Vegetarian Friday: Mashed potatoes and green-chile gravy

On vacation in 2014, I ordered something called a green-chile parfait at a little diner in Gallup, New Mexico, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Said parfait was a Coke glass in which the cook had layered mashed potatoes, green-chile sauce, and shredded cheddar cheese. The execution was kind of mediocre (I think they made the parfait and then microwaved it in the glass, because it had some hot and cold spots in it), but the idea? Brilliant.

I don’t have any parfait glasses, so I just made a bowl of skin-on mashed potatoes and topped it with green-chile sauce and shredded cheddar. It was delicious. Here’s how to make it:

1. Click over to the Visit Albuquerque website to get the green-chile sauce recipe I used. I forgot where I’d stashed my plain cumin, so I subbed a tablespoon or so of my usual homemade taco-seasoning mix for the cumin, and I upped the garlic to three cloves because I grew up in a town full of Italians, and if you’re going to use garlic, you might as well do it right. For the broth, I used a cup of water and three of those vegetable-stock cubes I froze last summer. It turned out very well.

Green-chile sauce is basically brown gravy with onions and green chiles in it. It’s good on just about everything.

2. Bake two potatoes, cut them into chunks, and mash them up, skins and all. (Time-saving tip: Potatoes bake well in the Crock-Pot. Wash them up and cook a bunch at once; when they’re done, you can dice them up or mash them and freeze them for later use.)

3. Layer potatoes, green-chile sauce, and shredded cheddar in a bowl and nuke until the cheddar melts.

Serves two, with enough green chile left for a batch of huevos rancheros or a couple of wet burritos.

Emily

Vegetarian Friday: Quinoa salad

This fall, we attended a family cookout at my in-laws’ house, and their next-door neighbors — a pair of world-class back-to-the-land hippies — brought this great quinoa and black bean salad that tasted like a cross between tabouli and Texas caviar. Ron and I both liked it, but the cool hippie neighbors left before we had a chance to exchange email addresses with them, so I did some Googling, ran a few Pinterest searches, and cobbled together something I think is pretty close to what we had at the cookout. As always, feel free to adjust proportions to suit your personal taste; the only really important part is that you have a 2:1 water-to-quinoa ratio.

Ingredients
1/2 c. red quinoa
1 c. water
At least a dozen cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 bell pepper
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch scallions
2 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Cumin and chili powder to taste (I used my homemade taco seasoning)
1 can black beans

Several hours before you plan to serve the salad, put quinoa in a strainer and rinse thoroughly. (Don’t skip this step, or the quinoa will taste bitter.) Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed — about 15 minutes.

While quinoa cooks, prep your vegetables: Rinse the tomatoes and halve them if desired, dice the pepper, and mince the cilantro and scallions.

Drain and rinse beans and stir them into the finished quinoa, along with the olive oil, lime juice, and spices.

Chill the quinoa-bean mixture for several hours. Stir in the vegetables just before serving. (If you add the vegetables while the quinoa is still hot, they’ll wilt.)

Makes about four big servings. This salad makes a good lunch all by itself, as quinoa is very high in protein.

Emily

Vegetarian Friday: Quick apple wrap

This is sort of like an apple turnover, but much better for you.

This isn’t the prettiest thing I’ve ever made, and I’m not even sure what to call it, but it tastes good, takes about five minutes to make, and is loaded with fiber and various other nutrients that make it an excellent snack for refueling after a long run, a hard workout, or a day in the garden.

Ingredients
Apple
Whole-wheat, low-carb tortilla (I like the ones La Tortilla Factory makes — expensive but nutritionally excellent)
Cinnamon
1 tsp. caramel ice-cream topping or honey
Butter

Core the apple and cut it into thin slices (I use a corer/slicer gadget similar to this one to save time, then cut each slice in half).

Microwave the slices until soft (about 2 minutes in my microwave, but your mileage may vary). While the microwave is running, melt about half a tablespoon of butter in a skillet.

I used caramel sauce because I was craving a caramel apple, but honey or a little butter and brown sugar would work just as well.

Place slices in the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce or honey.

I left this in the pan a bit longer than necessary and probably had the temperature too high. Cook yours on medium, and watch it closely if scorched spots bother you.

Wrap up the tortilla like a burrito and fry gently on both sides. Don’t scorch it (as I obviously did) — you just want it in the pan long enough to warm it and pick up a little bit of butter.

If you use the fancy tortillas like I did, you’ll end up with a snack that’s got about 10 grams of protein and 17 grams of fiber, along with just a few simple carbs to replenish your blood sugar after a workout.

Emily