Finally, enchiladas... and other stuff

I was in awe when I visited Vivacious Vegan's blog this weekend to find her mouth-watering enchilada post. See, it's been several years at least since I made enchiladas, and I've long been jonesin' to try my hand at a vegan variety. In the past week or so, for reasons I don't understand, my craving became particularly strong, and it only took one person's blog to push me over.

I followed Crystal's step-by-step as a guideline, though I didn't exactly follow the recipes she shared--I took her ideas and made them my own.

I used a can of spicy refried beans, a can of black beans, sliced black olives, sautéed onions and green peppers, one batch of Vegan Vittles' Melty White Uncheese, and a can of enchilada sauce. I'd love to try making my own sauce next time, but I figured I ought to use what I had on hand. I rolled up ten tortillas like this:


Refried beans, black beans, a scoop of onions and peppers, a scoop of cheese, and a sprinkling of black olives.


Once they were all packed into the casserole, I spread the rest of the cheese over the top...


then poured the enchilada sauce over everything.

Into the oven it went, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes.


In the meantime, I chopped up some avocado, cilantro, and lime wedges to finish.


Tossed together a quick salad with a mango-chili vinaigrette.


Then they were ready to serve. Yum! Thanks, Crystal--you prodded me into one of the best meals I've had in a while.


I made these griddle-cakes out of leftover cornmeal "mush" that I made recently. They were okay... a good use for the leftovers, I thought, but not worth writing home about. Topping them with warmed blackberry preserves and some toasted walnuts was a good choice.


This tofu salad was a pretty decent invention--my goal was just to use up a handful of items in my fridge, but the flavors really worked well, with sort of an Italian flair. I wish I'd had time to drain the tofu a little better--it was a little on the wet side. But still, I can't complain. I'll leave you with the recipe.

I've got some great-looking recipes on my radar screen to try this week... so hopefully I'll have some time! Take care, until next time!

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Thyme-y Tofu Salad

1 block firm tofu, drained and patted dry
2 tablespoons Nayonaise
2 celery ribs, finely diced
3 green onions, green and white parts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, slightly crushed
3 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork until mixed.