Black Bean Tortilla Chips

The mr has a soft spot for tortilla chips. He doesn't get chips often, but when he does it is usually the super fried, super salty, in a plastic bag, tortilla chips. And I am ok with that because it is not often and the dude deserves chips when he wants them. But I hate how crappy they are for him, especially all the salt. So much salt that I can smell it in my mouth (yes, I said that right). So, as with everything else we eat in the house, I now make chips from scratch. (Slowly I have eliminated just about everything that is pre packaged and started making it myself. I think it's pretty much just the dried pasta and the mr's yogurt and cheese that I haven't gotten to.Yet.) This way he can eat his chips and I don't have to sit there tasting the smell and thinking about the crap that he is eating.  I know I say this a lot, but lets just take a minute here and acknowledge how I really am the best girlfriend ever. 

Ok, now about these chips. I have made plan tortilla chips a few times before and figured it was time for a twist.  In come black beans. Why, because I was pretty sure beans were going to be awesome, and lo and behold, I was completely right. Adding the beans take little to no more effort then making the chips without, and bonus here, more fiber and protein and good stuff going into a chip. Then they are lightly oil, lightly salted, and eaten without any guilt because I made them and they are the best. Seriously, the mr thinks they are amazing and doesn't miss those pre package ones a bit.  And sure, they might take a little time and minimal effort, but really they are super easy and the time and effort to make them is probably no more then going into a store, waiting in line to pay, and driving home to eat your chips. You can have these chip made in that amount of time. So you might as well just make them.

To the chips. 

The stuff. Masa harnia, black beans, water, salt, and a little oil. There should be a lemon or lime here too, but I forgot to stick it into the picture. Oops. 

Pretty easy.  Add the beans to a food processor and blend untill completely smooth. Add in the masa and pulse then gradually add in water until a dough forms. Stop and feel the dough. If it feels like play dough and comes together into ball easily, then you are good. If it is to wet, add a little more masa, to dry, more water.

Dump the dough onto the counter and form into a ball. Place the doguh into a bowl and cover with a damp closer for 15-30 minutes to let the dough rest.

After the rest, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a damp cloth and cover while you are making the tortillas so they don't dry out. 

To flatten those balls into tortillas.  After doing this a bunch of times, I have a system that works the best for me.  I use a large ziplock bag (the plastic is a little thicker and easier to deal with, plus I don't use plastic wrap), a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Place a dough ball into the center of the bag then take the cutting board and press directly on top, placing all your weight onto it. It gets flat, but not flat enough so take the rolling pin and flatten some more. Then press the rolled out dough with the cutting board one last time. Carefuly remove from bag and place direrely onto a hot dry skillet. 

Cook each side 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get a few light brown spots. Once cooked, place on a plate or baking sheet. If I were just making tortillas, I would place then in between a kitchen towel to keep them warm, but because they are destined for chips and don't care. 

Black bean corn tortillas. Hey, you could stop here and make a taco or something if you need to. Feel free to use a tortilla or two before using the rest to make the into chips. 

So chips. Grab baking sheets, oil, salt, a knife, and the tortillas. Take a few of the tortillas and oil them. (The easiest way I found to do this is to rub oil on with my hands then rub the oil onto the tortillas. ) Oil 3 at a time, stacked them on top of each other and cut into 8 triangles, 

Get as many of the triangles onto a baking sheet as you can, without overlapping.  Once all nice and tight, sprinkle the tops with salt and pop them into preheated oven. 

Pull the chips out of the oven when they are crispy and done (about 10 minutes) then squeeze a little lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and pop the pan back into the oven for another minute or two just so the juice doesn't  leave the chips soggy.

Dump cooked chips  onto a wire rack to cool. Eat as you work, you deserve it.

Pile chips into a bowl, and serve with some salsa or guacamole or whatever you eat you chips with.  They are your chips. 

-C

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Black Bean Tortilla Chips 

Makes 98 chips, or like a good sized bag worth

• 2 cups masa harina 
• 1 cup cooked black beans in bean juice
• 1- 1 1/4  cups warm water
• couple teaspoons neutral oil (I used grape seed oil)
• 2-3 teaspoons salt
• A lemon or lime

Beans go into a food processor and blended until completely smooth. Add in the masa and blend, slowly adding 3/4 cups water until a dough starts to forms.  Stop and check dough. It should feel like play dough and come together easilty onto a ball. If it feel wet, add in a couple of tablespoons more of the masa. If it is still too dry and crumbly, add in more water until it's to the right consistnacey. Dump dough onto counter and form in a ball. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp towel and let sit for abut 15-30 minutes.

