Posole...My Way

This year I'm making an effort to try new ethnic dishes.  I find that my ethnic cooking classes are the most popular, but after a year of doing them I'm getting a little tired of the same dishes.  They may not be exactly as you order it in a restaurant, but if they make it onto one of my class calendars, I can promise that it'll be delicious, and probably a lot healthier than the restaurant version.
My first experiment this year is Posole, a traditional Mexican soup/stew.  It is usually made with pork, but I decided to make a vegetarian version.  In order to get my serving of protein, I added black beans and brown rice to the recipe.  The bean-rice combo gives you all the essential amino acids normally found in animal protein, and something to keep in mind is that you don't need to eat them together in one meal.  You can get the same benefit from eating rice and beans separately in a 24 hour period.

I started by roasting a pasilla pepper on the gas burner.  If you don't have a gas stove top, you can roast peppers under the broiler, turning to blacken all sides.

After the pepper is peeled and seeded, I added it to a blender (or food processor) with tomatillos, a couple jalapeno peppers, chopped onions, garlic, cilantro, baby spinach or kale leaves (sneak in extra nutrition whenever you can!), cumin, coriander, chili powder, Mexican oregano (regular oregano is OK, if it's all you have), and a couple cups veg broth.

It's looking pretty already... and we know how I love pretty food!

Next, rinse and drain 2 cans hominy and 2 cans black beans.  Canned beans and vegetables are full of sodium, so be sure to always give them a good rinse.  Hominy can be found in most grocery stores with the canned vegetables.  It's simply corn that has had the bran and germ removed.  Normally I'm against that concept; that's how we turn healthy whole grains into much less healthy white rice or "enriched" pasta, but I give hominy a pass.  In the summer, however, when fresh, local corn is in season, I would substitute that and add garbanzo beans for texture.

Put the hominy and beans in a large pot with 4 more cups veg broth and the green pepper mixture.

Simmer for 30 minutes and add 1 cup cooked short-grain brown rice.  Continue to simmer for 10-15 more minutes.  When ready to serve, add the juice of one lime, ladle into bowls and top with a bit of pepper jack cheese.  It's got a bit of a kick to it, so reduce or omit the jalapeno peppers if you're not a spicy girl like me.  This recipe will make 8 servings (even if I'm eating it!), and just gets better and better each day....if you can make it that long without eating it all!

Vegetarian Posole
Serves 8

1 pasilla pepper
1/2 pound tomatillos, husks removed and cleaned
2 cups baby spinach or kale leaves (stems removed if using regular kale)
1 cup chopped onion
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
6 cups Trader Joe's low sodium vegetable broth, divided
2 15-oz. cans hominy, rinsed and drained
2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked short grain brown rice
Juice of one lime
Salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, optional

• Roast pasilla pepper over a gas burner (or under the broiler), turning until all sides are blackened. Place in a bowl and cover for 15 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, peel skin, remove seeds and chop.
• Add to a blender (or food processor) along with tomatillos, spinach or kale leaves, onion, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, spices and 2 cups of broth.  Process until smooth.
• Pour mixture into a large pot and add hominy, black beans, and remaining 4 cups broth.
• Simmer for 30 minutes and add rice.  Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes more.
• Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon each should work)
• Ladle into bowls and top with pepper jack cheese, if desired.

Bring on the Kale!

I never paid attention to kale until a couple years ago. It suffered from"guilt by association" because it was a little too close to Swiss chard, and my childhood memories of Swiss chard were not happy ones.  I think my Irish grandmother used to boil the heck out of it, until it lost all of its flavor (and color).  But a couple years ago I was introduced to homemade kale chips, and I decided to give kale a second look.


If you're not very familiar with kale, take advantage of it in these coming winter months when it's at its best and sweetest.  Kale is full of B vitamins, C, E, K, beta-carotene, iron, calcium, zinc and fiber.  It's one of the best immunity-boosting vegetables around, but it gets better than that....it helps protect your eyes, lungs, and skin and boosts brain power, memory and energy.  What more could you ask for  in a veg???


I love to stir fry it, mix it into soups and chili, roast it sprinkled with smoked paprika for tasty, crunchy chips, or "massage" the leaves with olive oil and salt to wilt them for a new twist on your usual salad.

But my latest kale creation is.....LASAGNA!

One note: alternative lasagna noodles are not as readily available as "enriched pasta" noodles, and I must confess that I used Barilla No-Boil Lasagna Noodles for this recipe test, but you can find gluten-free noodles on Amazon, and I intend to play with this recipe some more using some of the ones they offer. 

I started out by sauteeing mushrooms and onions. 

When softened, I added a couple cloves of garlic and the kale, and continued to saute until the kale wilts.

