Vegan Cuban Bowls

It's been awhile...once again. It's been so long since I've posted a recipe that I logged on to post a recipe and now I can't remember what I put in it...

But today I've got a FANTASTIC recipe shared with me by my friend Tiffany. Tiffany has a blog where she shares her great recipes. She makes great food, so I was really excited to try this recipe, especially since it uses plantains. I love them, but I've never made at home before. 

The key to the plantains (which Tiffany shared with me) is to let them get nice and dark. You pretty much want them almost black. This makes them sweeter and oh so yummy. My grocery store almost always only has green plantains. This time I bought two and one of them ripened in about five days and the other is still going. Be patient, it's worth it. 

And as you can see we did not eat ours in a bowl, any dish will do. My husband opted to eat his with some sour cream (non vegan), but I ate it without and it was still amazing. I also warmed my canned, rinsed beans with a little vegetable broth, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder just to add another layer of flavor. Oh and the coconut oil is also key. It brings such a wonderful hint of flavor to the dish. I don't like heat in my food, so I left the jalapeno out of the pico de gallo, but if you do, then leave it in!

My husband LOVED LOVED LOVED this recipe. He came home and saw the plantains and he was like a little kid in a candy store. He kept exclaiming how good it was and extolling my cooking talents. So, Tiff, thank you! My husband is now convinced I'm a wonder in the kitchen. 

 I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vegan Cuban Bowls

Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Servings: 3

Recipe from www.tiffanystriedandtrue.blogspot.com

For the Pico de Gallo:

1 cup diced tomato

3 Tb chopped cilantro leaves

3 Tb minced red onion

1/8 tsp salt

1 Tb minced jalapeno (optional)

For the Cuban Bowls

2 Tb coconut oil, divided

2 cups cubed red sweet potato (yam)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large, ripe plantain

1 14.5oz can black beans, rinsed

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 avocado, sliced

lime wedges

• Combine the tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapeno, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Toss well and set aside to let the flavors come together.

• Peel the plantain by drawing a sharp knife along the long ridges down the sides (there should be three or four), then peeling off each side of the peel in sections. Slice the plantain crosswise on an angle into coins.

• Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the cubed sweet potato as well as the cumin and ½ teaspoon salt. Toss well, then turn the heat down to medium. Saute until golden brown and fork-tender; 5-7 minutes. Transfer the cooked sweet potato to a bowl; tent with foil to keep warm.

• Add the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan and allow it to melt. Fry the plantain pieces until golden, about 1 or 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

• Warm the black beans in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat (or by microwave in a covered bowl).

• Assemble the bowls by dividing all of the ingredients equally between the two bowls in the following order: brown rice, black beans, sweet potatoes, plantains, avocado, and pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.

Vegetable Egg Rolls

I've wanted to make egg rolls from scratch for a long time but never had the courage to try them until I saw this recipe.  It looked rather straightforward and it was! I can't believe how easy it was. The only thing that took some concentration was rolling them tight and keeping an eye on them while frying so they wouldn't burn.

These deliciously crispy egg rolls are filled with cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and garlic. But I also think green onions, snow peas, bean sprouts and glass noodles would be good in these. They're given a bit of flavor using soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. The recipe I followed called for chinese rice wine and since I do not plan on ever having that ingredient on-hand, I decided to add a splash of rice wine vinegar for the acidity and a bit more sugar for the sweetness. I hoped that would cover the flavor profile of the wine and I think it turned out really nice.

We ate these with fried rice and my 20 month old LOVED them! She looked so cute while eating them that I couldn't resist taking a picture. She wanted them so badly that she had a tough time while I snapped a few pics on my iphone pre dinner (yes I had to do that on the floor by my window because the pics in the kitchen had no light and made them look like brown blobs). Luckily she was rewarded for her patience (see below)!

Just a note about the wrappers. I could only find "spring roll wrappers" in my local grocery store. But I don't think there's much difference between spring roll and egg roll wrappers. At least as I can tell. I found these and they worked great.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vegetable Egg Rolls
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Servings: 15 rolls
source: Detours in Life

Note: once you get the wrappers out of the package, they can dry out very quickly, so place them under a damp towel to stay moist. 

3 cloves garlic, minced
12oz bag of coleslaw mix (about 3/4 of a 16oz bag)
3 large carrots, shredded
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
8oz of shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

To seal egg rolls:
1 Tb cornstarch
1/4 cup water

• In large frying pan or wok over medium high heat, heat oil and saute cabbage, carrots, garlic, ginger and mushrooms 
• Add soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper and continue to saute until vegetables and cooked through and cabbage has wilted
• Remove vegetables from heat and lay them out on a baking sheet to cool to room temperature
• Once vegetables are cooled, you need to squeeze out all the  moisture. I did this by literally squeezing with my clean hands. You could also do this in a large tea towel and ring out the water. 
• Heat 1-2" of oil in high-sided pan to 350 - 375 F. 
• Put a large heaping Tb of the vegetable mixture in one corner of a wrapper. Roll that corner up until the middle, folding the sides in, and finish rolling to the other corner. Seal the wrapper with the cornstarch and water mixture on the tip of your finger. 
• Fry rolls in oil for about a minute or so each side, or until they're a nice golden brown. Keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly! 

Sweet Potato Curry Soup

Not everyone is a fan of curry, but if you are, then I would definitely give this soup a try. And if you're not, try it anyway. It may surprise you! It is so delicious and perfect on a cold winter night.

I based the recipe off of this one from KatieAtTheKitchenDoor.com. I left out the lentils and the orange juice and increased the coconut milk. We had lentils for dinner the night before, so I wanted a break from them. Plus, with brown rice I didn't feel like it needed the lentils. The orange juice just sounded funny to me to add to curry. It totally could be delicious, but I didn't want to risk it...(maybe I should be more risky with my cuisine? hmm....I'll have to ruminate on that one..)

I followed the recipe and roasted the sweet potatoes first to give it more depth of flavor. But you could totally skip that step if you're crunched for time and just simmer is on low heat for longer until the sweet potatoes are cooked through.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweet Potato Curry Soup
Prep time: 1 hr Cook time: 30 minutes Servings: 6
Recipe adapted from: www.katieatthekitchendoor.com

3 large sweet potatoes, diced
2 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper
2 Tb butter
1 large onion, diced
2 shallots, minced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tb curry powder
2 Tbs freshly grated ginger
4 C vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
3 cups cooked brown rice
cilantro for serving

• Mix sweet potato with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put on a large sheet pan and roast at 400 F for 35-45 minutes or until they start to get some good roasted color on them and then set aside. 
• In large, heavy bottomed pot, over medium high heat, saute onions and shallots in butter for 3-4 minutes.
• Add turmeric, curry and ginger to onions and shallots and cook an additional minute until the spices become fragrant. 
• Add vegetable broth and sweet potatoes to the pot and bring to a boil.
• Then turn the heat down and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. 
• Add coconut milk after soup has simmered, then using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. If too thick, then add a bit more stock. 
• Serve in a bowl with a large scoop of brown rice and cilantro