Cinco de Mayo Taco Salad

Corn, black beans and rice. What a perfect combination. You could make this mixture and use it in tacos, wraps or on a salad as the recipe intends. Use whatever you like in the salad: taco chips, lettuce, avocado, tomato, cucumber, salsa, cilantro... This is adapted from the Eating Well website.

Taco Salad

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup corn kernels
1 large tomato, chopped
1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cup cooked beans (black, pinto, kidney)
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp oragano
1/4 tsp salt

lime wedges for the salad dressing

Heat the oil. Add onion and corn and cook until the onion starts to brown. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the tomato breaks down. Let cool before adding to your salad or serve hot in the taco shells. Squeeze the lime over the mixture when you mix it with the salad.

Tortilla Soup

Not sure where I ever got the taste for tortilla soup but every so often I get a craving for a bowl of this yummy soup. There are many recipes for tortilla soup that just are soup with tortillas in it but I wanted a recipe with tortillas actually as an ingredient. This soup came together quickly and was delicious. Adjust the amount of cilantro depending on how much you like cilantro but don't omit it entirely or else you lose a vital flavour.

Tortilla Soup

4 cups veggie stock
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, sliced with the green parts
8 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped (or one can of diced tomatoes)
a handful of cilantro, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1.5 tsp cumin
3-4 handfuls of tortilla chips (and more for on top)
salt, to taste
1/2 cup corn kernels
1.5 cups cooked black beans

In a medium stock pot, bring to a boil the stock, onions, garlic and green onions. When it's boiling, add the tomatoes and bring to a boil again. Toss in the cilantro, the chili powder, the cumin and the tortilla chips. Remove from the heat. Once the chips have gone soggy, use an immersion blender to blend it all smooth.

Taste and add salt to taste depending on how salty your chips are.

Add the corn and beans and heat back up to a boil.

Serve with a few crushed tortilla chips on top. You could also add chunks of avocado if you wanted!

Roasted Asparagus Corn Chowder

This rain is depressing. It's June 7th and I have the fireplace on to warm up because the outside temperature drops to about 6 degrees at night. It shouldn't be time to be making soup but who wants salads and sandwiches when we are wearing scarves and gloves in the morning and at night? Ridiculous!!

I made this chowder in the slow cooker and left it for about 4 hours on low. You could do it in a regular pot and cook it faster. It depends on your time. You could also toss in raw asparagus if you don't want to roast it but I can't guarantee that the flavour will be as good. Play around!

Roasted Asparagus Corn Chowder

2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium leek, sliced thin (see note below)
3 medium carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 lrg can garbanzo beans or 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans that you have waiting in your freezer
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh
1 package powdered coconut milk
5 cups water
1 vegan stock cube
chopped roasted asparagus - however much you have left

If you are making this in a slow cooker, omit the oil and throw all the rest of the ingredients, minus the roasted asparagus, in the slow cooker, mix really well to get the coconut powder to dissolve as much as possible, and leave on low for 4 hours or so. Add the asparagus in the last 30 minutes of cooking. If you are using raw asparagus, add it at the beginning.

If you are doing this in a pot, heat the oil and fry the leek until the pieces start to brown. Add all the other ingredients , minus the roasted asparagus. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Toss in the roasted asparagus and leave to simmer another 5 minutes. If the asparagus is raw, toss in with the rest of the ingredients so that it cooks.

Leek Note: Leeks can be full of dirt. To clean them properly, cut off the root end and slice down the length of the leek so that you cut the rings in all the way down. Don't cut all the way through, the knife should go half way through to the core and then slice down. Put the leek under running cold water and use your thumb to separate the layers to wash the grit caught in-between the layers. You can even pull the leek layers apart, wash them, and then put them back together.

Cheese-Free Mexican

While we were in San Diego we enjoyed many Mexican meals but each meal is laden with cheese. One soup I did not find that I have eaten in Mexico is tortilla soup. It is one of my favourites! So tonight I made a cheese-free tortilla soup. I'm not sure if it usually has cheese as some recipes had cheese and others didn't but this one has the flavour that I was looking for. Corey says it's a bit cilantro-y for him so reduce the amount if you don't like a strong cilantro flavour. I love it! There is another recipe that used nutritional yeast to make a cheesy tortilla soup. I'll let you know what that one is like.

Tortilla Soup

4 cups veggie broth
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 green onions,sliced
1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes (don't use canned tomatoes - use frozen or fresh ones)
1/4 - 1/2 bunch cilantro
1 tbsp chili powder
1.5 tbsp cumin (fresh ground from Abby's - remember?)
3-4 handfuls of tortilla chips
1 tsp salt or more to taste
1/2 cup frozen corn
1.5 cups cooked black beans (one can or the ones you have cooked and in the freezer)
juice of 1 lime (or about 1tbsp of lime juice)
1 avocado, sliced

Bring the stock, garlic and onion to a boil. Turn down heat and add tomatoes. Allow to simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro, chili powder, cumin and tortilla chips. The chips will soften (duh) and when they do, blend the soup with an immersion blender. Add salt and adjust seasoning to taste. Return to heat, add corn and beans and bring up to almost a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until you are ready to eat the soup. Crumble tortillas into the soup and add slices of avocado on top.

Thai Coconut Corn Soup

This soup can be as spicy as you want it to be depending on how much cayenne pepper you use and if you add a sliced chili. I used a Thai red chili but you can use a jalapeno. For a milder version but with the flavour of the chili, remove the seeds before adding the chili to the soup. Just make sure to wear gloves when you chop a red chili as the oil burns your fingers and then burns any other skin you may touch!

I used kaffir lime leaves and dried galangal but lime juice and fresh ginger will work just as well.

Thai Coconut Corn Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 3 carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or more or less)
1 chili pepper, sliced - see note above
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed or 1 cup cooked garbanzos
1 sweet red pepper, sliced
1 sweet yellow pepper, sliced
2 cups frozen corn
2 cans coconut milk (about 400 ml each)
2 cups water
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp lime juice or 2 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger or 2 pieces dried galangal

Heat the oil on medium in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, and cayenne. Stir and cook until the onions and carrots start to soften. Add all the other ingredients and bring the soup up to a boil. Turn the heat down and let the soup simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings (salt, cayenne pepper, lime juice) as needed.