Tag Archives: vegetarian meal

Sep24

Tomato, Green Chili and Corn Tart

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Eric and I bought a bunch of Hatch roasted green chilies from a women on the side of the road in Taos, New Mexico thinking we would freeze most of them for later use.    Now we are wondering why we didn’t buy more!   First I made a batch of Green Chili Sauce and used it for a quick meal one night with a package of premade polenta, green chilies, cheddar cheese.  I had to go to a meeting that evening so I prepared the dish and left Eric with instruction to bake it for about 30 minutes.  I got home at the tail end of dinner to an almost finished baking dish.   It tasted somewhere between an enchilada and a tamale and had plenty of heat.

This week I made a tart using cherry tomatoes, roasted green chilies, and fresh sauteed corn.   I did cut a corner and used a frozen pie crust.  I know it’s shocking.   But true.  It was gluten free though which is really neither here nor there, but if you are GF, it is good to know that there are frozen pie crust options at the store.

I brought this to a friends house that night and actually finished baking it there because I was running late.   When I took it out of their oven, my friend starting digging in with a tortilla chip and eating it as an appetizer.  Not quite how I imagined it going down… but it worked.   And it disappeared pretty quickly.   So you could forgo the crust and make this into more of an appetizer/dip kind of dish. Read the rest of this entry →

Jul17

Veggie Tacos with Peach Salsa

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Rain Rain Rain.   I am not complaining.   At all.    I am just saying there’s been a lot lately.   June was all sunshine all the time and as much as we needed the rain, it did feel nice.   But one drop of a match and the  whole town might have caught fire.   The flowers were not making their usual colorful appearance and riding the trails left one inhaling a lot of dust.  I started to wonder if it was ever going to rain again.

It did.

July seems to be making up for things.   Flowers are blooming, trails are hard packed and the grass seems pretty wet.  And I just heard they lifted the fire ban in town.   This July weather is reminding me of my years in Portland, OR.   One day after working in my ceramic studio and  listening to the rain singing on the windowpanes, I got into my car and there was a puddle of water at my feet.   My sunroof seal had well…unsealed.   Lovely.    That was a wet drive home.

The best part about rain is when you get to see one of these…

So as I again listen to the sound of rain on my roof,  I am thinking about Portland.   I remember eating some pretty tasty tacos in Portland.  That is what I am making today.  Tacos.   These are vegetarian but feel free to replace the tofu with chicken or fish.

Rain makes me a little sleepy.   That and my little munchkins waking me up several times in the middle of the night because they had a nightmare or are scared of monsters.   Who even taught then about monsters?  I would like the have a word with that person.  Anyway,  as I was cooking the tofu, Read the rest of this entry →

May30

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

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I don’t know about you, but there have been times in the past when I am heading to a BBQ and  just because it’s quick and easy, I run into the grocery store and pick up a box of Frozen Veggie Burgers.   They are never very satisfying and almost make me want to take a bite of a burger, almost.   Hmmm…is that grass-fed beef?  Well, those days are over.     Summer season is almost here, the weather is warming up and I have a delicious veggie burger recipe to share with you.  These are delicious and nutritious, and they won’t fall apart in your hamburger bun. This recipe makes about a dozen burgers and you can make them ahead, freeze these and you will be all set for the next party.

My one complaint with the homemade veggie burgers I have tried is that they are mushy and fall apart easily. II have tried cooking vegie burgers  in a pan as well as baking them but I think what works great with this recipe is doing both.  Fry them in a pan with a little coconut oil and then bake them for about 10-15 minutes.   If you had to choose one th0ugh, I would bake them.


The main ingredients are black beans and red rice. The red rice has a really great nutty flavor but if you don’t have red rice, don’t throw the recipe down and think you can’t make it. Just substitute brown rice or quinoa. I soaked dry black beans for 24 hours and cooked them the next day. You can skip this step and use canned beans, but the flavor won’t be quite as rich. I added Nutritional Yeast to these burgers, which gives it nice flavor, almost a cheesy flavor. It is also very nutritious- which I guess is obvious by the name nutritional yeast. It is rich in B vitamins, including B 12, which vegans need and it is one of the few NON- animal foods that is a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids that make up a protein. And it is not the same yeast that causes candida.


Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Black Bean Veggie Burger (makes 12-14 burgers)

1 Cup dry Black Beans soaked for 24 hours (equals 2 1/4 cups soaked beans) Or use Canned Beans

1 Cup Red Rice (cooked)
2 Farm Eggs
1 small Onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/2 Cup Parsley, chopped
3 TBSP Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Cup breadcrumbs ( I used a GF breadcrumb)
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
couple pinches of cayenne ( if you like spice)
1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil or Coconut Oil
TO MAKE- If you are using canned beans, jump to the rice. Otherwise, soak the bean for 24 hours, changing the water a couple times. Cook for an hour in a pan covered with boiling water, until soft. (OR use a pressure cooker). In a saucepan, cook the rice- use directions on package.
Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor, add rice, beans, chopped onion, red pepper, garlic, and eggs. Pulse several times until ingredients combine well. You don’t want the mix to be totally smooth so don’t overdo it. Add parsley, nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs, paprika, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Pulse a few more times. The mixture will be pretty wet, but that’s okay.
Form mixture into patties. Pan fry about 4 patties at a time for 4-5 minutes on each side over medium heat. Repeat with the rest of the patties. Transfer the cooked burgers to a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. I find that both pan frying and baking helped hold the burgers together, but you don’t have to do both.

Serve with lettuce, avocados and mustard!