Am I poisoned? | Cute vegan shoes

I mentioned recently that I'd picked up a Borner V-Slicer mandoline at Goodwill for $2.99 to add to my growing collection of thrifted kitchenware, and used it to cut carrots for sushi. I actually enjoy cutting vegetables by hand, so I cut the rest of the sushi veggies with my santoku, putting the V- Slicer away for another day. That day arrived sooner than I thought it would, with a terrible urge to cut potatoes into shoestrings and fry them in a pan.

We always seem to buy potatoes and forget about them, so when I went for the bag, the poor taters were covered with big sprouting eyes. So are these things poisonous or not, and are the potatoes safe to eat if you cut off the sprouts? What about green spots? After much research, I found advice ranging from, "not poisonous at all" to "discard potatoes that are turning green or sprouting." Even Rachel Ray weighed in on the subject with a video assuring everyone that poisonous potato eyes and green spots are an urban legend. After reading everything I could find, I've come to the conclusion that neither sprouting potato eyes or green-tinged potatoes are good to eat. The green color, while not in itself toxic, is an indicator that the potato has increased its production of solanine and should be discarded. Special care should be taken if children will be eating the potatoes as they are more susceptible to toxins.



Wikipedia said this:

Potatoes contain toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids, of which the most prevalent are solanine and chaconine. Solanine is also found in other plants in the family solanaceae, which includes such plants as the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) and tobacco (Nicotiana) as well as the potato, eggplant and tomato. This poison affects the nervous system causing weakness and confusion.

These compounds, which protect the plant from its predators, are generally concentrated in its leaves, stems, sprouts, and fruits. Exposure to light, physical damage, and age increase glycoalkaloid content within the tuber; the highest concentrations occur just underneath the skin. Cooking at high temperatures (over 170 °C or 340 °F) partly destroys these.

Glycoalkaloids may cause headaches, diarrhea, cramps and in severe cases coma and death; however, poisoning from potatoes occurs very rarely. Light exposure causes greening from chlorophyll synthesis, thus giving a visual clue as to areas of the tuber that may have become more toxic; however, this does not provide a definitive guide, as greening and glycoalkaloid accumulation can occur independently of each other. The U.S. National Toxicology Program suggests that the average American consumes at most 12.5 mg/day of solanine from potatoes (the toxic dose is actually several times this, depending on body weight). Dr. Douglas L. Holt, the State Extension Specialist for Food Safety at the University of Missouri, notes that no reported cases of potato-source solanine poisoning have occurred in the U.S. in the last 50 years, and most cases involved eating green potatoes or drinking potato-leaf tea.

I also found this:

Many plants contain small amounts of naturally occurring toxic chemicals. For example, two commonly eaten foods, the potato and the tomato, come from the nightshade family. The nightshade family is known to contain toxic compounds called alkaloids. The alkaloid in the potato is solanine. In the United States, healthy potatoes contain 1 to 5 milligrams of solanine per small potato. Under current FDA regulations, 20 milligrams of solanine per 100 grams (a small potato) can render it unfit to eat. Solanine is produced as the potato gets old or is exposed to light. So consumers should avoid potatoes that are old, sunburned (green under the skin) or spongy. Under these conditions, the solanine levels can increase sevenfold or more. Do not eat the potato eyes because they contain a high concentration of solanine. Toxic amounts of solanine can seriously affect the nervous system and have caused death. Source: Angela Fraser, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Food Safety Specialist, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, North Carolina State University.

And I found similar advice on Snopes, my favorite myth-buster site, to discard potatoes with green eyes, sprouts or greenish skin.



But on Chow.com, an article by Roxanne Webber states what I always believed, that if you cut off the offending onion sprout or green part, you can eat the rest of the potato.

Potato sprouts are considered toxic due to their potentially high concentration of glycoalkaloids, says Dr. Nora Olsen, an associate extension professor and potato specialist at the University of Idaho.

“Potato alkaloids exert their toxic effects on the nervous system by interfering with the body’s ability to regulate acetylcholine, a chemical responsible for conducting nerve impulses,” notes UC Davis vegetable specialist Marita Cantwell in the Perishables Handling Newsletter, Issue No. 87. She explains that the main types of glycoalkaloids found in potato sprouts are a-solanine and a-chaconine. “[S]ymptoms of solanine toxicity include headache, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea,” she writes. Cooking is not believed to reduce levels of the compounds, but you can cut the sprouts off and still safely eat the potato.

