Comunidad Health Foods

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=899826546368188562#editor/target=post;postID=2878035450116074382Desserts

Well we kicked off May with a fun Mexican food trifecta, so why not end it that way, too? I can't really believe that May is already about to end, though I'm thankful that the weather has finally decided to catch up with the months, which are hurtling at top speed into summer. I feel a twinge of...guilt? regret? that I'm here bragging about the clear, sunny skies outside my bedroom window as I type this, while so many people are still battling weather so destructive that I half expected Rapture-ites to come out with an "I told you so" PSA. Hopefully everyone who I touch with this blog has been left untouched by these tornadoes and intense storms.

I have a feeling that most of you, though, are happily preparing for a fun, relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. Although these three meals are not picnic or barbecue fare and the soup in particular is bordering on inappropriate for this 80 degree weather (though hot, spicy meals are thought by some cultures to be healthy in the heat, and are often consumed in the summer months), they are all meals that can be easily made for if not a crowd, then at least a family. 

Let's start with the enchiladas - sour cream chicken enchiladas, to be exact. This dish does take a bit of time to assemble, but if you do it in parts ahead of time, it's really not bad. And, get this - I wasn't actually wowed by the recipe until the leftovers sat in my fridge overnight. So when I heated my second enchilada up for lunch the next day? Heaven. This means that you can absolutely, positively, 100% get away with preparing this way early in the day or even the night before, so that all you need to do is pop it in the oven. If you allow time for the sauce to mingle with the rest of the ingredients, you'll get a spicy, mildly sweet (maybe too sweet) enchilada bursting with saucy flavor. The cheese plays a very minor role here, so if you're of the mindset that cheese must be melting and oozing all over the place, you might want to up that ratio a bit.

Now let's move onto the tacos, which were vegetarian and certainly different from what you'd normally expect. They used a ricotta-spinach mixture as the filling, which might get some crinkled-up nose reactions amongst some kids (and some adults I know, too!), so this one might not be for everyone. I added chicken just to make it more filling, though I think they'd be fine, especially as a lighter meal, without any extra protein (or with beans, tofu, beef, etc.). These were ridiculously easy to prepare but, ultimately, disappointingly bland. It was such an interesting idea and the textures were spot-on, but the flavors just were not there. I almost didn't even share this with you except I had some leftover filling that I used for a stir fry the next day, and it came out much better. I really just threw in ingredients that I had on hand - dried basil, some parmesan, roasted red peppers, extra jalapeno pepper, and garlic - and I forewent the tortilla. All this to say that these tacos are redeemable, just don't be shy with the flavors. In the recipe below I've added the spices and flavorings that I used the following day, which should help.

And lastly, that brings us to the Spicy Tomato Soup, which I adapted from a Taco Soup recipe. This was so easy to put together and so tasty that I marked it in my notes as "definitely a repeat recipe." It was simple with a small kick, not huge, and would be just as excellent ramped up with some corn, chicken/beans, and tortilla strips (homemade preferably!). There's really not much to say about this soup other than that - it's just plain good eats, and I have to encourage you to give it a try. Eat it with a grilled cheese sandwich, serve it as an appetizer before taco night, or just eat it on its own - you really can't go wrong.

Now, onto the recipes!

If there were a snazzy term for an excellent grouping of five items, and if I had two more Mexican-themed recipes in my backlog to share with you, this post and its title would be a whole lot more clever. As it is, I only have three recipes that could be considered festive on this celebratory day, and I personally have never heard of a "Pent"-ecta, so we'll stick with just the three. Although I have eaten nothing remotely Mexican-themed today (and let's not delve into the details of my very un-Nutritionally laudable meal plan so far), I did want to show my Holiday Spirit through the beauty of three phenomenal dishes that I threw together in ma propre tete (alas, it is quite a shame that I cannot speak even a smidgeon of Spanish).