Preheat a skillet on medium high heat on stove.

Once dough has rested, divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place balls onto a damp towel and cover when not working with them. Grab a large ziplock bag, a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Take a dough ball and place in the center of the bag. Press down with the cutting board, placing all your weight on top. It got flat, but not flat enough. Continue to flatten out with the rolling pin until it is about  1/8 inch thick. Press again one last time with the cutting board. Gently remove from bag and place directly onto the hot skillet. Cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until it  starts to get a few light brown spot. Place cooked tortilla on a baking sheet or in between a kitchen towel. Repeat until all 12 dough balls are cooked into tortillas.

Preheat oven to 375

Working in 3's. dump a little oil onto your hand then lightly rub it all over the tortillas. Stack them on top of each other then cut into 8 wedged. Place wedges onto a baking sheet, get as many as you can onto sheet without any overlapping, then sprinkle with salt. to taste. If you have them, use multiple baking sheets.  Place in oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the chips are crispy. Remove and sprinkle lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and place back into oven for a minute or two just until lth lemon juice evaporates. Remove and dump chips onto a wire rack to cool.

Eat chips. Any left over can be placed into a airtight container or bag and will last about 3-4 days. 

arugula walnut chickpea burgers with quick pickled radishes and onions

I love me some spring time fresh greens, especially arugula. The last farm share pick up there was arugula for the first time since late fall and as soon as I saw it my mouth started to water for the fresh springy, peppery taste of  fresh spring time greens. As I bagged my greens, I shoved a fist full into my mouth. Ah, nothing better then a mouth full of fresh greens after a long long winter. Am I right or am I right?

I ate  a lot of those greens fresh, but did you know that arugula makes for a nice accompaniment to walnuts and chickpeas? And if you mashed all that together with a few other things and shaped the mixture into patties and you get yourself some dank ass burgers?  Well now you know. And now you can make them for yourself and experience the greatness of spring fresh arugula. Just make sure you have enough fresh to shove a handful into your mouth. It is spring time refreshing. 

The stuff. Chickpeas, arugula, walnuts, and big onion, and some radishes. Also a couple carrots, some oats, a few cloves of garlic, a Leon, salt and pepper, red wine vinegar, and a little olive oil. 

To start, halve the onion. Thinly slice one half and thinly slice the radishes

Scoop it all into a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss in vinegar. Set aside on the counter to do it's thing. 

Chop the rest of the onion, the carrots, and the garlic into small chunks.

Carrot, onion, garlic, and oats go into the food processor and pulsed until a medium crumble.

Walnuts and arugula next. 

Pulsed until combined then add in the juice of the lemon a good pinch of salt and pepper, and the drained chicken peas.

Pulse until just combined. Some big chunks are good, you just want the mixture to be able to hold together.

Dump the mixture into a bowl and place in the fridge for at least and hour and up to a day. 

After the time in the fridge, divide the mixture into 6 equal parts and form each into a patty about an inch think. Take a clean cloth and pat each applies dry on both sides.  

Grab a skillet, lightly oil it, and place on a medium heat. Sear each side of each burger until browedthen place on a lightly Ould baking sheet. 

Place the burgers into a preheated oven to finished cooking. 40 minutes, flipped after 20.

After the burgers are cooked, it time to assemble. Bread or buns of some kind(I used sourdough rolls) the pickled radish and onion mixture, some mustard( I used honey mustard) and more fresh arugula.

Do it up, do it right. Serve with some fries or chips and eat while knowing that spring is here, even if as you are eating, it is snowing. Damn snow. 

At least we have arugula. 

-C

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Arugula Walnut ChickPea Burgers with Quick Pickled Radishes and Onions 

makes 6 burgers 

• 1 can or 2 cups  cooked chick peas drained
• 2 large handfuls arugula  (about 2 packed cups)
• 1 large sweet onion
• 2 small carrot
• 1 cup old fashion oats
• 1/3 cups walnuts
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• A lemon
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• handful of radishes (5-7 of them)
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

To assemble burgers

• Burger buns or baguettes
• Maple or honey mustard
•  fresh arugula 

Start by cutting half of the onion as thinly as you can. Do the same with the radishes and place the onions and radishes in a bowl with a sprinkle of salt and drizzle the vinegar all over Toss around and set the bowl aside.

