Mole Tacos

No! Not Mole Tacos, Mole Tacos!

It's the delicious dark brown sauce made out of...

Moles!......

Just kidding again...

It actually comes out of a jar:

There are numerous recipes for mole.  The original Mole Poblano comes from a convent in Puebla, Mexico.

How such a delicious sauce could be invented by nuns I do not know!...

Some mole recipes have more than 20 ingredients.  Mostly it is made with lots of different spices, chili peppers, and chocolate.

Ok, so if you buy mole in a jar it is in the form of a thick paste.

You add water and then stir and cook over low heat. Initially it will be pretty watery, but as it simmers the sauce will thicken.

You can add various ingredients to the mole to add your own signature flavor.

Steve wouldn't reveal his mole secrets to me, but I know he adds some peanut butter and cayenne pepper.

While the mole is stewing prepare the tacos.

It's easiest to just shred a precooked roasted chicken:

Then fry up some chicken rolled tacos....

Behold the finished rich, thick, spicy, chocolaty goodness!

Top tacos with mole sauce and serve with rice and beans!

Muy delicioso!

"Aye Aye Aye!"

Green Tea Mochi Cupcakes

These cupcakes were soooo good!  I am sad now that they are all gone- I ate the last one this morning...

I borrowed this delightful recipe from this blog: http://www.humblebeanblog.com/2009/12/matcha-mochi-cupcakes/

Ingredients

1 (1 lb.) box mochiko
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. matcha
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I got the Mochiko and matcha powder at Mitsuwa, my go to Japanese market.

I decided to make a half batch of these cupcakes because the recipe said that it would make 24 cupcakes and that they only stay good for a day or two.  I brought them to work and I wasn't sure if my coworkers would like them, but they did! My boyfriend Steve on the other hand is not a fan of the green tea flavoring-actually he doesn't like tea of any kind he says it tastes "like grass or dirt."  I on the other hand LOVE it.  My favorite ice cream is Haagen Dazs Green Tea Ice Cream. Hell Yes!

First mix the dry ingredients together

Combine Eggs, Milk and Oil.  I used almond milk instead of regular milk!

Then combine this with the dry ingredients.

Pour into muffin cups and bake 35 minutes or so. (Recipe said 30-40)

When they came out of the oven I was surprised at how dense and hard the outside of the cupcakes was, but inside it was super soft, chewy, mochi-like deliciousness!

One complaint was that the muffin liners did not come off of the cupcakes very easily.  I thought that might turn people off, so I removed the wrappers myself -it was a delicate and painstaking process and hard to get the wrappers off in one piece.

I ate one of the cupcakes plain and I thought that it was really good, but decided to add some frosting because the cupcakes were not that sweet.  I kind of winged it as far as the frosting goes.  I used powdered sugar and a little matcha powder and then added some butter and almond milk till it reached the right consistency.

Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Borrowed a standard brownie recipe from this blog:

http://theshoeboxkitchen.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/what-weve-been-up-to-and-finally-brownies/

changed just a a few things and then added Cherries!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, measured by spooned and leveled method
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 2 Tbsp Water
• 10 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

First I pitted my cherries by hand.

Mix vanilla and the chocolate chips in a large bowl.

Melt butter and add sugar.  Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture starts to boil.  Pour over the chocolate chips.  Wait 30 seconds and then stir.  Add eggs one at a time beating them into the chocolate mixture well.  In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Then gradually add the dry ingredients into the chocolate stirring just to combine.  Then fold in the cherries.

Pour into pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. 

I didn't have a small square pan so I used a 9" cake pan.  It was awkward fitting the parchment paper into the round pan, but it came out fine. 

Black Bean Soup is Not Very Photogenic

I had been wanting to make a black bean soup from scratch for a while when I happened across this recipe in the San Diego Union Tribune.  The recipe is by Jeanne Jones and I was able to track it down on her website as well: http://jeannejones.com/selectedRec.php?recipe=98

Ingredients

So far I have made this recipe two times.  The first time I left out sherry because I didn't have any and didn't want to buy it just for one Tbsp.  The second time I made the soup I also ended up leaving out garlic and sun dried tomatoes because I had run out of both and didn't feel like going back to the store.  Both times the soup came out fine.  Also I didn't have a mortar and pestle to crush the dried oregano, so I just crushed it up using my fingers.