The first meal came a fairly/decently/kind of long time ago, and is the reason why I had leftover homemade Salsa Verde that I teased you with - gosh! - eons ago, and then never posted about. My subconscious must have secretly been holding out for this day of all days. Anyway, I created a Chicken Salsa Verde Tortilla Stack, which turned out pretty well. The timing of the recipe flowed nicely and in my notes I even quoted Rachael Ray by calling it Dee-lish! It had a kick to it without being so hot that you need to soak your lips in a bucket of ice, and it had a very clean element to it (though, come on, with a tortilla stack I was kind of envisioning an oozing, corn-and-beans-falling-out-of-it, cheesy mess of a dish that bloomed into a Spicy Heaven in your mouth). I also had envisioned a crispier tortilla component, whereas mine just got a little soggy in the baking process. The chicken was pre-boiled to cook it before being shredded to assemble and bake, and while this was easy and a healthier alternative to constantly sauteeing/pan-frying everything, I wish it had had slightly more flavor. To remedy all of these set backs, next time I would: 

(1) Pre-Bake the tortillas to crisp them up before baking as a casserole                                                   

(2) Add a few more vegetables to give it the sensation of heft and serious eats without detracting from the clean element it has going on already.                                                                                           

(3) Marinate the chicken in some of the salsa verde before baking, rather than boiling, to help seal in more flavor.                                                                                                                                         

Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. I used smaller tortillas for a personal stack, but I can see it working out very well as more of a tortilla pie/casserole for a larger group, using the larger tortillas instead.

Next up we have a very easy black bean dip. Seriously, when the directions consist of "mash everything up in a bowl," I'm game. It was perfect for this week when the combination of moving and academic finals were enough to trigger my attraction to take out, which is usually subdued enough to be all-but ignored. I took some of the same tortillas I used in the previous recipe and crisped them up into chips in the oven (you see, I slowly learn from my mistakes!) to use as dippers, alongside some bell peppers. This dip was not bursting with flavor, but had a much subtler enjoyability to it. I found the quiet flavors as they came through to be reminiscent of a fairly standard black bean recipe, with cumin playing a major role in the spice department. The only thing I would add to this dip is a hint of lime, because I'm picturing the salt from the chip meeting a dash of lime in the black bean mixture, and my taste buds are theoretically going to town. I did really like dipping the bell pepper slices into the dip, but let's be real for a second - those homemade corn tortilla chips were pretty fantastic! They were crisp and golden along the edges with just the slightest chew in the center, and the sprinkling of salt across the top really did a wonderful job of enhancing...well, just about everything. (You see, I can use salt appreciatively - I just can't stand it being stuck inside a dish where it gets masked and overpowered. If I'm gonna eat salt, I want it to be added almost as an afterthought, sprinkled across the top of the dish so that it meets my taste buds confidently.)

Naturally, I had leftover dip by the end of this, since I wanted to make the full batch, which called for a convenient full can of beans (which I conveniently found at the back of my pantry before the move). So, the following day for lunch, I made what I can only endearingly refer to as "Tortizzas." Using the last corn tortillas in a tasty attempt to clear some space in my freezer, I made a nacho-turn-personal-pizza concoction that can only be described as Out of This World. I grew impatient in the pre-crisping of the tortillas, so I found the centers to be more akin to Cinco de Mayo Recipe #1 (the stack), meaning I would 100% advocating letting them bake for at least 5-10 minutes in the oven before adding any kind of topping whatsoever. As it is, it's a very fun way to interpret a quick personal pizza recipe, and it would be phenomenal with additional toppings such as salsa, sour cream, jalapeno peppers or chilis, etc.

So, Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I hope you enjoy this trio of Mexican-inspired dishes, as I did (though on admittedly the very wrong day of May). The recipes below do reflect the changes that I would make if I were to make this again, which will likely happen in the not so distant future. 

2 six-inch corn tortillas

4-6 tablespoons black bean dip (above)

diced vegetables of choice (I used green bell pepper and spinach)

condiments of choice (I used cheddar jack cheese)

Lastly, I lied to you - I used the black bean dip in another recipe for eggs in a basket. However, that meal was such a hot mess of cheese, egg yolk, and wilted spinach that I couldn't bring myself to snap a picture of it. It was very delicious, so if you find yourself with extra bean dip I'd give it a shot, but I've already taken up enough space on here for one day!