Spicy, Smokey Tomatillo Salsa

Smoky, Spicy Tomatillo Salsa Verde  

Recipe here, by Rita~ at Food.com.

TRY IT, you will NOT be disappointed!!

This had to have been one of the BEST homemade salsas I've EVER tasted.  Not only is this gorgeously green, refreshing and FULL of flavor, but it is so easy to make as well.

Because I was making this for a party, and was not sure the heat tolerance of all of the guests, I used  one (1) whole habanero, but only HALF of the seeds.  It was great, just the right hint of heat at the end.  Now that I've tasted it once, I know I can use the whole habanero; seeds and all, without it being too spicy.  The fresh herbs REALLY make this something else.  I LOVE cilantro, but the addition of fresh basil is simply PERFECT.  There was not a DROP of this left and everyone asked for the recipe.

I have seen quite a few roasted tomatillo salsa recipes here on Vegan MOFO, which I am dying to try because I love this one so...  If you have any you would like to recommend, spicy OR mild, please send them my way ^_^

LOL, a little home town team fun!

Taco Time

So, any excuse to bust out my new tortilla press, and I am ALL over it!!  I found a bag of Masa corn flour in the grocery store a while back, and decided to attempt home made corn tortillas.

The only problem was that, at this time, I did NOT own a tortillas press.  We (L, and myself) decided we could hand roll them... (heh, heh). WELL.. we did hand roll them, which was a giant pain in the asparagus, BUT they tasted so flippin AMAZING that I vowed to pick up a press next time I saw one...

Fast forward a month or two... Thank you, Kathy, (my Chili Cookoff friend)! I now have a $9.99 Tortilla press, and can make beautiful shaped tortillas like the ones in the pic below:

SO, last Saturday was lunch with an old friend, and instead of meeting up at Garden Grill (our usual) I decided to make us a Mexican Lunch at home.  I went a bit overboard, as usual, and made enough food for an army. Thankfully L joined us for lunch too, so my spread did not look SO ridiculously abundant for two.

Menu
Salsa de Arbol from the El Paso Veg Snob's blog
While browsing all the new and exciting Vegan Mofo posts, one can get slightly overwhelmed.  I saw this salsa post and was intrigued by the used of dried Arbol chilies (I have a big bag of them in my pantry and they are nice and spicy)! The directions stated 4-9 dried chilies. Not wanting to use the mere minimum, but not sure if my guests would be up for NINE chilies, I split the difference so-to-speak and went for five.  Good stuff! A nice, simple, tasty and fresh salsa with just the hint of spicy kick.

Cashew Crema from Viva Vegan!
I don't know why I haven't tried this sooner, what a complete and utter FOOL I've been.  I occasionally buy Tofutti sour cream, and have dabbled in making my own vegan sour cream varieties, too.  But I tell you Terry's Cashew Crema blows them ALL out of the water!!  It's so thick, rich and tangy, absolutely perfect for topping any part of a Mexican feast!  My omni better-half is a die hard sour cream fanatic.  SO much that, when I order a dish out in a restaurant that comes with sour cream, I have them leave it OFF my plate and give it to her.  Needless to say, sometimes the dairy free sour cream options are less than impressive to someone who is looking for the actual "cream" that is sour cream.  Tofutti works okay... but I like home made stuff, and so far my attempts at tofu based non-dairy sour creams have not quite lived up to her expectations...

THIS ONE DOES!  It is GORGEOUS!! ^_^

I mean, just LOOK at how lovely and thick it is.

I was fortunate enough to see Terry do a cooking demo at the Worcester VegFest, and the beloved Cashew Crema was featured on top of her CHIPOTLE, SEITAN, AND POTATO TACOS, which we all got to taste (my favorite part)!

CILANTRO LIME RICE:  I'm a big fan of serving rice alongside of my Mexican meals.  I wanted something simple, yet flavorful, so instead of my usual recipe for Mexican Rice, which is a bit involved, I decided to try something new. 

Viva Vegan strikes again with CILANTRO LIME RICE! Terry's tip: "This rice works well with rice cookers".  *SOLD* One less pan on the stove! I doubled the recipe, and used basmati rice because I love it so.  Threw everthing into my rice cooker and hit the start button.

I came out perfect! The lime zest and juice really add a great fresh flavor to the rice.  Stir in some chopped scallion and cilantro at the end, and you are good to go!

Mango Fruit Salsa

Last month, I attended my friend Jess' Pampered Chef Party!  Usually, I am not one for "overly-specific" kitchen gadgets, but any party that involves food, and is centered all around cooking is fine by me!

(In all fairness, I do have quite a few Pampered Chef items, and I use them ALL the time; Some, almost every day). 

Almost can't live with out this!

I had so much fun at Jess' party, that I decided to have one of my own: VEGAN style!  My Pampered chef consultant was rather excited to do an all vegan version of her Pampered Chef demo, especially since she had never done anything like that before.  We decided on two recipes:  Mango Fruit Salsa, to highlight the new Manual Food Processor, and Mediterranean Hummus Flat bread Pizza - no cheese needed!

This salsa recipe is so simple to prepare,  and tastes wonderful. I even made this for two cookouts this Fourth of July, and it was a huge both times.

Don't worry if you don't have the Pampered Chef manual food processor. I find that I can dice the fruit with my knife just fine, and it even comes out a little neater looking; The manual food processor just saves time. Please feel free to use lemon OR lime, for juice and zest. I've used both, and they both work well. Depending on the sweetness of the fruit, I add agave nectar to taste, no more than 1 tbsp usually. Serve with Stacey's Cinnamon Sugar pita chips, or your own home made pita chips. This is also amazing served over ice cream! I believe 1/2 cup salsa = 2 Weight Watchers Points

RECIPE:

1 cup strawberry, hulled and diced
1 kiwi, peeled and diced
1 mango, ripe
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
agave nectar, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. If not using the Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor, try and chop your fruit into uniform 1/4 - 1/2" cubes.
2. For the mango, I usually peel the skin off first with my vegetable peeler, and chop a small slice off the top and bottom. That way it stays flat on my board as I slice around the pit.
3. The pit of the mango is large and flat. When you slice off a bit of the top and bottom, you can see its shape. I usually cut down the two wide sides of the mango first, and then carefully slice down the thinner sides to make sure I get all of the beautiful yellow mango off the pit.
4. Ripe mango is very slippery, so carefully slice fruit and dice into cubes.
5. Add all fruit to a large bowl.
6. Add lime (or lemon) zest and juice.
7. Taste, and add agave nectar, up to 1 tablespoons.
8. Serve with cinnamon pita chips.



My gift for hosting a show was this awesome Cool 'N Serve Tray, that has two green panels that you can put in the freezer. When you take your yummy salsa to a cookout in the sun, your fruits and veggies stay nice and cool ^_^

Artichoke Olive Salsa

This recipe came in the weekly emails I receive from the Meatless Monday website. It sounded so delicious I just had to try it. It's really easy, and looks gorgeous.  Perfect as a starter to an Italian or Mediterranean themed meal. Serve with crusty bread or pitas, or as a topping for bruscetta.

Ingredients: (serves 6)


1 (14 ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons red onions, minced
1/4 cup kalamata olive, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 -2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
 
Directions:
Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 10 mins

1. Mix the artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red onion, olives, garlic and basil together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add enough olive oil so that the salsa reaches desired consistency.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving.