Green Chile Hummus

Hatch chile black beans last week, green chile hummus this week. I think moving to Texas has turned me into a chile convert. This afternoon, we even went to the Austin Chronicle’s Hot Sauce Festival, where our lunch consisted of corn tortilla chips with different salsas spooned over the top. Pineapple salsa, tomatillo salsa, chipotle salsa, corn and black bean salsa, etc., etc., etc.

I made my first batch of green chile sauce last week to go on top of some homemade veggie burgers, but there was a lot left over. I thought it might be good to add the rest to a batch of hummus, and oh! I was right. This still tastes very much like regular hummus, but hummus with a hug. It’s warm, but not overwhelming. We spread it on leftover veggie burgers, but I bet it would be really good with some seeded crackers, too.

Green Chile Hummus
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup green chile sauce (recipe below)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Salt, to taste

Put all ingredients in your food processor, and process until smooth.

Green Chile Sauce
1 lb green chiles, like Hatch or Anaheim, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Hatch Chile Black Beans

This past week has seen the start of Hatch chile season here in Austin, and until a few hours ago, I didn’t know what all the fuss was about. In fact, until dinner tonight, I didn’t even think I liked chiles. Now, I get the fuss, and I’m joining in: You’ve got to try Hatch chiles—now.

I imagined putting two whole, roasted chile peppers into a pot of black beans would render the whole dish inedible. It would be so hot, your tongue would be numb. You’d be bathing in your own sweat. Fortunately, I now realize the ignorance of my ways—chiles, green ones, at least—these ones, at least, are mellow and sweet, warm rather than hot. And above all else, they’re wonderful.

We scooped these beans into locally made, whole wheat tortillas, and added some romaine lettuce leaves for crunch and avocado slices for…creamy delicious-ness. I imagine they’d be pretty good over rice, too.

Hatch Chile Black Beans
Inspired by Tom’s Black Beans

1 cup dry black beans, rinsed and picked over
1 bay leaf
2 Hatch chiles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chile powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

First, cook the black beans. Put them in a medium-sized pot and cover with 2-3 inches of water, then add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the texture is to your liking, about 45 minutes. When the beans are done, drain them, but make sure to reserve some of the cooking liquid

While the black beans cook, roast the chiles. If you have a gas stove, you can use tongs to do this over an open flame. If you have electric, put the chiles in a dry, medium skillet over high heat, turning every few minutes until the skin turns black. Once it does, set the chiles aside to cool.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onions, cumin, and chile powder. While the onions cook, peel the skins off your chiles, then chop chiles finely. When the onions are translucent, add the garlic, chiles, and tomato, and cook for a few minutes more. Add beans with about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, followed by the brown sugar and cocoa powder. Cook on low for another ten or so minutes. Serve.

Date Chip Ice Cream

I remember a conversation I had with one of my best friends, Emily, about our impressions of each other when we were first becoming friends at the beginning of college—basically she had heard that I was a little weird (maybe true) and that I loved ice cream (definitely true). Ice cream is a food I love dearly.

It’s unfortunate, then, that most vegan ice cream isn’t very good. It’s the consistency—sort of thin, a little bit icy, the whole thing is just sort of ehhhh. Buying a pint of the stuff at the store also brings on those same heebie-jeebies I get when reading the ingredient list for a tub of Earth Balance or soymilk. Too many thickeners, stabilizers, and I don’t even know what else.

Last night, Sam and I made our own ice cream. I’m not sure we had the highest of hopes, because recipes that we had tried years ago relied on soymilk and a ton of cornstarch, and needless to say, weren’t very satisfying. This time around, though, we used a combination of coconut cream, homemade cashew milk, and silken tofu, which, when mixed with some brown sugar and vanilla, yielded a seriously rich, creamy, delicious treat—that actually tasted like ice cream. Please, don’t let my poorly-lit photo stop you from making this recipe!

Date Chip Ice Cream
Adapted wildly from Veganomican

1/2 cup cashews
1 cup water
1/2 cup coconut cream
6 oz. firm, silken tofu
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pitted, chopped dates
1/2 cup chocolate chips

First make the cashew milk by blending cashews and water in a blender on high until smooth. Then, add your coconut cream, silken tofu, brown sugar, and vanilla, and blend again to combine.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, then stir in the chopped dates and chocolate chips. Continue with your ice cream maker’s directions. Afterwards, transfer the ice cream (which will have the consistency of soft serve) to the freezer for about an hour to harden.

