Helena: wanna give me the recipe for this??

[momee]

You're recipes are always so wonderful!!!!!!!

 

from what's for dinner thread I saw you made this...

"Tortilla soup and black bean dipped tortillas. Vegan style! "

 

share girl, share :)

(again)

[helena]

:seeya:

Hi! Just saw this :001_smile:

I'd be happy to share, I'll type it out tomorrow though because I'm pooped tonight.

I have two tortilla soups that I make. One has a simple light broth, the other has dried ancho and pasilla blended in. YUM!

[momee]

Ah you wonderful woman. Sounds delicious!!!! Can't wait.

[celticmom]

:lurk5:

[helena]

Okay, sorry I took so long!

 

For black bean dipped tortillas I use canned Sunvista brand or fresh black beans.

 

Here's how I prepare them:

-In an iron skillet coat with a bit of oil

-add half peeled onion (bottom half), and a piece or two of garlic

-start to brown

-put in a piece of bacon (we're vegan, so I use this:http://www.lightlife.com/Vegan-Food-Vegetarian-Diet/Smart-Bacon

-when bacon is fried a bit, put it in blender

-once garlic is browned and juicy, add to blender

-once onion is blackened and juicy, your pan is ready for the beans (it doesn't go in blender)

-put one lg. or two sm. cans of beans in blender with everything else (I pour off a bit of the juice), if using fresh beans I guesstimate the amount to be around the same.

-I add a pinch of cumin and a pinch of vegan chicken broth.

-blend like there's no tomorrow

-pour into pan with hot seasoned oil (same pan you browned onion, garlic and bacon in)

-cook down on low for maybe 20 min., stir occasionally

-turn off and let it set for maybe 15 min.

-remove/discard onion

-squeeze in 1/2 lime

-stir/reheat

-the beans should be runny enough to dip tortillas, but not so runny that they don't stick (you have to play with it :001_smile:)

 

Now you need a second pan with hot oil. You're going to quickly dip the corn tortilla to soften them, and then dip into the hot beans, fold into quarters, and serve with a little sour cream, avocado slices, and a hot sauce (I like this brand:http://www.elyucateco.com/. I like to whisk my vegan sour cream with creamer and a tiny squeeze of lemon. I prefer it to be similar to Mexican sour cream.

 

I'll start the light soup next!

 

ETA: I like to put these beans on tortas too!

[helena]

This is a light and easy to make tortilla soup. The only problem is that I don't measure, so bear with me. :001_smile:

 

I do everything in my cast iron pan. It measures 10" wide and 3" deep.

 

-I line the bottom of my pan with tomatoes (usually 5-7 Roma)

-put in 1/2 peeled onion (yellow or white) and around 3-5 peeled pieces of garlic.

-put the pan in the boiler (make sure whatever you're using is broiler safe!)

-turn tomatoes once to blacken both sides, take out the garlic is it's getting too dark

-once you've taken the pan out and everything's cooled down a bit, peel the tomatoes. I don't worry about getting every little piece, just a quick removal.

-put everything in the blender and puree

-add a small mound of salt (maybe 1/2tsp), handful of vegan chicken broth powder and about 1/2tsp cumin

-blend well

 

-coat bottom of skillet with oil

-add puree and cook down (on low) for about 10 min. It'll thicken and darken up.

-at this point I add water to the pan, usually 1 inch below the top of the pan. I'd guess 6-7 cups of water.

-bring it to a boil, lower heat and cook for about 30 min.

-while it's cooking down salt to taste, add more chicken broth powder if it tastes weak.

It's a light soup, but it should be flavorful. When I have a problem with this soup it's usually because it's watery. I just cook it down for a while and keep seasoning it.

 

Now for the garnish!

-slice and lightly fry a few dry pasillas (they burn easily, be careful)

-slice thin strips of old corn tortillas fry and salt

-cube avocado

-make the Mexican cream like I described in black bean recipe

-quarter limes

 

*pasilla aren't spicy, they add a nice smoky flavor.

This is similar to the chicken broth I use (if not the same), I buy it in bulk at our health food store: http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Vegetarian-Chicken-Flavored-Meatless/dp/B001EO6FG4

[helena]

I don't make the 2nd soup that often. I made it last night and it turned out pretty good. The main difference is that you lightly pan fry 2 pasilla and two anchos and add them to the blender with the other stuff.

 

Everything else is basically the same.

 

The chilis have to be cleaned. Pull out the stem, seeds and veins before frying.

This soup is darker, a little thicker and smokier (is that a word :tongue_smilie:)

 

Ah! I forgot! I strain the soup before I cook it down. That's an important step.

 

Last night mine was a little thick so I added a bit more water before putting away the leftovers. I'm curious to try it today. I think these soups taste better the next day. Just make sure your garnish is fresh.

[Canadianmumof5]

Your soup looks DELICIOUS!! And now i want to make it......right now. It sparked a craving :). Seriously.

[LaxMom]

Yum! Totally subscribing so I can find this again! Thanks for sharing! (and momee, thanks for asking her to!)

[helena]

One more thing!

The black bean tortillas are yummy with any soup. Good combination in my opinion.

 

**Most importantly, I am not a good cook. Please if someone is a real cook and looking at this, seeing all sorts of cooking faux pas, I'm the daughter of two good cooks... a spoiled kid growing up with food. :lol: I learned Mexican recipes because I was starving (I mostly only eat Mexican), not because I'm an actual, factual cook.