Grab the food processor and dump the oats in. Roughly chop the other half of onion, the carrots, and the garlicand toss those into the processor too. Pulse until a medium crumble. Add in the arugula, the juice of the lemon, the walnuts, the chickpeas, and a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Pulse again until just combined and the mixture has come together. Taste and make sure the salt and pepper are good for you then dump the mixture into bowl and set in fridge for at least a half hour or as long as a day.

Preheat oven to 400.

When ready for burgers, take mixture out of the fridge.  Place a lightly oiled skillet on the stove on medium heat. 

Divide the mixture into 6 equal balls and pat into inch think patties. Take a clean cloth and pat eat patties dry.  Place each burger on hot skillet and cook each side for 4-6 minutes or until each side is nicely browed. Transfer burgers onto a lightly greased baking sheet then place them all into the oven to finish cooking for  40 minutes, flipping them after 20 minutes.

Once burgers are cooked, remove from the oven. They will be slightly fragile, but will firm up if you let them set  for 5-10 minutes.

Assemble the burgers. Grab a bun or bread of some kind (if you want), top with a good fork or two full of the pickled radish onion mixture, drizzle with some mustard and top with more fresh arugula.

Get on to eating it. 

If you don't eat all the burger at one time, the freeze really well. I almost prefer them after they have been frozen. 

Green Salad with Candied Almonds, Avocado, And A Blueberry Lemon Vinaigrette

We need fresh, we need green, we need color.

We need salad.  

The other night I made Megan's birthday dinner which consisted of pizza and salad. The pizza was pizza and everyone loved it and ate it, but what surprised me was how everyone was really into the salad. A big ass bowl or fresh greens with onions and I think carrots and cabbage and some cranberries I pulled form the freezer and candies almonds. Simple and not fussy, and everyone was just so happy to eat it. I felt like a salad genus and now I am full on into making fun awesome spring salads. (I have to keep reminding myself that yes, it is indeed spring. So what we got snow yesterday, it will melt, right???? ) 

So I bring to you a a bowl of fresh crispy spring greens with crunch and bite and creaminess and flavor. A salad that will bring you joy and satisfaction and maybe even anticipation for your next salad adventure. Not to mention a salad that looks so dang pretty. 

Get into the green. You will be as happy as a rabbit in a garden. 

The stuff. Greens, red onion, an avocado, almonds, blueberries, and a lemon. Also need some maple syrup, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. 

A couple teaspoons of maple  go in with the almonds. Really toss make sure they are all coated.

Place the almonds into a hot skillet cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the maple has become sticky and the almonds no longer raw. 

When they are done, dump them onto a piece of parchment to cool. Don worry if they clung a little, you can break them apart once they are hard. 

Easy ass dressing. Blueberries. juice from the lemon, olive oil, vinegar, a tiny splash of maple, and a good pinch or pepper. 

Blended then done. Taste and season with salt if needed. 

Avocado gets cut into small chunks and the onion get s thinly sliced.

It's all ready, so now make a salad

And now eat a salad. 

-C

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Green Salad With Candied Almonds, Avocado, And A Blueberry Lemon Vinaigrette

Makes 2-3  salads 

• 1/4 pound greens ( I used spring mix but mesclun mix or spinach is good too) 
• 1/2  red onion
• 1 avocado

For the Almonds 

• 1/3 cup raw halved or slivered almonds
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup 

For the Blueberry lemon Vinaigrette 

• 1/3 cup blueberries (I used  frozen)
• 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
• pinch or salt
• pinch or pepper

To make the  candied almonds, preheat a skillet to on medium heat on top of the stove. Place almonds into a small bowl and drizzle with maple syrup. Stir to coat. When the pan is hot, dump the maple covered almond into it and spread them out. Cook for a 3 minutes, then give a stir and cook for a 3 or so more minutes or until the maple has evaporated and the almonds are starting to brown. Dump the almonds directly onto a piece of parchment paper to cool and hardened. Do worry if they stick together a bit, you can break them apart after. 

To make the vinaigrette, place the berries into a jar (if using stick blender) or blender with the juice of the lemon, olive oil, vinegar, maple, and a pinch of pepper Blend until smooth. Taste then add a very small pinch of salt or more to taste. 

For salad. Thinly slice the onion and dice the avocado. Place greens into bowl(s) and toss with onions and avocado. Top with  candied almonds and drizzle all over with the vinaigrette. Grab a fork and eat.