Brown Rice and Almond Horchata

Every time I buy soymilk, I feel a little guilty. While it’s not as bad in my mind as a tub of Earth Balance or a frozen veggie patty, soymilk, for me, definitely teeters on the edge of processed, vegan convenience food. Aside from the fact that I seek to avoid processed food as much as possible, I feel like it’s these kinds of ingredients that, in the eyes of many omnivores (especially the ones who are serious about good food) sort of illegitimize vegan food.

Rather than spend another trip to the co-op staring uneasily at the soymilk, I’ve started experimenting with non-dairy milks I can make at home. (I know I could make soymilk in my own kitchen, but honestly don’t have the patience to do so.) This recipe for brown rice and almond horchata caught my eye yesterday—I soaked the rice and nuts last night, whizzed them in the blender this morning, and ended up with some truly delicious milk. This stuff is creamy and fresh, contains only four ingredients, and doesn’t come in a wasteful paper container. It puts commercial soymilk to shame, and I’m not looking back.

Brown Rice and Almond Horchata
Adapted from a Rick Bayless recipe

2/3 cup brown basmati rice
1 1/4 cup raw almonds
a 3-inch piece of cinnamon stick
4 1/2 cups water
Agave nectar or maple syrup, to taste

In a large bowl, combine rice, almonds, cinnamon stick, and 2 1/2 cups of hot water in a bowl. Let sit overnight.

Pour mixture into a blender and blend on high for 2 minutes or so. Strain mixture through a sieve, pressing on the rice and almond grounds to make sure you get as much milk as possible. Pour into a large glass jar, and add the remaining 2 cups of water, plus agave or maple syrup to taste.

Serve as is, over ice, or (my favorite) stirred into your morning porridge.

Dinner Sandwiches

I never thought of sandwiches as a dinner thing until visiting Los Angeles earlier this year. Why Los Angeles? I’ll get to that in a minute. But sandwiches for dinner—that feels so easy, almost too easy, sort of like a bowl of cereal. Sort of like not a real meal, at least if it’s after 2:00 in the afternoon.

Maybe this isn’t the case for meat eaters, as I imagine a turkey or roast beef or BLT sandwich would probably be plenty filling. But until my trip to Los Angeles, my experiences with vegan sandwiches consisted of a random assortment of sauteed vegetables slopped in between a white roll. Sort of soggy, sort of lifeless. Sort of like not a real meal.

Los Angeles, though, is vegan restaurant heaven—and they make good sandwiches there. Filling, tasty sandwiches with marinated tofu or tempeh, rich avocado, and flavorful spreads and sauces. After having my fair share of dinner sandwiches out there, I’ve made a habit out of re-creating them at home.

Dinner Sandwiches
8 slices whole grain bread, preferably with lots of seeds
8 slices marinated baked tofu (recipe below)
1 batch homemade hummus (recipe below)
1 avocado, sliced
A few handfuls alfalfa sprouts
1 batch sauteed onions

Start by toasting your bread. When it’s done, spread hummus on each slices. On four of the bread slices, add a few slices of avocado, followed by two pieces of tofu and a few spoonfuls of the sauteed onions. Pile on plenty of sprouts, then top with another slice of hummus’d bread. Cut in half on the diagonal, and serve. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Marinated Baked Tofu
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1-lb. block extra-firm tofu, cut into 8 slices

Combine all ingredients but the tofu in a bowl, and whisk well. Place tofu slices in a baking dish (I used a 9×9 brownie pan) and pour marinade over top. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 425. Place tofu slices on a sheet pan (save your marinade!)and bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm.

Homemade Hummus
2 cups cooked chickpeas, liquid reserved
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
Salt, to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend til combined. The mixture will look a little dry, so add some chickpea cooking liquid until hummus reaches desired consistency.

Sauteed Onions
2 small or 1 medium yellow onion
1 small red onion
Olive oil
Reserved tofu marinade

Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown slightly, about 10 minutes. Then, add half of the reserved tofu marinade. Cook another 5-10 minutes, until onions are soft and brown.