It matters whether the potatoes were stored in the light. “Sprouts exposed to light can have two to four times more glycoalkaloids than nonexposed sprouts,” Olsen explains.

A potato exposed to light, sprouted or unsprouted, may itself have an increased concentration of glycoalkaloids. If this is the case, the toxic area will turn green. Strangely, that green is not the poison itself but chlorophyll, which is harmless. The green color is, however, a good indicator that that part of the potato may contain higher levels of the poisonous compounds. As with the sprouts, Olsen explains, you can cut the green part off and eat the rest of the potato.

I cooked my elderly potatoes before reading any of the articles, and now I'm wondering if that was such a good idea. But, there doesn't seem to be absolute agreement on whether it's safe to eat potatoes after removing sprouts and green areas. My potatoes had sprouts, but not green skin or flesh, and they had been stored away from light. I carefully removed all traces of the sprouts, and put the potatoes through the small julienne attachment of the slicer. I also shredded half a large onion with the mandoline. If I were still at our house in Wisconsin and had access to my big old cast iron pan, I probably would have used that to fry the potatoes, but I ended up cooking my potatoes in the wok, which has become my all-purpose pan.

The wok was heated, and a couple of tablespoons of canola oil were added and swirled around to coat the cooking surface. Kalonji (black onion seeds) were sprinkled on the wok and the potato-onion mix was arranged in a thin layer on the bottom and sides of the wok. The potatoes were sprinkled with ground cumin and turmeric and left to cook. When the bottom was brown, the potatoes were flipped over for the second side to cook. When the potatoes were tender but crisp, they were finished with fresh ground pepper and a mild hickory-smoked salt.

I recommend making this with fresh, firm, sprout-free, not-green potatoes! I'm composting the rest of my bag because they're old and soft as well as sprouted, and after reading all this information, I've decided to be more cautious with my spuds. Do you use potatoes that have sprouted? Turned green?

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Dividend time



Now that we're in Seattle, headquarters of REI, squandering our REI dividend is more fun than ever. It's true I have to check my ego at the door when entering REI alongside the young, hip and fabulously fit crowd, but hey, I've been a member since memberships cost $5. I'm entitled. My husband wanted a new jacket so we spent a LOT of time in the men's department picking one out. It was a lot less expensive than we thought it would be, plus we had a 20% off coupon for each of us, so we had a bunch of dividend dollars left. We headed to the shoe department to look around because I'm always interested in seeking out vegan shoes. I immediately found two pairs of really cute vegan shoes to try. I have to mention that every woman in the shoe department — and there were a lot — was trying on hiking boots, except me. I was trying on CUTE SHOES. Even the sales clerk said, "Hmmm. These are awfully CUTE SHOES for REI." I looked her straight in the eye, and told her all my other shoes were hiking boots, and I needed something different.


Jambu pilot vegan shoes.

This is not far from the truth, but I had to ignore the serious-hiking-boot-action around me to get the CUTE shoes on my feet. I liked them both, and unable to make a choice, I bought both pairs thinking I'd try them at home, and then decide. What should I do??? They are both comfortable. (And yes, I already do have hiking boots.)

Update:
There is some confusion about whether or not the Jambu "Pilot" shoes are vegan so I called Jambu to see what's what. The woman I spoke to said three of the four Pilot colors are vegan; black, raspberry and pistachio are vegan but the brown color is leather. This is because the designer couldn't find an acceptable brown vegan material. The box doesn't say "vegan" but the shoes definitely are, according to Jambu customer service. Various Web sites are listing the shoes as nubuck but Jambu told me this isn't the case. That's all I know.

Dinner with Aaron and Erica / veganmofo 2009

We had dinner with our son Aaron and his girl friend, Erica. Whenever we eat at their apartment, we know the food will be great, and we weren't disappointed. Aaron & Erica had eaten at The Farm Cafe in Portland, OR, and wanted to re-create the meal they had there. Lucky for us the recipe for this fabulous dinner was online, and with the link to Everyday dish TV (plant-based cuisine), you, too, can enjoy this delicious meal of Herb-Crusted Tofu with Mushrooms Marsala, and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Yesterday I said I prefer to post recipes after I personally try making them in my kitchen, but Aaron said he followed the directions, and the recipe worked really well. He recommends watching the video because he said it differs slightly from the written instructions, particularly for making the marsala sauce. Aaron said that following the video will give you a meal that tastes just like the one at the restaurant. Our meal was accompanied by brussels sprouts and was delicious. Try it.