Any left over dressing will last in fridge for about a week and left over almonds will be good for.a few weeks in a airtight container.   

Pineapple Broccoli and Tofu Stir fry

Pineapples have been on sale all week long. I think it's because Easter and I guess people need pineapples for Easter for some reason. Does Pineapple have anything to do with bunnies or Jesus? I think not. Pretty sure it has something to do with cake or ham or some shit, but I honestly don't care because I just like the fact that I can buy a few (like 3) pineapples without breaking the bank. (I think I am going to buy 3 more for the dehydrator) Plus it is always good to have a pineapple or 3 on the counter at home. You never know when you are going to need one. So lets give a shout out to the Easter bunny and  Jesus. Thanks for the cheap pineapples.  HA!

So now you are have those pineapples, you are going want to eat them. And maybe you don't want to eat them with cake or ham or some shit. You are going to want to eat it the best way...In a stir fry. 

This is by far one of my favorite stir fry combinations. Pineapple does amazing things when cooked a bit, especially with soy, broccoli, and tofu. This dish definitely let's pineapple reach it's full pineapple potential. It is so good that tI think I might even prefer my pineapple cooked along with savory stuff. It is just so right and seriously so freaking good. The mr even get excited for it and he is not the excitable kind of guy. Plus it's fast (especially if you have already cut up your pineapple) and easy because stir fry and that's what stir fries are. Fast and easy, just like..........(insert your favorite fast and easy person and then chuckle)

And don't try to use canned pineapple because no.  Just get the fresh one,even if it's not on sale. It's a must. 

The stuff. A pineapple (you are only going to need 1/3 of this, but you can never have too much fresh pineapple on hand), a big head of broccoli, a little cabbage, and some firm tofu.  Also need some soy, a few cloves of garlic, a little fresh ginger, a bit of oil, and pepper. 

Dice up the tofu into cubes and place on a clean dish towel to absorb some moisture. 

Grab the fresh pineapple. Cut it up the way you do, but the easiest way  for me is to cut in half the cut that half into fourths then cut the skin away. You are going to have a lot of extra pineapple so snack as you need too. I always eat like half of what I am cutting up and end up with pineapple gut. SO maybe watch yourself.  

Pour some soy into a cup and mince the garlic and ginger. 

Garlic, ginger, soy. Looking good.

Cut up about 2ish (or more if you want) pineapple into small mouth sized pieces. Break Broccoli head into small florets and shredded the cabbage. 

Tofu into a lightly oiled hot skillet with a splash of soy, cooked until a nice crisp brown on all sides.  Once it is cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

It's the broccolis turn. Add in the florets and a splash of water to start cooking down for a few minutes, it need the head start. 

Once the broccoli turns bright green and is slightly less raw, add in the pineapple and cook until the broccoli is slightly tender and the pineapple starts to caramalize which will take about 5-7 minutes. 

Add the tofu back in along with the shredded cabbage and dump the soy ginger garlic mixture all over.. Keep cooking and stirring around until everything is hot and the liquid has mostly been absorbed. 

That's some stir fry ladies and gentlemen. 

You might want some rice to accompany your stir fry so think about it and have it ready. Other then that, it's food to face time. 

Enjoy the best stir fry ever. 

Bye.

-C

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Pineapple Broccoli And Tofu Stir Fry 

serves 2

• 1/3 of a fresh pineapple (about 2 cups cubed)
• 1/2  block firm tofu
• a large head of broccoli (about 2 1/2-3 cups of florets)
• 1/4 head of red or green cabbage (about a cup shredded)
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons soy or tamari
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• pepper
• Cooked rice to serve with (Optional)

Cube tofu into 1 inch pieces and either place on a dry towel to absorb the moisture or place the tofu into the microwave and heat for 2 minutes. When you take it out of the microwave there will be a lot of liquid...pour it off and pat the tofu dry. 

Cube fresh pineapple into similar sized pieces and break broccoli into small florets. Shred cabbage. 

Mince garlic and add to a bowl or jar with the grated ginger and soy sauce. 

Place a large skillet on the stove an medium heat. Drizzle in a little olive oil. Once oil is hot, place the tofu in with a splash of soy, cooking until all sides are a nice dark browned. Remove the tofu from pan and add the in the broccoli. Add a splash of water and cook for 5 minutes. Then add in the pineapple and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the pineapple starts to caramelize and the broccoli os no longer raw.  Add the tofu back in along with the shredded cabbage and pour the soy garlic ginger mixture all over. Sprinkle with pepper to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the liquid has cooked down. 

