Kale and Black Bean Enchiladas with Green Sauce

I'm not gonna lie - this recipe takes a little bit of time and effort. However, it's worth every minute, AND you can make a big tray of these enchiladas and enjoy them throughout the week. They're packed with good-for-you kale, and the creamy cilantro-scallion-coriander-cumin sauce is so good that I had to stop myself from eating it with a spoon! Adapted from epicurious.

Sauce

• 1/2 16-ounce package frozen chopped kale, available at Whole Foods. You could also use fresh kale for this - just wash and chop it into small pieces first. Alternately, you can easily sub in other green ingredients, like spinach.
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
•  2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 green onions, minced (I included the white parts)
• About 2-3 tablespoons sliced jalapenos from a jar. (Can be upped or decreased based on your spice preferences)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Enchiladas

• 12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1/2 16-ounce package of frozen kale or spinach (again, it's fine to use fresh - just wash and chop first)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, or extra milk

For sauce:
Warm the frozen kale or spinach until it's just melted, but not hot. (I usually dump it in a pan with a little water, heat it for a few minutes, then drain it well. If you're using fresh, you can use the same method - just stir it around in a pan with a little bit of water over medium heat until it wilts). Set aside. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add flour and stir mixture 2 minutes; do not brown. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in half the kale/spinach, the 1/2 cup cilantro, 2 green onions, chilies, cumin, coriander and red pepper. Puree in batches in processor until almost smooth. (If it's a little dry, you can add more milk at this stage). Season with salt and pepper. 

For enchiladas:
Combine the rest of the kale or spinach with the black beans, cheddar, and the rest of the cilantro, green onion, cumin, and coriander. Warm the tortillas so they're a little more flexible (I stuck mine in the microwave). Place a few spoonfuls of the filling (about 1/4 cup) in the middle of each tortilla, then roll it up. Place seam side down in large glass baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir sour cream into sauce, and pour over enchiladas. Bake until cheese melts and enchiladas are heated through, about 25 minutes.

Steamed dumplings (with edamame or shrimp)

Thank you, Mark Bittman! These dumplings are easy and amazing. The original recipe calls for shrimp (which is delicious), but I also made some with edamame, which were equally amazing. I chopped ingredients by hand, but a food processor would make things a long easier (and get you a smoother texture, especially for edamame).

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, or about 1 1/2 cups of shelled edamame
1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup roughly chopped scallions
a package of dumpling skins
Juice of 1 lime


1. Combine the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and ginger in a bowl. Put half the shrimp (or edamame), half the cilantro and all the scallions in a food processor and pulse; add just enough of the soy mixture to create a smooth paste, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Transfer to a bowl. Roughly chop the remaining shrimp/edamame and cilantro, add them to the bowl and stir to combine.

2. Place a dumpling skin on a work surface, moisten the edges with water, and put 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center. Gather the edges of the wrapper up around the filling, squeezing gently, to pleat the sides; some of the filling should remain exposed. Repeat with the remaining dumpling skins and filling, keeping the dumpling wrappers and dumplings covered with damp towels while you work.

3. Rig a steamer in a large pot over an inch of water; bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile, add the lime juice to the remaining soy mixture to make a dipping sauce.

4. Put as many dumplings in the steamer as you can fit in a single layer and cover the pot. Cook until the wrappers are tender, 4 to 6 minutes, then transfer the dumplings to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Tofu-Stuffed Portabellos

Moosewood calls this a "showstopper" -- and it SO is. This is totally our new favorite recipe! We made it with the lemon-ginger noodle recipe that I'm about to post and the combination was fan-tabulous.

for stuffed mushrooms:
1 cake of firm tofu, 16 oz
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
1/2 cup diced canned water chestnuts
1/3 cup minced scallions
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup peanut butter
3-4 tbs light miso (or to taste)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
4 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp cayenne
4 portabello mushrooms, about 5 inches in diameter
2 tbs soy sauce

for sweet and sour sauce:
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs cold water

preheat oven to 350. Oil a baking pan. In a bowl, crumble tofu with your fingers. Add the peppers, water chesnuts, scallions, rice, peanut butter, miso, ginger, 1 tsp sesame oil, cayenne, and 1 tbs soy sauce. Stick your hands in it and mush it all together. set aside.

Twist off mushroom stems and gently rinse caps to remove dirt. place the caps gill-side up on the oiled pan. In a small cup, stir together remaining 3 tsp sesame oil and soy sauce. Brush the mushrooms with the mixture, then mound one-quarter of the filling on each mushrooms. Bake for 35 minutes until mushrooms release juice and filling is firm. While the mushrooms bake, prepare the sweet and sour sauce.

sweet and sour sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine apple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, and bring to a boil. stir the dissolved corn starch into the boiling sauce; reduce heat and stir for one minute, until sauce thickens. serve hot over mushrooms.

Cheesy Mashed Potato-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Deeee-licious fall comfort food. Seriously. If I could eat this everyday, I would!

1 medium-sized acorn squash
5 medium-sized potatoes of your favorite variety
extra virgin olive oil
6 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP butter
1/4 C milk
3 scallions, sliced
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 C chopped walnuts, toasted
parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Start by halving and deseeding the squash. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees until tender, about 40 minutes. Wash potatoes well and chop roughly. Add to boiling water and boil until very soft, about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, get some olive oil heated in a skillet and saute the mushrooms, shallot, and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragrant, about ten minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and saute for another minute or two. Strain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter and milk and mash well. Add sauteed mushrooms, scallions, goat cheese, toasted walnuts, salt, and pepper, and stir until everything is combined.

When squash is tender, remove from oven. Fill cavities with mashed potatoes until overflowing. Smother with grated parmesan cheese. Return to oven for about ten minutes until cheese is melty and browned. Serve hot!

Yummmmm!

Spinach-Corn-Feta Salad

If you're like me and want to hang on to those last few bits of summer, this salad's for you!

1 small bunch of spinach, chopped
1 ear of corn, boiled
3 scallions, sliced thinly
4 ounces feta, crumbled
2 eggs

Dressing:
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Place eggs in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil. Cover and remove from heat, allowing eggs to sit in hot water for 15 minutes. Cut the kernels off the ear of corn. In a large bowl toss together spinach, corn, scallions, and feta. In a small jar, whisk together all dressing ingredients and drizzle over salad. Cool cooked eggs in ice water. Peel, quarter lengthwise, and arrange on top of individually plated salads. Grind some fresh black pepper over eggs and serve!

ps - I just ate the leftover salad on a bed of leftover quinoa and topped it all off with some avocado slices...couldn't have been MORE delicious!