too much on top of the chilis, but around them). Top each chili with 1/2 slice of cheese and sprinkle olives on top. Bake another 12 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

After you plate each chili, top with red salsa, cilantro and green onion, and sour cream!





Garlicky Beans

I didn't want to use too much of the same spices here, so these beans were really simple. I used canned pinto beans and cooked them in a bit of olive oil, splash of veggie broth, and sprinkled with garlic salt and pepper. Cook until hot.


Chili-Scented Greens

3 cups (or more!) of greens of your choice. I used mixed greens like mustard, collard and spinach.
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
salt and pepper

Combine greens, water and oil in a large pot and cook, over medium heat, covered, until the greens are wilted. Sprinkle with the remaining spices and mix well. Serve hot.

Vegetarian Chili over Baked Yellow Potatoes

Fall is my favorite time of year, it's filled with memories and nostalgia about halloween costumes, holiday dinners and family. Although I'm not sure it is officially autumn yet, I recently cooked up one of my family's favorite fall-ish meals. Baked potatoes and chili usually have a pretty bad rap in the world of calories and saturated fat, but this vegetarian version is the exception. It is a comfort food you can indulge in freely!

This recipe makes enough to feed five, with plenty left over to either freeze for another time or serve the next day (maybe over tortilla chips).

Potatoes
I have a favorite way of cooking baked potatoes that I learned from my friend Jake, who is a wonderful chef. Instead of microwaving them (ew!) or wrapping in foil, simply puncture the potatoes a few times with a fork, rub in olive oil and salt and cook at 400 degrees for an hour, turning once half way through. They come out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! Perfect!

Chili
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large anaheim chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped
1 pound of dried beans (your choice, I used 1/2 red beans, 1/2 pink beans)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
fresh corn, removed from cob (optional)
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups veggie broth (or water)
chili powder
cumin
garlic salt

Toppings:
your choice of:
avocado
sour cream
chives
cilantro
cheese

When making chili I always use dried beans. They are cheaper than canned (about $2.20 for a pound) and don't contain all the salt of canned beans. If you use red, pink or pinto beans they don't need overnight soaking but be sure to start them about 2.5-3 hours before you want dinner to be ready.

Rinse them and put them in a pot with lots of water (about 3x the amount of beans) bring to a boil and then remove from heat, cover and let sit for an hour. After an hour, rinse them, put in your veggie broth and can of diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Let them simmer for about 20 minutes while we work on the other steps.

Chop your veggies, saute onion, garlic and pepper until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add in a generous palmful each of chili, cumin and garlic salt. I always use more spice than I think I need, and it always comes out perfect. Adding the spices at this step will help release the flavor better than if you add it to the water.

Saute the spices/veggies for another 2 minutes or so, then add this to your simmering pot of beans. Cover and cook for about an hour, then check your beans. If they feel about 1/2 way cooked, remove the cover and let the pot simmer (to allow some of the water to cook off.)

Some people like their chili runny, others thick, the difference here will be on keeping the pot covered or uncovered. If the chili gets thick and your beans aren't quite done, you can cover them or add more water. If you are deciding to add corn to your chili (I love this, it adds color! But I didn't do it this time) you will want to add it only about 20 minutes (if raw) before the chili is done. Corn doesn't need much time to cook.

When your chili is done, top your baked potato with a generous helping of chili and add on your favorite toppings!