Cheesy Mushroom Enchiladas

For "Cinco de Mayo" we decided to celebrate our adopted country's Independence Day by whipping up a Mexican feast!!  This was one of the menu items and it was delicious and simple - admittedly this is not an original recipe, but rather one from Rachel Ray.  I used the fresh mushrooms and onions from this week's CSA box from Cooper's Farm and the result was heavenly!!!

CHEESY MUSHROOM ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:

1 lb white mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup of EVOO 

2 cups shredded cheese (I used goat cheddar but try monterey jack)

Salt, to taste

1 large white onion, chopped

2 tbsp chili powder

4 tsp ground cumin

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz), although homemade is best!

8- 6" soft corn tortillas

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Brush some olive oil in a 9 x 12 baking dish and set aside.
• In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms in 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until the mushrooms are a lovely golden colour. (Approx 15 mins)  Remove from the heat and toss them in a bowl with 1 1/2 cups of cheese.  Season with salt and set aside.
• In the same skillet, cook the onion in the remaining olive oil over medium high heat, stirring until lightly golden. (Approx 6 to 8 mins).  Add the chili powder and cumin and stir well for 2 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water.  Simmer until the sauce thickens.
• In the greased baking dish pour 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom.  Coat the tortillas in some sauce to make them pliable and to absorb the yummy flavours of the sauce.  Place 1/3 cup of the mushroom mixture down the centre of the tortilla, roll up and place in the baking dish.  Once you have repeated this with all 8 tortillas, top them with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.  Place into the heated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or  until bubbly.
• ENJOY!! 

Curried Crab with Coconut and Chili

So good that Emeli wore it!

The boys digging in like savages!

 Greg and I were watching the "Food Network" and Chef Curtis Stone came on to discuss the best dish he has ever made.  It looked so yummy and easy that we decided to give it a go!  We even went so far as to cover our table with a big sheet of plywood and put kraft paper on top of that for the shells!  Then we invited our friends Mike and Emeli over and feasted!!!!  It is delicious and I think this sauce would be excellent with fish, shellfish, chicken, veggies or even beef!!!!  DO NOT skimp on toasting and grinding the whole spices ~ the flavour that is produced is what makes this dish!!!!

CURRIED CRAB WITH COCONUT & CHILI

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lbs live crab (we used blue crab)

1/4 cup whole coriander seeds

1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp whole black peppercorns

Sea salt, to taste

2/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup desiccated unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

5 garlic cloves

1 white onion, chopped

1 large green chile, chopped roughly

1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive)

1 medium ripe tomato, diced

10 fresh curry leaves (didn't have this so I used 2 tbsp hot curry powder)

2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp chili powder

1 can of unsweetened coconut milk

• Place the crab in the freezer for 2 hours, or until it stops moving (this is really a humane way of killing them because they just go to sleep ~ especially if you are squeamish about killing them!  Otherwise buy frozen!!)  Remove the legs and crack them with a rolling pin.  Remove the top fo the shell and clean out the insides with your fingers.  Chop the crab and top shells in half.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and peppercorns.  Stir constantly until they become fragrant and toasted, approx 3 to 4 minutes.  Cool completely.
• To make the paste, grind the toasted seeds with a pinch of salt using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.  Transfer this dry mixture to a food processor and add the vinegar, coconut flakes, ginger, garlic, chile and onions.  Blend to form a paste.  
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over low heat.  Add the paste and saute until fragrant and some of the juices evaporate, approx. 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the tomato, curry leaves, turmeric, chili powder, and a pinch of salt and cook until the tomato are tender and melting into the sauce, approx 5 mins.  Add the crab and 1/2 cup water, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the crab pieces are cooked through, approx 10 mins.  Mix in the coconut milk and simmer for 2 to 3 mins to allow flavours to blend.  DO NOT boil the coconut milk as it will split.
• Place the crab either directly on your kraft paper or on a big platter and dig in!!!

      

    

Quick Vietnamese - Style Chicken Pho

My husband, kids and I have been into the spicy Vietnamese soups (pho) lately in a BIG way.  I am suffering with a lousy head cold today so I thought a chicken pho was in order for dinner tonight!  This is super simple and while you can go more elaborate and make your own stock, using a low-sodium chicken stock is perfectly acceptable.  I had chicken thighs which Greg browned for me and then I thinly sliced, and I had my own stock in the fridge already...this made the pho really quick to make!

QUICK VIETNAMESE-STYLE CHICKEN PHO

Ingredients:

2 cups of thinly sliced, cooked chicken

8 cups chicken stock

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp sugar (I used 1 tbsp agave syrup)

Thinly sliced shiitake or porcini mushrooms (optional)

1/2 lb dried rice noodles

 1/2 cup of chopped, fresh cilantro

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 lime, cut into wedges 

Either sliced red chilies, or sambal oelek sauce

• Heat the stock in a large pot on medium low heat.  Add the chicken, onion, 5 spice powder, fish sauce and sugar.  If adding the mushrooms, add now.
• Once the stock is simmering, add the rice noodles and stir well.
• Serve the stock in a bowl, and top with cilantro, green onions, chilies, and lime wedge squeezed.
• ENJOY!
  

Fresh Tomato Salsa

My family enjoys Mexico, and in particular the Mayan Riviera, so much that we spend a lot of time there and have actually built a vacation villa there (www.villaarrecife.com)!  This is a very common condiment that is always placed on the table as an appetizer with freshly made corn chips, no matter where you go.  It's simplicity is what allows the flavours to shine through and I guarantee after making a batch of this, you will no longer want jarred, pulpy 'salsa' again!!!

FRESH TOMATO SALSA

Ingredients:

6 plum tomatoes (or any flavourful, ripe variety), finely diced

1/4 of a white onion, finely diced

1/3 of a bunch of cilantro (coriander), finely diced

2 serrano chilies, finely diced with seeds and ribs

Juice of one lime

1/2 tbsp coarse salt

3 fresh peaches, finely diced

• Once all the ingredients have been chopped, simply combine in a medium-sized bowl and serve with corn chips (our new favourite are the lime flavoured ones from PC!)
• ENJOY!

**The peaches are optional but add a nice seasonal burst of sweetness which plays off the tartness of the lime, heat of the chilies and saltiness of the chips, beautifully!  If you don't have peaches, you can add apples, or mangoes, plums or even avocados for a more authentic feel!