Serve with rice or quinoa and extra soy if needed.

Winter Roots Spring Rolls

Are you so excited that it is spring? I know I am.  But I am also realistic and know that even though it is "officially" spring, it is not going feel like spring here for a little while. There are still a few more weeks of potential snow storms and cold weather and then there is mud season before we really get to spring and things growing and green.  And plus there are still plenty of roots to finish up before we get into all the fresh spring veggies. You can't plant broccoli and pea into frozen snow covered soil. 

I love me some root veggies, they are some of my favorite, although like every year around this time I am starting to tire of them. But what are you going to do? Stop complaining and stuff them into a spring roll with some lighter veggies and enjoy while you can because once the roots are gone, they are gone (until the fall).  

These spring rolls are good, I mean really really good. The combination of the roasted roots with a fresh tangy mixture of crispy crunchy veggies and fresh ginger and soy and they are just really good. When I made these, it was still vey cold outside so I even went an extra step and baked the rolls to give them a little crispiness to the wrapper  because crispy warm food is kind of nice when its cold out. Because it is still cold out. 

Happy Spring!!!

The stuff. For roots we are using beet, celeriac, parsnip, and carrot. Then we need onion, kale, cabbage, garlic, fresh ginger and rice spring roll wrapper. Also some sesame seeds, soy or tamari, apple cider vinegar, and a little oil or avocado oil. 

First thing to do is get the roots roasting. Cut the roots into !/4 inch thick disks  and place right onto a lightly oiled baking sheet then stick into the oven to roast until browned and tender. 

As soon as the roots are in the oven, chop the kale nice and small. Thinly slice the onion and the cabbage and mince and grate the ginger and garlic. Cute the carrot into very thin matchsticks. 

Toss it all into a bowl and mix with the soy and the vinegar... (this mixture is so very very good.. might just be a salad here soon) 

Don't be gentle, toss with your hands. You can lick then after too. 

Roasted and cooled roots get a nice matchstick chop so they fit into the rolls. 

About time for assembly time. Damp wrapper with a pile of the  cabbage, kale, carrot, onion mixture and a few pieces of each of the roots topped with a sprinkle of sesame.  Oh so pretty all waiting to be wrapped up. 

Fold sides over, fold bottom up, and roll nice and tight. Easy peasy. 

Place the rolls on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Lightly brush each roll with a little oil as well and stick them into the oven. After 10 minutes, flip them over was bake for 8 or so minutes more until both sides are lightly crisp.

And the they be done. Eat right away and serve with extra soy sauce. 

See, we are still happy to eat our roots. And spring veggies will be here before you know it. 

-C

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Winter Root Spring Rolls

make 6-8 spring rolls

• 1 beet
• 1 parsnip
• a small bulb of celeriac (celery root)
• 1 carrot
• 1/4 head of cabbage
• 1 small red onion
• 2-3 kale leaves
• 1 tablespoon soy or tamari 
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
•  2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• tablespoon oil
• about 2tablespoons sesame seeds
• 6-8 rice spring roll wrappers 

Preheat oven to 400.

Slice the parsnip, celery root, and beet into 1/4 inch thick  disks and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, then bake for 10 or so more minutes  or until the veggies are browned and tender.

When the roots are in the oven, thinly slice the cabbage and  onion and toss into a bowl. Chop the kale into small pieces and thinly slice the carrot into matchsticks about 2-3 inches long. Place it all into the  bowl with the grated ginger, minced garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. Toss it all around and let it sit while the other veggies are roasting.

Once the roots have cooked, remove form oven and let cool. Keep oven on. When they are cool enough to handle,  slice the disks into matchsticks 2-3 inches long.

Time to assemble. Grab all the veggies

Take a shallow dish that can hold a little water and is big enough for a wrapper to fit and add warm water to it.

Keep your baking sheet from the veggies close and lightly oil it again.

Place a wrapper in warm water then place on a wet surface. (keep surface slightly wet or the wrapper will stick)  Add a good pinch or so or the cabbage/kale/carrot veggie mix into the center of the wrapper then add a few of each of the matchstick roots on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and then roll. Once rolled, place on baking sheet. 

When all the rolls are made, lightly brush the tops with oil and  place into the oven and bake foe 10-15 minutes, flipping half way through

Remove from oven when each slide is lightly crispy and serve right away, preferably with more soy sauce to dip in.