Just Call Me Abuelita

Who doesn't love a fresh homemade tamale? People are usually daunted by the prospect of making tamales on their own, but when I saw the recipe for Vegetarian Tamales on Tasty Kitchen recently I knew I had to try. And really, it wasn't hard or overly time consuming.

I made up a tasty filling, soaked the corn husks for wrapping, and mixed up the masa dough, and then set to spreading, filling, wrapping; rinse and repeat. And I ended up throwing most of them, uncooked, in the freezer for future meals. The longest part of the process is the steaming, which takes an hour and a half (and longer if frozen), so plan ahead a bit: I'm usually home around 4:30, so I'd toss some in my steamer when I get home from work, and about two hours later toss together a salad, and have a tasty dinner by 7:00.

Roasted Vegetable Tamales

adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 package corn husks

2 cups masa

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

2 1/4 cups veggie broth

1 stick butter, softened

 

1 sweet potato, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Toss the sweet potato, zucchini, and garlic with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the mixture in a 375F oven for about 45 minutes, or until done. Feel free to use whatever assortment of veggies tickles your pickle too, such as winter squash, regular potato, asparagus, etc.

Soak the corn husks in water for at least 30 minutes. I used a giant saute pan, filled with water, and weighted the corn husks down with another pot.

In a bowl combine the masa, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. chili powder. Add 2 cups of the veggie broth to form a dough. In a separate bowl cream the butter until fluffy, then add the masa dough and mix well.

Combine the roasted vegetables with the green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, lime juice, the remaining 1 tsp. chili powder and 1/4 cup veggie broth, and cheese. Taste and season as needed.

Take one of the soaked corn husks and spread at least a couple tablespoons of the masa dough in the center. Put a spoonful of the veggie filling down the middle, but not to the very end of the masa dough. Then wrap it all up like a burrito and tie of the ends with strips of another corn husk. Keep going until you've used up your masa dough and filling. You may need to use two husks when they are smaller, to wrap everything securely. I've read that you can also use foil in place of the corn husks, but I haven't tried it.

Either put them in a freezer bag at this point and pop them in the freezer, or get ready to cook your tamales. I used a big stock pot with a steamer basket in the bottom, or you can suspend a metal colander over boiling water, or use a real steamer if you have one. Get your water boiling and add your tamales, making sure they aren't touching the water. Steam for 90 minutes, checking the water to make sure you don't run dry and burn your pot, then check one: if the masa's firm, you're ready for dinner!

Kind of a crummy picture, but they tasted great. I served mine with an slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and cilantro (dressed with mayo, lime juice, a splash of apple cider vinegar, chili powder, salt and pepper), and vegetarian refried beans. I haven't tried the from-frozen tamales yet, but I'm sure they'll taste just as good, just take a little longer to cook.

Related recipes:

Zucchini Bread

Quinoa with Black Beans and Sweet Potato

Zu - Zu - Zu- cchini!

Is it just me, or is zucchini an awesome word? Say it out loud a few times and tell me differently. This summer squash cooks up fast and is quite versatile. I've been wanting pasta lately, but often feel like pasta can be a waste of calories. And Chris is back to limiting the amount of carbohydrates in his diet (he vacillates between eating them and not eating them, but notes that he just feels better overall when he avoids most carbs), which can be a bit of a challenge for a vegetarian cook. There's only so many meat and salad dishes I can make without losing interest, since I'm not eating the meat I make for Chris. And I prefer cooking something that we can enjoy together. Right in the nick of time, I saw zucchini noodles mentioned somewhere and couldn't wait to give them a try. Its really just a simple, quick method of preparing zucchini, and the "noodles" make for a healthy bed for a sauce of some sort.

So grab some zucchini and let's go! Two zucchini make a Chris-sized portion, so if you're cooking for a couple of people get three or four. Lop off the ends and use a mandoline slicer, zester, julienne peeler, or a knife to make julienne strips the length of the squash. There's no need to peel the zucchini first, and the variation in color makes the finished dish look nice anyway.

Put the zucchini noodles in a colander over a bowl, sprinkle with salt, toss, and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes. This softens the noodles a bit. Then toss the noodles in boiling water for a minute (that's right, one minute), drain, and serve.

I served these noodles topped with a mushroom chicken bake - pretty much the same as you'll find on the back of a can of Campbell's condensed mushroom soup. Mmm... comfort food. I made it in two pans, one with chicken for Chris and the other with a Quorn Naked Chik'n Fillet for me. If you go the vegetarian route, do not cook it in the oven for a full 30 minutes. The Quorn fillet will be fine, but the sauce will dry up and then you'll look longing over at your husbands bowl with creamy mushroom sauce over a bed of vibrant green zucchini noodles, wondering if it tastes as good as you had hoped it would while said husband declares it is fantastic and praises the invention of the zucchini. Not that that happened, or anything.

Here's the recipe for the chicken version.

Mushroom Chicken Bake

from Campbell's

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves  (about 1 pound)
Lemon pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained (I used fresh sliced mushrooms)
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 4 cloves, and my garlic press)
Ground black pepper

1. Season the chicken with the lemon pepper seasoning.  Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet.  Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides.  Place the chicken into a 2-quart baking dish.

2. Stir the soup, mushrooms, milk, cheese and garlic in a small bowl.  Season with the black pepper.  Pour the soup mixture over the chicken.

3. Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve the chicken and sauce with pasta, rice, or zucchini noodles!

Psst: Want a chance to win a gorgeous baking pan or pitcher? Then head on over to Cherry on a Cake and enter! I'm partial to the baking pan, myself...

Related Recipes:

Zucchini Bread 

Coq Au Vin

Simple Mushroom Stew

Change of Weather

I was woken up early yesterday morning by rumbling thunder and a few flashes of lightning. As summer draws to a close I become anxious to turn up the oven and bake.


Last week I got a craving for zucchini bread. I cannot remember the last time I actually had zucchini bread, but I picked up a few squash at the market.


The recipe I based my bread on is from Smitten Kitchen, and I used my handy mandoline with the julienne insert to grate up two zucchini.


A fragrant hour later and I had these two beauties. I love the cracks in the top of breads, it always makes me think of minimiam (really, check that site out!).

Zucchini Bread

2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 zucchini, grated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8×4 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a hand mixer. Add applesauce and mix again. Add yogurt, oil, and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into the pans.

Bake loaves for 50 minutes, plus or minus, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

I do not taste much zucchini in this bread, but I feel healthier eating a baked good when it contains vegetables. You could also add nuts, dried fruits, or even chocolate chips. I enjoyed mine plain, with butter melting atop a warm slice, and a cup of chamomile tea.