ensalada azteca

There’s a vegan restaurant in my neighborhood that, along with this recipe, makes me believe I could live off vegan food, climb trees, climb mountains, etc. all the live long day. (I say this with the caveat that they have these awesome nachos, corn bread, a decent cheesecake as well).

This salad was the first thing I had there…and tried to recreate a few months later for one of my first dates with Abe many a years ago. My memory failed me as I ended up with a bowl of romaine, quinoa and honey mustard dressing. Fail.

Anyways, redemption came when I found this recipe on the Native Foods Blog here. It’s all kinds of crisp veggies, and the raisins and sunflowers add an unexpected flavor and texture to it; not to mention the subtle kick from the cayenne. Pow.

Altogether, I’m a fan. The ingredient list seems long, but you’ll have leftover dressing and a big, heaping, delicious, beautiful salad at the end of it.

 

For the Mango Lime Dressing:

Combine the following ingredients in a mixer and blend till smooth. Allow the dressing to sit before serving so the flavors can come together. *Note that the dressing comes out pretty thick, so you might have to use a spoon to drizzle it over your salad (vs. pouring it out of the blender or bottle).

1 cup of fresh (or frozen) mango

½ cup sunflower oil (I used canola; any neutral flavored oil will work)

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Tomato Mixture:

Combine the following ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine.

1 cup tomato, chopped

1 cup cucumber, peeled + chopped

1 cup jicama, chopped

1 cup avocado, chopped

½ cup red onion, minced

2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

Additional ingredients:

2 cups of mixed greens

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to instructions and cooled

Topping:

4 Tablespoons sunflower seeds

4 Tablespoons raisins or chopped dates

Slices of fresh mango

Cayenne pepper (optional)
 

To assemble Salad:

Divvy up the mix greens onto 4 plates. Top with equal amounts of quinoa, then drizzle with 2 Tablespoons of dressing.
Top with Tomato Mixture and drizzle with more dressing. Garnish with sunflower seeds, raisins, and fresh mango. Sprinkle with a dash of cayenne pepper if you don’t mind a kick. Serve and enjoy.

cowboy caviar dip

When it calls for it, my favorite go to potluck dish is my boss' Cowboy Caviar recipe. (I believe this one came from a firehouse cookbook).

3 reasons I like this dip:
1) It's light and flavorful, with no mayo and no cheese.
2) It's quick to make. Minimal chopping and stirring involved.
3) Tastes good.

I think the first time I had it, I nearly ate the whole bowl as my dinner. Winner, winner.

Ingredients:
15.5 oz can of Black Eye Peas
15.5 oz can Mexicorn (mix of corn and peppers)
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
2 avocados, cubed

To make dressing, combine:
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tspn oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp hot sauce (I use Tobasco)
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp sugar

Drain and rinse peas and corn. In a large bowl, place peas, corn, tomatoes, onion. Pour dressing into bowl and gently mix to combine ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add avocado before serving and give it another toss.

Serve with chips and enjoy.  

 

Ddukbokki (Spicy Rice Cakes)

To be able to cook like my mother one day would be a dream. I'll be starting a series here of her recipes; hope you enjoy them as much as I do!



Ingredients:
1 package of cooked dduk aka 'rice cakes' - not the Quaker dietary rice snack. The ones you want for this dish can be found in the refrigerator or freezer section of a Korean market. (Or you can buy them fresh at some markets). They have different variations, but the ones traditionally used for this dish basically look like white Nerf Gun darts (why this is the only thing I can think to compare it to right now...I do not know). 

Any combination of veggies. We used: 
1/2 onion 
1/4 red pepper
1/4 green pepper
2 green onions
2 handfuls of mushrooms
*all cut in uniform size-about the same size as the rice cakes. Carrots are are good in here as well.

Fish Cakes, sliced. 

For the sauce, combine: 
1 T cooking wine
4 T Oligodang (which is a natural sweetener/syrup of sorts available at the Korean market--you can also substitute with corn syrup)
1 T soy sauce
4 T Red Pepper Paste
1 1/2 t of garlic
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

("T" here equals one heaping spoonful)

And not shown, but an excellent addition, 1-2 hard boiled eggs.

If you're using refrigerated or frozen dduk, soak in water for a few minutes till they break apart. Bring water to a boil and cook dduk just until they start floating to the top (a few minutes). Strain and set aside.

The rest of this cooking process will take just a few minutes. So beautiful.


Heat pan with oil and quickly saute the vegetables and fish cakes, just about 2-3 minutes. The dduk is already soft in texture, so I prefer the veggies to maintain its texture/crunch, but feel free to cook the veggies longer.

Add dduk and give it just a quick stir to mix in with the veggies. (My mom was very emphatic about doing this quickly; otherwise your you get really mushy dduk). Then immediately add the sauce.

 Mix just long enough to get sauce incorporated. Turn off heat. 

Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and add sliced hard boiled eggs. Enjoy. :)