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Soy Curls at last
I've had Soy Curl-envy for a long time now as I've read all the rave reviews of this product and seen the photos of delicious-looking soy curl dishes. I just couldn't find them locally in Wisconsin and never got around to ordering them. I must have forgotten we moved to Seattle a few weeks ago, and all things vegan are now within my grasp. So I went to the Soy Curl Web page to discover what I already suspected - Soy Curls are sold at the Sidecar vegan grocery. My husband and I were planning a walk around Green Lake but we walked to Sidecar instead, and got some Curls, some Daiya cheese, some vegetable soup base and a lot of exercise.



My husband made Soy curls with asparagus and quinoa from Vegan Yum Yum except he used broccoli, green beans and sweet red peppers instead of asparagus. The verdict? Very tasty with a nice texture for those moments when texture is on your mind, if you know what I mean. Soy Curls are made from whole soybeans and contain no weird additives, and they're very low in salt. I see great potential here. We didn't try the Daiya, yet, but we will, soon.

FYI


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Bake sale!!!
If you're in the Seattle area this weekend and craving baked goods, stop by Sidecar for a vegan bake sale to benefit Sidecar for Pigs Peace Sanctuary. I've set aside today as a baking day for brownies, blondies and crackers, but I can't wait to buy the stuff other people make.

Where: Sidecar For Pigs Peace
5270 B University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105

When: Saturday October 10
and Sunday October 11
1 PM to 4 PM

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Don't forget to enter the cookbook giveaway! Who wouldn't want a copy of "Love Soup" by Anna Thomas?

A dedication...

I came to the computer early yesterday morning to write a post about our first week in Seattle, but instead, I received heartbreakingly sad news that a dear, old friend had died in a bicycle accident in Colorado. Everything suddenly became trivial compared to this. I can barely process this information and understand it. He was so full of life and adventure that it's impossible to imagine he's not kayaking a wild river, running a marathon somewhere, playing his violin in the community orchestra or tending his extensive gardens.

I'm going to put up a short post that I wrote previously but never used, and dedicate it to Stanley, a wonderful and compassionate man who enjoyed life, and who will be terribly missed by everyone who knew him.


© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

We used to have a great Ethiopian restaurant within walking distance of our house. We were really disappointed when it closed, as it was so convenient and delicious and had lots of great vegetarian food. Plus the restaurant emphasized healthy cooking, which was a real bonus. Thinking about this restaurant recently, my husband started craving Ethiopian food and decided to make some. His first attempt was, shall we say, forgettable, but his second try was really good.


Berberé Stew (Ethiopian Lentil Stew) © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

He made a lentil dish and a green bean and potato dish and served them with brown rice. Both were excellent and not too difficult. If you'd like to try these recipes, they can be found here. The link will take you to the lentil recipe, and you will find the link to the green beans and potatoes on the same page.


Ethiopian Green Beans and Potatoes © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Roasted vegetables with garlic and lemon

This is a real article I found in the newspaper. I swear - I'm not making this up. "An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday after the fumes led someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.

The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 25 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea. But the enterprising worker who cleaned the fridge wasn't one of them - she can't smell because of allergies." (Associated Press)

Whoa. At our house I was beginning to suspect that the refrigerator and the compost pile had become one and the same. It was not yet time to call 911, but it was definitely time to clean out all the odds and ends of things that tend to get pushed to the back of the shelves and the bottom of the bins. As I cleaned out the unusable, I came upon an orphan white beet, a single little pepper starting to shrivel, two partially used bags of potatoes and some enormous carrots. Not to mention a bowl of water with a lone chunk of tofu, and a lot of very ripe small tomatoes. After all that cleaning I needed something really easy to cook, and decided I might as well roast the stuff I'd found.

Roasting veggies is so easy it doesn't feel much like cooking, but the results are wonderful. I used yellow and red potatoes, a humongous carrot, a white beet, garlic cloves, a small banana pepper and a lot of small red tomatoes. I preheated the oven to 425˚ and cut the potatoes and beet into smallish chunks. The carrot got cut first into 3" sections and then into lengthwise slices. I added some olive oil and turned the veggies to coat them, and I mixed in a handful of chopped parsley. Some unpeeled garlic cloves also went into the earthenware pan with the veggies, and two 1/2" thick slices of tofu were coated with a little tamari and laid on top. The veggies were more or less in a single layer in a large, uncovered dish.

