Bean and Potato Burritos

This was inspired by my husband's random cravings of Taco Bell's meat and potato burritos (minus the meat, sub beans). It is also was inspired by his own delicious burritos (minus lots of frying oil, sub hearty veggies).

When Ethan was the burrito-maker in our house, he would use a can of refried beans which he would heat until hot and creamy. He would then add salsa and sometimes olives and spinach when stocked in our pantry. Then he would cover a stainless steel skillet with sesame oil and bring to a high heat and fry the burritos. I thought, "How can I make a healthier and delicious version of these two different burritos?" So...

INGREDIENTS:
2 all-purpose potatoes, scrubbed and diced into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, peeled and sliced or diced into bite-size pieces (optional)
1 small onion, roughly chopped (optional)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (optional)
One 15 oz can of refried beans (I prefer black beans)
1 package of whole wheat tortillas
salsa, lettuce, olives, avocado (optional toppings)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9"x13" baking dish, spread potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in a single layer. Coat with a thin layer of olive oil and salt and pepper. (You can just use potatoes, and it will still be delicious.) Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once in between. Meanwhile, chop and prepare toppings and start heating beans. Begin warming tortillas on a very lightly oiled nonstick skillet just before the potatoes are done. Once all is roasted and/or warmed, begin assembling burritos. Per tortilla, spread a heaping spoonful of each of the following: beans, salsa and roasted veggies. Tuck in ends and roll the burrito. Place burritos seam down on the skillet to slightly brown (about 3 minutes per side). Flip once. I can usually fit three burritos in my skillet at a time.

I often do the quesadilla version shared at the end of the double-decker tempeh taco recipe for my three-year-old for the recipe.

I also have started roasting veggies for my 11 month-old minus the spices. He loves them.

Makes four burritos and one quesadilla, as well as leftovers for a snack or lunch.

Cold Press!

My newest homemade vice is cold press. I am loving it so hard. I was determined to create a cold press that I would crave and could replace my yearning to walk to a coffee shop and treat myself to ice coffee. I searched for some concoctions around the blog world and found the one for me.

Using the grounds to cold water ratio I found on VillageCoffeeCafe I seemed to have found my match. To make life even simpler, I use my french press. Now I don't have to wash it every day, but I make a batch of cold press concentrate and it lasts me most of the week.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup coarsely ground french roast coffee beans (or other bean of your choice)
4 1/2 cups cold water

Step 1 - place beans and water in french press. Stir. Leave overnight. I throw this together after dinner, so I don't forget. I'm often in a dazed coma after the babes are sleeping.

Step 2 - press in the morning and pour into a storage container. I just use a good ol' Kerr canning jar.

Step 3 - drink it! What you've made is a concentrate. First, fill your glass with ice (coffee ice cubes if you're an over-achiever) then fill half way with soy milk, milk, or water. Then continue to fill your cup with cold press. I enjoy a drizzle of pure maple syrup to sweeten.

As I tell my nearly 3-year-old, "Coffee makes me a good mommy."

Enjoy!

Tamale Pie

I bought Cathe Olson's The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook near the end of my first pregnancy after finding her Tamale Pie recipe on the Mothering website. Finding this recipe was my gateway to the most-used cookbook in my life. The recipes are incredibly easy, simple, healthy and delicious. She offers great tips ranging from how to eat in different stages of pregnancy to time-savers in the kitchen that really work and still stray from genetically modified and processed foods. At least three, if not more, meals a week are made from this book in my house.

I enjoy serving this with lettuce drizzled with salsa and a side of roasted potatoes. Follow the link for her Tamale Pie recipe. How I roast my pots follows.

INGREDIENTS:
5-6 small potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces
olive oil to drizzle
salt, pepper and oregano to taste

Place potatoes in a 9"x13" baking dish - just enough to cover the entire pan with a single layer of pots. Drizzle with olive oil to evenly coat. Spring with salt (1/2 tsp), pepper (1 tsp) and oregano (1 tsp) to taste.

Place in oven with Tamale Pie. Stir once halfway through. Continue to roast while the pie rests for a total baking time of 40 minutes.

Double-Decker Tempeh Tacos

This meal was inspired by a friend that once made tempeh tacos while Ethan happened to be hanging out at his house. Ethan came home sharing what he had eaten, and tacos were totally transformed in our home - tempeh with taco seasoning!

The double-decker part was absolutely inspired by good ol' Taco Bell. My generation has quite the comfort food relationship with T.B. (as Ethan and I endearingly call it.) When we were teenagers, that's what we could afford. When we were in college, it is where we found ourselves at 2am.

I LOVE putting a twist on comfort food that has little trace of nutritional value and creating something that is a powerhouse of healthy and even more satisfying in taste.

Since it is nearly impossible for a toddler to fit his mouth around this monster taco, there is a quesadilla version included.

Makes about 8 double-deckers and 2 quesadillas

INGREDIENTS:

Tacos
One 8 oz. package of tempeh, diced
2 cups vegetarian refried beans (we're in love with refried black beans)
2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach (optional)
One package of hard shell tacos (recommend you rock the blue corn taco shells)
One package of small soft shells (Ezekial 4:9 Sprouted Grain is outstanding)

Seasoning (adapted from a recipe in Vegetarian Times)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
few good twists of freshly ground pepper

Optional toppings
olives, avocado, salsa, vegan sour cream

Place tempeh in skillet with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook on medium-high heat and stir occasionally until tempeh is browned (5-10 minutes.) Combine seasoning spices and add to tempeh along with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Add optional spinach. Turn heat to low and stir occasionally to help wilt spinach and leave until ready to assemble tacos. Meanwhile, heat refried beans in a small saucepan. Also, warm hard and soft taco shells in the oven or toaster oven. These steps can all be done simultaneously. You will likely be sitting at the table in less than 30 minutes devouring your tacos.