For this soup you have to plan ahead because the beans must soak in water overnight.

These are the beans the next day after soaking:

Drain the beans.  Then add chicken broth and lemon wedge and simmer for 1 hour.

While bean simmer chop the veggies.

Cook the onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and chili powder on low heat for 10-15 min.

After the beans have simmered 1 hour add in the onion mixture and cook for another 15 min.

Then take 2 cups of the soup and puree until smooth.  Add back into the pot.

Garnish with sour cream and green onions.

• 8 ounces (1 1/4 cups) dried black beans, soaked overnight
• 4 cups defatted chicken stock
• 1 thick slice of lemon
• 1 medium onion, fiinely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (2 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted stock)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed with a mortar and pestle
• 1 tablespoon sherry, or to taste
• 6 tablespoons light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Preparation:

1. Drain the beans and put them in a heavy pot. Add the stock and lemon slice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender.
2. While the beans are cooking, combine the onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and jalapeno and cook, covered, over very low heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. When the beans are tender, remove the lemon slice and add the onion mixture, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and oregano, and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove 2 cups of the bean mixture and puree in a blender or food processor. Return the puree to the pot, add the sherry, and mix well.
4. To serve, ladle 1 cup of soup into each of six soup bowls. Garnish with 1 tablespoon sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

NOTE:

Watermelon Feta Salad

I made this watermelon feta salad for a potluck in honor of my boss Liz returning to work.

I have seen variations on this salad- you can add mint instead of basil.  Also black olives or cucumbers can be added into the mix.

I chose this watermelon because it had a cute curly stem that looked like a pig's tail!

It actually wasn't the best melon ever, but I wasn't sure how to pick a really good sweet ripe melon out of the bunch.

I did my shopping at Henry's and for my feta I used a really devine sheep's milk feta that they carry, basil and red onion.

Slice open your melon and let the fun begin!....

Cube the watermelon and feta cheese and gently mix together.

Then add just a small amount of very thinly sliced red onion, and tear basil into small strips.

Gently toss and you have a beautiful spring or summer salad!

Pasta a la Laura!

So those of you who know me well will know that I have a slight obsession with goat cheese.

I am proud to say that this recipe is my very own creation!

I got the idea from a pizza on the menu at the Mosaic wine bar which featured many of the same ingredients.  We were sad because we were at brunch and couldn't order off of the regular menu which included the pizzas.  I love anything with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes soooo I took the idea and made it into a  pasta dish.

OK! Ingredients:

Rotini Pasta

Goat Cheese

Pine Nuts

Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped

Fresh Basil, torn

So just cook the pasta as directed on the box.

Then add in the rest of the ingredients to taste.

 If I could change anything about this recipe I would add some garlic next time.

Sunchokes

In my good friend's kitchen I was surprised to find a vegetable that I had never come across before: a sunchoke aka Jerusalem artichoke!

I had seen recipes including Jerusalem artichokes maybe once or twice, but always assumed that it was some specific kind of artichoke.  The Sunchoke looks more like a giant hunk of ginger root!

I thought that this one looked like a frog:

Anyways, my friend said that she had seen a recipe and then came across them at the store.  It was also her first time trying them.  She said that the recipe said that you could leave the skin on, but that she would prefer the roots to be peeled, so I used a vegetable peeler to remove the brown outer skin.  We cut the larger ones into smaller pieces.  The inside of the sunchokes, uncooked, smelled like raw potato.  I was curious to learn more about sunchokes so later on I did some research and found out that they are the root of a type of sunflower! They are native to the united states and were eaten by native Americans! Interesting, right?!

We also roasted some small red potatoes.  We just tossed the sunchokes and potatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roasted them in the oven for about 25 minutes.

They were delicious!  And they actually tasted a bit like artichokes!

The texture was similar to a potato, but the flavor was more nutty and a little sweet and salty at the same time

We ate them alongside some grilled chicken.