sesame soba noodles

Picnic

This is a dish that was once a Whole Foods food-bar item, as well. I have converted it to include more veggies. All of the kids love this dish and it is perfect picnic food. It is served as a cold salad so there is no problem with keeping it warm.

I added broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers and scallions to the Whole Foods 'recipe.' The dressing is a simple vinaigrette using seasoned brown rice vinegar (different from rice vinegar because of the addition of sugar), tamari (skip it and add salt for soy-free) and roasted sesame seed oil.

Sprinkling some sesame seeds on top rounds this dish out.

Very tasty and simple to make.

Cost Breakdown:

broccoli, cauliflower, pepper, green onion: $3

noodles: $3

oil, vinegar, tamari: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

$7.00

potato-chickpea enchilada

Wrapping up Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan! Cook-athon is a Potato-Chickpea Enchilada with Tomatillo Sauce and Mango-Jicama Salad.

Stu-unning. Awesome flavors in the enchilada filling! We only had one dissenter in the family, everyone else loved it. The Tomatillo Sauce recipe has you boiling the tomatillos to remove the skin, but I roasted them instead and blended everything very well so the skins did not become an issue.

The Pine Crema recipe calls for silken tofu, which I do not care for, so instead I made a Cashew Crema for which I will be posting the recipe. This made the entire meal soy free! Love that! 

In conclusion, while some of the flavors of this cookbook need a little getting used to, don't all ethnic cuisines require some adjustment? If they didn't, honestly, what would be the point of eating them? 

Terry has written a great book, full of practical and needful advice regarding Latin fare. She has written creative recipes that my week of cooking has barely scrapped the surface of - 200 recipes is nothing to sneeze at. This is one cookbook that is needed on the shelf because ethnic cuisines are something we should all try to make at home and when it is written by someone who has lived it, then it becomes a treasure trove of yet-untasted flavors and experiences. 

Cost Breakdown:

chickpeas: $2

potatoes: $1

tortillas: $1

mango, jicama: $3

cilantro, lime: $1

peppers, onions, garlic: $1

cashews: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

$10.00