After 30 minutes in the oven, the tomatoes were added to the dish, and it went back into the oven for another 20-30 minutes or so, until the potatoes were cooked. When I took the pan out, I squeezed the garlic cloves out of their peels and mixed it into the veggies, and I broke up the tomatoes a bit to let the steam out. Some fresh ground pepper and it was ready to eat. I rarely add salt to vegetables, especially roasted ones that have so much natural flavor, but everyone has different tastes so add the seasonings you think are needed. You could drizzle on a little balsamic vinegar if desired. I had planned to squeeze lemon over the top but forgot all about it. Next time.

Potato, green bean, kidney bean curry

Whenever my son announces he wants to cook dinner I'm delighted because I know we'll be having great food. He doesn't use recipes in a conventional way or measure ingredients, so it's usually hard to pin him down on just what he's added; but this time he was inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite Indian cookbooks, and I grilled him on what he did, so I could share his interpretation of the recipe.

He started with "Spiced Green Beans" from Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi and David Baird." With this recipe as inspiration, he changed spices and added ingredients to come up with a truly delicious main course dish.


Potato-green bean-kidney bean curry

• 1 – 2 tablespoons oil (or half oil and half Earth Balance margarine)
  
• 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 12 ounces fresh green beans, stems trimmed
• 12 ounces canned chopped tomatoes in their juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 small potatoes, cubed and steamed until half cooked
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• handful chopped fresh cilantro
• salt to taste

1. Heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds and mustard seeds until the cumin seeds darken and the mustard pops and turns gray, about a minute.
2. Add the onion and saute until it softens, about a minute or two. Add the green beans and cook about 2–3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and simmer about a minute.
4. Add the water, potatoes, turmeric and kidney beans, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Add the sugar, some cilantro and salt to taste, cover and simmer about 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the sauce reduces and thickens.
6. Garnish and serve with brown basmati rice.

Baked samosas and aloo gobhi matar chana

Relatives in Connecticut went to a Mad Men-themed New Year's Eve party where guests were supposed to come in Mad Men appropriate attire and munch on food from the era. It's such a great idea—I was really jealous. The hosts served stuff like pigs in the blanket, deviled eggs, brisket cooked in Coca Cola, celery stuffed with cream cheese, Swedish meatballs, jello mold and whiskey cake. Hmmm. I wonder what the vegans ate in the 60s - probably brewers yeast loaf and rice patties!

Most vegan bloggers today probably weren't even born in the 60s, or were too young to be cooking. I was there, but still at home with my parents, and not cooking or thinking much about food choices. Some of the above foods, like the brisket in Coke and the whiskey cake, I've never heard of, but the others are at least familiar. (I just recently stuffed (tofu) cream cheese into celery!) But I have a clear memory of Swedish meatballs. Those were popular for a long time, and I remember my aunt serving them and telling me, with great excitement, her "secret" recipe. She mixed a bottle of ketchup and a can of 7-up to achieve the unique flavor of the sauce that made the meatballs the special treat that they were. Do people still do this? I wonder. I almost considered creating a vegan version but then had second thoughts.

Instead of 1960s American party food, here is a post about the timeless Indian cuisine that we enjoyed on New Year's Day.

My son wanted to make samosas for dinner and he found a video on the Internet with step by step directions. After consulting with me, he made a couple of changes to the recipe. He used white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour for the crust (had to add more flour than in the recipe), and he baked them instead of frying them. I didn't see him make the filling but he said he used carrots instead of peppers. He rolled the pastry really thin and the resulting samosas were fantastic—light and delicate. They weren't heavy and greasy like they sometimes are at restaurants. The pastry he used to make 8 samosas used only 1 teaspoon of oil plus a light spray before baking!




To go with the samosas we had a low-fat variation of aloo gobhi with the addition of peas and garbanzos. It was tasty and satisfying. The recipe was adapted from a book we found at our local library.

Potatoes, cauliflower, peas and chickpeas (Aloo gobhi matar chana) adapted from a recipe in "Indian Light Cooking."

• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 10 ounces frozen green peas
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed if from a can
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon red pepper powder (or ground cayenne pepper to taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (or 1-1/2 cups finely chopped fresh)
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

1. Steam the potatoes, covered, in a small amount of water for about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and steam about 5 minutes more until almost tender.
2. Combine the tumeric, cumin, red pepper powder and coriander in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over moderate heat. Add the spices to the pan and stir-fry for about 5 seconds. (don't burn!)
3. Add the drained potatoes and cauliflower (just remove them from the steaming pan with a slotted spoon) and chickpeas, and stir fry until they are lightly browned.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Add about 1/4 cup of water. (use the vegetable cooking water if any is left)
6. Add the peas.
7. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
8. Add salt to taste. Garnish with coriander.

Potatoes on a plate

Sometimes I'm just amazed at how the simplest food preparation can produce such wonderful results. I wanted to use up some potatoes that were getting kind of old, and I was thinking of all the different ways I could prepare them when I settled on peeling, cutting into large hunks and pressure-cooking for five minutes. The resulting potato chunks were put on a plate, sprinkled sparingly with salt, dusted with freshly ground pepper and drizzled with a bit of olive oil. Perfection.

The pressure-cooker really is a time saver, a flavor enhancer and an invaluable aid to lazy cooks. I will start using it more to cook vegetables and beans. In the case of the potatoes, I put about one inch of water into the cooker with the potato chunks, brought it to pressure, turned the heat down a little and set the timer for five minutes. When the timer went off, I turned off the flame and let the pressure come down. The result was full-flavored, perfectly cooked potatoes.

Spicy Bolivian cabbage and potatoes

It's gotten to the point that I feel a little crazy on airplanes. I'm still able to appear normal, but deep down inside I really can't stand to be strapped into that tiny space, squished next to who knows who, knowing I can't leave if I want to. I can't concentrate, so I can't read books, and even listening to music makes me edgy. There are only three things I can do to keep myself calm — sleep, read magazines and munch snacks. And "reading" the magazines puts me to sleep. Remember, I said I can't concentrate, so the magazines have to be the kind with lots of pictures and very short text. Good design is important, too, because I'm not really reading for information, just looking at pages, and I need them to look good.

The first thing I do when I get to the airport is hit the biggest magazine stand. I used to head for the gardening mags but even they have gotten too detailed for my airplane-malfunction, and now I grab the cooking magazines. Cooking mags work well because there are so many pictures, and I can think about cooking and blogging, and it keeps me distracted. (Sometimes I even get a copy of Real Simple because it's so pretty and—so simple. Ugh.)

Before I read the magazines I've just purchased, I look at the free airline ones in the seat pocket. There are usually some interesting photos (with captions that aren't too long!) and I skim the articles. Then I read the juicy SkyMall catalog for cheap thrills. I mean, who doesn't need a Pachelbell's Canon wind chime, color-changing gazing ball, windchill misting fan, inflatable movie screen or a motorized grill brush. Woohoo.

Anyway, all of this is leading up to an excellent recipe, which I found in a copy of Vegetarian Times brought back from a trip. VT has become my favorite airplane distraction, and as a bonus, I always find good stuff to cook. I'd consider subscribing, but then what would I do on those stupid airplanes?

Bolivian cabbage and potatoes
• 8 cups shredded cabbage (1 small head)
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1" chunks
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon organic sugar
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 yellow, orange or red bell pepper, chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeños, finely diced (or hotter peppers if you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro or parsley
• sliced vegan sausage, if you have some

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water 5-7 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Dissolve tomato paste and sugar in cooking water and set aside.
2. Heat oil in large pan, dutch oven or wok. Add onion, bell pepper and sauté 5 minutes. (We added some sliced, homemade vegan sausage.) Stir in tomatoes, jalapeño and tomato paste mixture. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cabbage and potatoes. Cook 5-6 minutes or until cabbage is wilted and potatoes are heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lime juice and cilantro and serve.

Cauliflower and potato curry

I usually cook fairly low-fat dishes and would probably use only half the fat called for in this recipe. However, I have on occasion used the full amount to fantastic effect. I love low-fat food and think it tastes great, and you can make this dish low fat. I'm going to list the full amount in the recipe and let you decide. The original recipe calls for ghee, but I substitute olive oil and vegan margarine, or just oil. The margarine gives it a richer taste. If this is going to be only one part of a meal, I use only veggies, but if I intend it as the main (or only) dish for a simple supper, I may add chick peas. It's based on a recipe from "Lord Krishna's Cuisine The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking" by Yamuna Devi. This is a seriously amazing book - not vegan but adaptable. This is a fairly simple dish to prepare and one of my favorites.