[helena]

Yum! Totally subscribing so I can find this again! Thanks for sharing! (and momee, thanks for asking her to!)

 

Here's the thread where Momee and I first started cooking together :001_smile: (the green rice is awesome!) http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=181246&highlight=mexican&page=3

[LaxMom]

Here's the thread where Momee and I first started cooking together :001_smile: (the green rice is awesome!) http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=181246&highlight=mexican&page=3

 

You are awesome!

 

And, by the way, that sounds like pretty darn good cooking to me! :D

[helena]

You are awesome!

 

And, by the way, that sounds like pretty darn good cooking to me! :D

 

Ah thanks!

My problem is stuff like pasta, Chinese, American... My love of cooking begins and ends with beans, glorious beans! :tongue_smilie:

[momee]

Helena, are you moving to Va yet? Come on!~

We could have so much fun together!

[helena]

Helena, are you moving to Va yet? Come on!~

We could have so much fun together!

 

Not anytime soon. :001_smile: We did have a lot of fun there when we visited though...

 

BTW, my family gives the thumbs down to the 2nd tortilla soup recipe. :D

For that type of chili flavor (cooked down and blended) they like a red pozole.

Now that's a good soup!

[momee]

Yes, I agree Pozole sounds great.

You don't do that meatless do you? Tell me you found a great pork substitute and I'll be asking you for your recipe for that too. I LOVE pozole, but without the pork it'd be, blech.

[helena]

Yes, I agree Pozole sounds great.

You don't do that meatless do you? Tell me you found a great pork substitute and I'll be asking you for your recipe for that too. I LOVE pozole, but without the pork it'd be, blech.

 

I do it vegan with no pork substitute. It's is Deeeeeelicious! :D

I do have a good pork substitute though. We buy it at a place my family calls it meat shack. :001_smile: All veg Asian market.

 

I'd give you the name of it but I just used it 2 nights ago and now I'm out. I can give you the info the next time we make a "meat run".

[Momma4Boys]

these recipes look FABULOUS!!!!! thank you!

[momee]

so....out with it...where is the polzole recipe?

board rule right?

 

Why don't you just send me all your recipes, girl?

You can see they're in high demand:lol:

[helena]

so....out with it...where is the polzole recipe?

board rule right?

 

Why don't you just send me all your recipes, girl?

You can see they're in high demand:lol:

 

Okay, I'll post it. :001_smile:

Maybe I'll cook it in the next few days and type it out as I go along.

[helena]

Ack! Sorry this took so long! Here we go, vegan red pozole:

 

-1lb bag pinto beans- Clean out rocks and funky beans, wash, put in pot with 1/2 white or brown onion peeled. I put in the bottom half so that it stays intact and I can remove it later easily (save second half of onion for later). Add about 1/4c. oil and 6c. cold water. Start cooking on med/high, bring to low boil, lower flame to med/low. Cover with lid. Cook until beans just start to feel tender (about 1/2 cooked).

 

-Add 1 29oz can rinsed hominy, 1/2 diced onion, minimum 6 pieces of garlic sliced thick, 3 bay leaves, small handful of dried oregano (first slightly crushed in hand), a handful of vegan chicken broth powder, about 1 tsp cumin, and 6c. more water. Cook on med/low.

 

-Now for the chile puree! Start by cleaning out 10-12 guajillo chiles by removing stem, seeds, and membrane (just pull it all out). Boil a kettle of water and soak chiles covered for about 20-30 minutes. Remove and puree in blender along with 1/4 onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2c. water, 1tsp salt, and a handful of vegan chicken broth powder. Heat about 1/3 c. oil (maybe a bit more...) in a skillet on med/high flame. Add puree, cook about 5-10 min/stir. Lower heat to low, cook another 10min/stir. Add to soup.

 

-Cook till beans are tender and broth thickens a bit, add salt, cumin, and/or chicken broth to taste.

 

-Fill a plate or small bowls with garnish including any of the following: chopped cilantro, lime wedges, chopped jalapeno, thin slices of radish, and diced red onion. The garnish is very important to the flavor of this soup, especially since it's vegan. Lime is an absolute must, jalapeno is just if you like some spice (otherwise the soup isn't spicy).

 

If you have access to good dried corns like Chicos and blue corn it takes the soup to a whole other level. We stock up on corns and dried chiles if anyone makes a trip out to New Mexico. Yum.

The recipe above is just an easy, straight forward kind of meal (assuming you have access to chiles).

 

I know the regular meat version probably superior in flavor :001_smile:, but if you cook it down and season the broth so it's a little thick (not watery in flavor or appearance) it's quite delicious!

 

I'm not positive about measurements because I wing it... but it's a start. You have to work with the recipe over time and perfect it in your own way.

 

Momee, please let me know how it goes, okay? :) Hope you like it!

Edited September 11, 2012 by helena

[momee]

Just saw this. YOU ROCKOLA queen of cookingness.

 

NICE.

 

Cannot wait to add to our "to try" notebook.

[helena]

Let me know what you think, and if you find another vegan recipe that's good, let me know! :001_smile: Everyone in my house loves pozole.

 

I do a brown (no chile), red (w/chile), and a green (tomatillos and pumpkin seeds). It's been a while since I've done the green... I'm going to work on it and I'll let you know how it goes.