June Gloom in July

Last month I mentioned that once I had my computer back I would post a recipe for Spicy Tortilla Soup - a recipe that was intended to be posted during our long and dreary June Gloom episode. But then "the crash" occurred and June came and went and so did the gloomy weather. I began to think that I was crazy for considering a blog post for a soup recipe in the midst of summer, especially after last week's little heat spell. Fortunately, the heat has dissipated and sunny San Diego has returned to its weather of typical coastal haze. So... I thought I might be able to get away with posting my June Gloom Soup recipe even though it's a bit delayed.






Spicy Tortilla Soup
This soup is actually one that could be served year round - nothing particularly designates it to a specific season. It's rather light and brothy and is a good warm summer soup - if there is such a thing. The soup is a bit spicy, which can be adjusted to your own taste, and as usual is very basic and easy to make. It is really all about the toppings -fresh baked tortilla chips, ripe avocado, fragrant cilantro, creamy goat cheese and a squeeze of lime makes up the true essence of this tasty soup.


Serves 6

Ingredients

Tortilla Strips
6 corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow or white onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, seeds and core removed, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
14 ounces crush tomatoes
8 cups homemade vegetable stock (or 5 cups store bought and 3 cups water)
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1-2 ripe avocados, cut into slices or bite size pieces
4 ounces goat cheese
2-3 limes, cut into wedges
salt
fresh ground pepper


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the tortilla strips with the olive oil and salt on a large baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
In a large heavy bottom saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalepeno, cumin and chili powder and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, and 1 cup of stock and cook for 5 minutes over medium/low heat. Turn off the heat and puree with a hand held food blender, until smooth. Add the remaining stock, season with a bit more salt and pepper and bring everything to a simmer over medium heat. Let the soup simmer without a lid for 20-30 minutes. Taste for spiciness. You can add more chili powder if you want a spicier soup.
Serve the hot soup in individual bowls and top with a handful of the tortilla strips, a sprig of cilantro, chunks of avocado, and a tablespoon or so of goat cheese. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the soup, if desired.

Health-Mex

Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas
Basic Black Beans and Brown Basmati Rice
Date Bars



Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas
Roasted cauliflower makes an excellent enchilada filling – it is nutty and flavorful enough to hold its ground under a layer of corn tortilla, cheese and spicy sauce, yet it is tame enough to please anyone’s pallet. I use fresh store-bought salsa as the base of my really easy enchilada sauce. The salsa that I used said, “mild,” but it had a more than mild kick, which actually made the perfect spicy sauce. These enchiladas can easily be “veganised,” by omitting the cheese – just use a bit more cauliflower filling and a sprinkling of pepita seeds over the top of the casserole for the last 5 minutes of baking.


Makes 12 enchiladas

Ingredients

- 1 large head cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic, cut in half
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
- pinch of cumin
- 12 corn tortillas, warm
- 15 ounces fresh salsa (mild or spicy)
- 1 eight ounce can tomato sauce
- 8 ounces fresh grated jack cheese (about 2 cups), reserving some for the top



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the cauliflower into 1 inch pieces and place in a large roasting pan. Toss with the olive oil, onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the onions and cauliflower are slightly caramelized. Let the cauliflower cool. Use a fork to mash the cauliflower and onions together. Add the cumin to the mixture.
To make the sauce combine the salsa and tomato sauce in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
To assemble the enchiladas, grease one large casserole or 6 individual casserole dishes with a small amount of oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce; then place one warm tortilla (heat in a wet paper towel in the microwave for 30 seconds) in the casserole dish. Place approximately 1 tablespoons of cheese in the center strip of the tortilla, then top with approximately 2 tablespoons of the cauliflower filling. Roll the tortilla up and repeat this process. (Add more sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish, if needed.) Top the casserole with the remaining enchilada sauce and the reserved jack cheese. At this point the casserole can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350. Cover the enchiladas with nonstick foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more. (If the casserole is coming out of the refrigerator add 15 minutes to the first cooking time.)
Serve warm and top with avocado slices or guacamole.




Basic Black Beans and Brown Basmati Rice


Basic Black Beans
You can certainly use canned black beans, but with a little planning (to soak the beans for 6-8 hours) it is definitely worth making these basic beans from scratch.

Serves 6

Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 1/2 onion
- 1 carrot
- handful of parsley
- salt
- pepper
- 2 bay leafs

Place the black beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Let soak 6-8 hours. Meanwhile fill a medium size stockpot 3/4 full with water. Add the onion, carrot and parsley to the water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 1 hour. Discard the onion, carrot and parsley. Drain the black beans and add to the vegetable broth. Add a bit of salt, pepper and the bay leafs. Bring the beans to a boil, then simmer with a lid for 2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Season with more salt and pepper and discard the bay leafs. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

Brown Basmati Rice
Using brown rice instead of white rice really helps make this meal quite a bit healthier. This recipe is very … I shouldn’t say it… but I will… bland, which I like in contrast to the spicy enchiladas. If you want a more flavorful Spanish Brown Rice, substitute 1/2 cup of water for 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.

Serves 6

Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 bunch of green onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 cups brown basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons diced carrot
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
- scant 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In a medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the green onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until soft. Reduce the heat to medium/low and add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the basmati rice and stir everything together for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the carrot, cilantro, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, to make sure nothing is sticking on the bottom of the pan, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Let the rice simmer, covered for 50 minutes. (Do not remove the lid.) After 50 minutes, remove the pan (keep covered) from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. Serve warm.

Date Bars
A 70’s Sunburst inspiration- these sweet bars are healthy and wholesome. They are naturally sweet from honey and dates and have an oaty top and bottom crust. I enjoyed these moist bars best after being chilled in the fridge. Though I really like these bars “as-is,” I think that the next time I make them I am going to press all of the crust into the pan, bake the crust alone for 15-20 minutes, then pour in the date filling and bake for another 15-20 minutes to see if I can get a crispier crust – more like a shortbread crust. We’ll see…


Makes 16 bars

Ingredients
Crust
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- zest of 1 orange zest
Filling
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups dates, chopped
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
To make the crust, combine the oil and honey in a medium size bowl. Add the vanilla extract, flour, oats, baking powder, salt and orange zest and combine. Press half of the dough into a greased 8 by 8 pan.
To make the filling combine the hot water with the dates, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and let stand 15 minutes. Pour the filling over the crust and place the remaining crust dough on top of the date filling layer. (Don’t worry about getting the top crust perfectly distributed over the date filling layer.) Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Let the bars cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve. These bars will keep in an airtight container (in the refrigerator if you like) for up to 4 days.