Mexicali Rice and Beans

Beans and Rice PlatedThis made for a tasty weeknight meal, that came together in about 45 minutes.

I chopped up an onion, a green bell pepper and a red bell pepper in the Cuisinart, and sautéed them in a 6 quart pot with a sprinkle of salt. Once they were caramelized pretty well, I added a couple cloves of minced garlic. Spices went next (some red pepper flakes and about a teaspoon each of paprika and cumin), then a can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Once those flavors started to meld, I added a cup of vegetable stock, a can of drained black beans, a can of drained sweet corn and a cup of brown Basmati rice. When this mess began to boil, I turned down the heat and put on the lid.

As the rice was cooking, I mixed up some Masa Harina, water and a pinch of salt and pressed it out into tortillas, cooking them in an iron skillet with a tiny bit of vegetable oil.

The rice wasn’t done at 30 minutes, so I covered it again and left it another ten before killing the heat.

The recipe I adapted said that it serves 4, but two of us ate our fill and there was a lot left over, so I think you could probably feed six with this, especially if you include tortillas or other sides. The dish reminded me of a grownup version of the “Spanish Rice” my mom used to serve when I was a kid. Same basic flavor and texture profile, but a lot heartier and more complex.

Would highly recommend making the homemade tortillas, by the way. So much better in all ways compared to storebought, and worth the time it takes to mix the batter, press them out, and fry. Claudia gave me a Victoria tortilla press for Father’s Day this year, and it makes the process a breeze.

I wasn’t sure what to call this, because it’s not authentic Mexican cuisine, and not even really Tex-Mex. Gene Autry’s “Mexicali Rose” came to mind for some reason while I was cooking, so there you go.

First Run at Tofu Scramble

I had picked up some tofu to try it out when I made Pho awhile back, mostly out of curiosity. I don’t miss the protein portion on my plate when it’s absent from a meal, and I get plenty of protein in my diet from the grains and legumes that I eat (and I also still consume dairy from time to time).

But shortly after that, Claudia ran across tofu at Aldi’s and picked up a block for me, figuring that I’d find some use for it. I searched for something along the lines of “best way to prepare tofu” and got several returns for scrambles. It seemed like a fairly simple, almost elegant way to use the product, so I narrowed down the search and came up with three iterations that informed this meal.

I grabbed a potato masher and was ready to go, except for one odd thing that was not in our pantry. More than one article listed a spice called Kala Namak as an essential ingredient to get an “eggy” flavor. At $4 for 3 1/2 ounces, I figured it was worth picking some up to try and have on hand. It is a pinkish salt from the Himalayas, but despite its hue it is generally referred to as “black salt.” It has a slightly sulfurous aroma, as one might expect.

I used the spices and proportions from this recipe at Loving It Vegan. We didn’t have soy milk so I substituted almond. I also started with a sauté of Portobello Mushrooms and spinach in the pan before adding the tofu, and used olive oil instead of vegan butter.

Here’s the sauce, the way I made it.

2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Black Salt (Kala Namak)
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/3 cup Almond Milk

I whisked that together in a measuring cup while the mashed tofu and veggies were heating. Once I added it to the pan and tasted, it still seemed just a bit bland to me, so I added another 1/4 tsp of the Kala Namak, some fresh ground black pepper and a little bit of my favorite barbecue spice mix.

This turned out to be a decent meal. It’s not something that I would go out of my way for, but if someone served it to me and I didn’t know better, I would think it was eggs. The main difference is that in our household scrambled eggs get loaded with cheese, and although the nutritional yeast adds some cheesy flavor, the gooey texture isn’t there. I suppose we could use some vegan cheese if we wanted, but it’s not something we keep on hand.

The nice thing about preparing a meal like this is knowing that if someone I love had a dietary restriction that precluded eggs, whether for ethical or health reasons (albumen allergy or cholesterol limits, etc.) I could still turn out a satisfying, flavorful, traditional breakfast dish for them. This makes me happy.

Aloo Gobi

Weeknight Meals – 12 April 2018

Aloo Gobi

We had a head of cauliflower that needed to be used, and lots of potatoes, so Claudia decided to make a curry that we used to enjoy at the Hindu Cultural Center in Park Forest. When we were first dating and I would come to visit her on weekends, we would drive there some times on Sunday mornings for yoga, inspirational talks and home cooked Indian food.

Luckily, we had all of the spices necessary for the dish, including garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, mustard seed and cumin. We also had some garlic naan on hand, which was the perfect accompaniment. She put the meal together in about half an hour, and it was absolutely delicious. The house smelled like heaven.

My sons and their friend, Christy, were traveling through town that evening and dropped by. They are vegetarians, so it was nice to be able to offer them this super tasty vegan meal as well.