May 30th and 31st

I'm more than half way done with my 30 day run on a vegetarian diet.  I haven't had a chance to do anything great in the kitchen.  My last two days have really just been filled with whatever food I can grab.  Unless something really changes, I won't have any chance of getting what I want out of this.  Even though my 30 day veggie quest will run out, I will keep working on vegetarian food after I'm done.  I have just been too busy to give this as much time as I want to give.  

I don't really have any great food experiences over the last few days, but I did want to share some recipes.  Before I hit some recipes, let me give you a quick run down of what I ate.

Breakfast was simply some egg and potato burritos at Matador.  I flat out love the Maple Jalapeno hot sauce.  Vegetarian or not, that stuff rocks.  I'm sorry to pimp out our stuff, but that sauce is great.  I just can't get enough of it.  I really like the breakfast sausage TVP from Harmony Foods.  You can get it at Vitamin Cottage, Sunflower and Whole Foods.  There may be some other stores in the Fort, but I know these guys have it.  If you want a breakfast meat sub, then that is the winner.

I made a few enchiladas over the last few days.  I'm a huge fan of an avocado and cheese enchilada.  A customer recommended that to me a while back, and I'm glad I tried it.  The standard cheese and onion enchilada works just fine too, but I find myself looking for more.  Rice & cheese, beans & cheese and even a grilled veggie & cheese enchilada rank higher than just cheese & onions.

Avocado and sweet potatoes have been my best friends over the last few days.  In the back of my mind, I know they are great foods that are really good for me, so I eat the crap out of them.  I'm sorry to mention Matador food again, but since we have so many sauces, I can have something totally different every day.

I'm loving summer.  This is fresh fruit season and I can just grab great fruit everywhere.

Now for some recipes.  I'm not going to give out any Maty recipes here, but I will toss out some great stuff I have tried.  After all, I have a business to run here.  If I told you all of our secrets, there would be no need for you to give us your money.  ;)

This is an enchilada sauce from Alton Brown.  That dude is a  food king.

• 2 dried chipotle chiles, stems and seeds removed, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted cumin seeds, freshly ground
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

I always have a can of chipotle in adobo.  I sub out the dried chiles for a few of those.  Just toss everything in a blender, give it a spin, then off to a sauce pan.  Let it simmer for 10 minutes.  Bingo.

Make your own soft corn tortillas.

You can buy this little guy at just about any kitchen store on the planet. It is under $20. 

1 cup of corn flour (masa harina)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

You simply can't get any easier than that.  Fresh, simple, and no additives or preservative.  It is also a ton of fun for the kids.


My favorite guacamole

• 3 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 medium onion, diced ( I like a red onion)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced

 Just toss everything into a bowl and mash the crap out of it.  I love to zest the lime and add that to the mix.  There isn't anything wrong with tossing a jalapeno or habanero into the recipe. 


I will toss out some more recipes soon.  Give these a try and let me know what you think.