To assemble, spread beans on soft shell. Insert hard shell. Add tempeh and spinach and dress with your desired toppings.

Want to make a Kiddie Quesadilla!?!

Spread beans on one soft shell. Add tempeh and spinach. Add a couple thin slices of cheese along with a drizzle of salsa. Slap on another soft shell. Heat in same skillet you browned the tempeh in (just do a quick wipe down and add a teeny bit of oil.) Flip once! Cut in triangles sprinkled with desired toppings.

Crazy quick. Crazy hearty. Crazy tasty.

PS - the leftovers are an awesome chip dip snack.

Mother's Day...Four Days Late

I'm always a mixed bag on Mother's Day. I don't know what to expect and often think I end up expecting too much. That being said...this year was overall an extremely busy yet satisfying Mother's Day. I spent time with my mother-in-law digging in the dirt learning how to beautify my greenspace. I am so thankful to have her teaching me. I also shared the weekend with my own mother who spent most of the time caring for my boys. I truly believe having children when your own parents are fit to help care for them is one of the smartest ways to survive parenting young children. I don't know if I would still be standing without her being able to save me from time to time.

Since Mother's Day, I've also spent a lot of time wondering what it means to be a mom...and more specifically a "good" mom. After a minor meltdown this week, I escaped to Common Roots and picked up the current issue of Women'sPress. I actually read it front to back while sitting alone and eating at my own pace. It seemed like a gift from beyond. I also decided to put together a little list of books about motherhood that I am determined to read by the end of this year to help me gain some perspective. If you have read them or end up reading them, let me know what you think.

1. Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman (Thanks, Sara, for the recommendation.)
2. Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl (This has no subtext in regards to my own mother. :) I could only pray my children still like me nearly as much as I like and love my mom at 28.)
3. Momfulness by Denise Roy (Thanks, Wilhelmina, for the recommendation. I'm trying to integrate some of her tips into my life.)
4. The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittenden (I'm scared this will infuriate me. At least I'll read it during a presidency where the president works like a woman.)

Happy Mother's Day (four days late) to all you moms.

Lentil Bolognese

This is one of my all-time faves. It is sooooo incredibly hearty. It makes an enormous pot of food - at the very least eight, heaping servings. It also has very little hands-on time.

This is great to share with meat-eaters. I have found that lentils, especially when simmered with tomatoes, can be the most reminiscent of hamburger. However, I never feel like I'm eating hamburger which would turn me off. So! It's a pleaser for all types of eaters.

I stay very true to the recipe with the exception of using a small green bell pepper rather than celery (one of very few vegetables my husband dislikes). I also use about a tablespoon of dried basil rather than fresh in the fall, winter and spring. I will also throw in a generous pinch of red pepper flakes. We omit the cheese.

Enjoy the feast!

Quinoa Rocks My Face Off

I have recently fallen in love with Quinoa. I can buy it in bulk. It cooks at what seems like the speed of lightning in comparison to brown rice. And...it is a SUPER FOOD for us vegans and vegetarians (well, actually for everyone)!

Here are some of my favorite ways to eat and serve quinoa.

Baby Food!
As seen above, I've recently begun serving quinoa to my ten-month-old son. In this photo it is mixed with one cube zucchini and one cube butternut squash. I cook it a bit longer than usual - at least fifteen minutes. I can still freeze it in cubes; however, it does loosen up once you transfer it to a freezer bag. I've learned to keep the bag flat in the freezer or in the covered ice-cube tray.

Quinoa Chowder
My family really enjoys this from Cucina Nicolina. It cooks up very quickly and has a very deep, earthy flavor.

Enchiladas
Vegetarian Times Fast and Easy has a great enchilada recipe that is basically quinoa, corn and zucchini as the filler. It is really hearty and a great enchilada recipe for the spring and summer.

I strongly encourage you to go out and grab some quinoa and experiment with it this week. I'm sure you won't regret it.

Strawberry Maple Oatmeal

Well, my last post was about oatmeal...so, why not write about it again! We eat it every day for breakfast, so I would like to think we've got it figured out.

Spring has basically arrived, but the mornings are still chilly and warm breakfast is what seems right. I noticed about two weeks ago that strawberries were making a re-appearance at the co-op at a fair, in-season price. I felt odd grabbing a container, since I was still wearing socks. I felt like I was cheating and that it was still winter. Last weekend, I gave in. I bought some strawberries, and it has been a wonderful treat.

Here is our "it's not really winter, but not really summer" breakfast. Again, this feeds one hungry mama and one hungry toddler. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 and 3/4 cups liquid (I do have soy milk and half water)
1 (overflowing) cup rolled oats
4 strawberries, rinsed and sliced
pure maple syrup for drizzling

In a medium saucepan, bring liquid to a boil. Stir in oats (you can add less or more depending on how thick you like it.) Lower heat to a mild boil. Cook for five minutes.

Dish oatmeal into bowls. Add strawberries and a drizzle of pure maple syrup - I use about one teaspoon for myself and a half teaspoon for my son.