When done, pull the skillet off the heat and let it cool slightly.  Meanwhile mix ricotta with a teaspoon each of dried basil and organo in a bowl. Next is the marinara sauce...to make things easy, I recommend Trader Joe's Tomato-Basil Sauce; it has all natural ingredients (and very few), and it tastes great.  If you would like to make your own marinara sauce, it's super easy, and you can finds lots of recipes online.

Cover the bottom of your 8X8 pan with a thin layer of sauce, then 2 lasagna noodles.  Cover with half the ricotta mixture, and half the mushroom/kale mixture and 1/3 cup of sauce.  Top with another 2 noodles, the rest of the cheese and kale and 2 more noodles.  Top with remaining sauce and 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese. 

Bake uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 35-45 minutes until bubbly and heated through.

And then try not to eat the whole thing!

A New Year



I've been a bad kitten with this blog, but today is a new day, and it's a new year.  My resolution is to write about good food and good health, giving you lots of ideas and resources to live a happy, healthy and delicious new year.  So let's start with my top three list of simple, healthy things to do in 2012...

#1 Visit a farmers' market at least once a month or subscribe to a CSA.

If you only shop in your local supermarket, you never know what's truly in season.  You'll find tomatoes, berries, peppers, corn, etc. year-round.  But when you shop at a farmers' market you get to experience what really grows seasonally in your area, generally within 100 miles.  There are many reasons I encourage this: you're buying fresh produce at the peak of flavor and most nutritious; you support local farmers who, by nature of their farming practices, often turn out more nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables; you reduce your "carbon footprint" by not purchasing produce flown in from other countries and then trucked across the states.  They are all reason enough to visit a farmers' market, but my biggest reason is that if you're willing (and I hope you are) you will try something new, something that isn't on your usual shopping list.  I used to buy the same things every time I went grocery shopping, but when I started frequenting my farmers' market I began buying things I never would have tried otherwise.  Things I had never used before, some that I'd never even heard of.  Farmers love to tell you about their produce and how to store and cook them, and google will give you a wealth of recipes for whatever you find.  Make this the year you start cooking outside the box.  To find a farmers' market near you or to find a farm that will deliver to you (CSA) visit http://www.localharvest.org/

#2  Wean yourself off "the white stuff"

White rice, white bread and white (you probably know it as "enriched") pasta all started out as whole grains, but then the germ and bran were removed, and along with it most of the nutrients.  These "white" versions spike your blood sugar and offer little to no nutrients.  Trust me, this is an easy change....

Think you can't live without white rice?  Try Trader Joe's brown basmati rice.  My mother practically walked away from me every time I said that she should try brown rice instead of white rice. Truth be told, I probably said something along the lines of "white rice is the devil!" so I can understand her walking away.  But then she took one of my cooking classes where I used TJ's brown basmati rice, and I heard her tell one of her friends the next day "I'll never buy white rice again."  If you knew my mom, you would realize what a ringing endorsement that is.  And I don't care what the package says, it cooks up in 25 minutes, so don't think that it's more time consuming that your old stand-by.

Love pasta?  Try quinoa pasta.  Ancient Harvest makes a fantastic line of pastas that are gluten-free and naturally packed with protein.  I used a couple different varieties in my cooking demos this summer at the Marin and Sonoma farmers' markets, and people overwhelmingly told me how delicious it was.  If you live in Marin, United market has a great selection.  Definitely worth a try.  Or hit the link above to order online.

#3 Try Meatless Mondays

Not only is it obviously better for your wallet, it's also better for you health, and if you follow suggestion #1, it's better for the planet, too.  Having a meal filled with local, seasonal veggies gives you a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants.  For me, it's also a chance to "cook outside the box."  I get a little more creative when I prepare a vegetarian meal.  It's so easy to grill a chicken breast or whip up a burger, but met with a kitchen counter filled with kale, squash, onions, mushrooms, fresh herbs, etc. it challenges my brain and my senses to figure out how to bring it all together into a delicious, satisfying dish.  After reading Skinny Bitch and watching Food Inc. almost three years ago, I tried to give up all animal protein.  I lasted about 6 months.  I think it takes a lot of planning and knowledge (neither if which I had enough of) to be a devoted vegetarian (or vegan ), so I just try to incorporate more meatless meals (I'm not just talking salad for lunch here) into my week.  Two great sources for recipes and ideas are Eating Well (search their vegetarian collection) and Vegetarian Times.  Don't be afraid....

If I could add a 4th, it would be "Take a Cooking Class."  Sure, shameless plug for my classes, but I really believe that getting comfortable in the kitchen and learning some new tricks and tips is so good for you, your health, and your soul.

Here's to happy cooking and a happy, healthy 2012!