Sweet Potatoes and Greens

I have been procrastinating about making this dish for a couple of weeks. I found it in the People magazine of all things! My sister came over for a visit today and she dove in and helped me with the prep (which was pretty pathetically minimal at best) and we created this masterpiece! We just couldn't get enough of it. The whole dish was wiped out tonight!

2 or 3 large sweet potatoes
2 bunches of greens (chard, kale or collards)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used like 4)
juice of half of 1 lemon
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
salt and pepper
1/4 T. olive or vegetable oil (we added a little sesame oil for fun)

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into bite-size pieces. (The size of the pieces is less important than making them uniform).

Heat half the oil in pan over medium heat and add potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just brown on all sides and soft. (About 12-15 minutes, depending on size. If the potatoes become very dark before they are soft, reduce heat.) When they are cooked, add spices and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, wash the greens (do not dry), remove stems and cut leaves into small pieces. Heat remaining oil over medium heat, add the garlic and cook for a minute before adding greens. Stir often and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine potatoes, honey and lemon juice with the greens, stir and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Black Bean Enchiladas with Warm Salsa Verde

The twins and I whipped this together in no time flat. It was pretty fun working together in the kitchen with them. What's more? Yeah, it was pretty frickin awesome!

Enchiladas:
8 soft corn tortillas (we used like 10-11)
1 recipe black bean filling
1 recipe warm salsa verde
10-1/2 oz. grated vegan Mexican cheeses

Black bean filling:
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained but not rinsed (whoops, we drained ours, it was great regardless)
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbs. tomato paste
Coarse salt to taste

Warm Salsa Verde:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, grated or minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 14-oz can vegetable stock
1 tsp. ground cumin
coarse salt to taste
1 ripe avacado
Chopped fresh oregano leaves from 1 or 2 stems (optional)

Directions:
1. To make enchiladas: Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil, and heat in oven at 275F until fillings and sauce are ready.
2. To make black bean filling: heat oil in large skillet, and add garlic. Grate onion into pan with a hand grater (I just threw mine in the food processor). Add jalapeno. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add beans, and mash with back of a fork. Stir in cumin and tomato paste, and season with salt.
3. To make warm salsa verde: Place tomatillos in a food processor, and pulse to a coarsely ground paste.
4. Heat garlic in oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. When garlic begins to sizzle, grate onion with a hand grater directly into pan (um, food processor again for me). Add jalapeno. Heat onion and jalapeno through for 1-2 iminutes, and add ground tomatillos. Simmer tomatillos with onion for 5 minutes. Add stock and seasonings.
5. Halve avocado with skin on by cutting in and down to the pit all around avocado. Separate avacado halves, and scoop out pit with a large spoon. Scoop flesh out of skins and into pot. Mash with back of a fork. Stir avocado into sauce to thicken it (at this point, I put it all in the Vitamix and blended it). Return sauce to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to warm until enchiladas are assembled.
6. Preheat broiler
7. Scoop some sauce onto bottom of a casserole dish or shallow serving platter. To make an enchilada, place 1-2 scoops of filling down center of a tortilla, and roll. Place filled tortillas seam side down into sauce on platter or casserole. Line up tortillas, one next to another, and top with remaining sauce and grated cheeses. Melt cheeses under broiler and serve immediately with warm salsa verde. (I just poured the salsa verde over the enchiladas and then put the cheese over the top and broiled it - it was pretty fantastic and easier).

Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps

We had this for dinner tonight. The twins snarfed every bite and went back for more. I didn't put in the extra chili sauce because the hoisin sauce was spicy enough for them. Skip would have preferred the more spicier version, I'm sure. Anyway, I scored this yummy recipe from my Vegetarian Times magazine.

Filling:
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbs. minced lemongrass
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. extra-firm tofu, crumbled
1 8-oz. can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
4 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
4 Tbs. hoisin sauce
1-2 tsp. vegetarian chile sauce
16 butter lettuce leaves

Garnishes:
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts
Hoisin and chile sauces

1. To make Filling: Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, lemongrass, and garlic, and cook 7-10 minutes, or until onions are soft and beginning to brown. Add tofu and water chestnuts, breaking tofu into small crumbles; cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and chile sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl.

2. Place lettuce leaves on platter, and set out garnishes in small serving bowls. Let guests wrap tofu mixture in lettuce leaves, and top with their choice of garnishes.