Cauliflower and potato curry
-2 hot green chilies, stemmed, seeded and cut lengthwise into long slivers
-1 inch of fresh ginger root, peeled and julienned
-1 teaspoon cumin seeds
-1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
-2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons margarine
-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes
-1 medium cauliflower cored and cut into small flowerets
-2 medium sized tomatoes (in season) or 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (reserve liquid)
-1/2 teaspoon tumeric
-2 teaspoons ground coriander
-1/2 teaspoon garam masala
-1 teaspoon brown sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander or parsley
Heat the oil/margarine in a large heavy skillet, non-stick skillet or wok until hot but not smoking. Add the chilies, ginger, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and fry until the mustard sputters and pops. Add the potatoes and cauliflower and stir fry about 5 minutes until the veggies get some brown spots.

Add the tomatoes, turmeric,coriander,garam masala,sugar,salt and half the fresh coriander. Stir well, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Stir occasionally during cooking and make sure the veggies aren't sticking or burning. Add some reserved tomato juice or water if necessary. Garnish with reserved cilantro.
serves 5 or 6

Enchiladas

If you asked my three kids what their favorite food was when they lived at home, they would all say, "enchiladas." I know this because I asked, but I kind of knew it anyway. It was the food always requested for birthday dinners or other special events. The version I made was based on a recipe in an old copy of "The Farm Cookbook" I'd found at a garage sale. Making this dish was a big production for someone who mostly cooked on the fly and used cookbooks for inspiration, not recipes. It involved cooking beans, making cheese sauce and chili gravy, and then assembling the whole thing and baking it. One of the kids didn't like corn tortillas so I used whole wheat, and sometimes I made the tortillas, too. So many pots and pans and bowls and baking dishes. At some point I started using Fantastic instant refried beans for the filling, but the whole process was still labor intensive. I must say, though, that those enchiladas were really good!

Recently, after I'd revisited the cheese sauce from "Uncheese Cookbook," I got to thinking about those enchiladas and told my husband that I really wanted some. What do you know - he surprised me with a huge pan of them, and after stuffing myself at dinner and two lunches, I'm sated. No more enchiladas for a while for me. He didn't make the same ones I used to cook. He watched a video of someone cooking a simpler version of enchiladas and adapted the recipe. He used canned beans, fresh potatoes and zucchini, canned enchilada sauce, packaged corn tortillas and no cheese, and the end result was really good. It was a bit too salty for me (all those cans of things) so I've reduced the added salt in the recipe. I've also added some green chilies.

Enchiladas (based on recipe from chooseveg.com)
12 corn tortillas
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
1 cup pinto beans, drained
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 cup olives, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small can green chilies, chopped or (optional)
3 cups canned enchilada sauce (or chili gravy - recipe below)

Sauté the onions and potatoes in the oil in a heavy skillet or wok until the onions are transparent and the potatoes begin to soften. Season with salt and oregano near the end of cooking. In a large bowl, combine the cooked mixture, beans, zucchini, olives and chilies. Mix well and taste for seasoning.

Lightly oil a large (10 x 13 x 2) baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with 1 cup sauce. Spread a spoonful of sauce on a tortilla, fill with about 1/4 cup of the bean mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Continue filling and rolling until all the tortillas are in the baking dish. (If the tortillas need softening before rolling, heat each one briefly on each side in a non-stick pan. Stack on a plate until all are heated. Then proceed with filling and rolling.)

Cover the rolled tortillas with the remaining sauce. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350˚ oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with green salad and avocados.

note: When I had this for lunch the second time, I added a little vegan mozzarella on top.

As an alternative to canned sauce, you could make chili gravy. It's the Tex Mex version.
1/4 cup oil (I'd probably cut this back to 2 tablespoons)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine (or 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder -more authentic, apparently)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 tablespoons good chili powder
6 tablespoons unbleached flour
1 quart water
Fry onions in oil until soft but not brown. Mix in everything but water. Slowly whisk in water to keep from lumping. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes at slow boil. Use instead of enchilada sauce. There will be leftover sauce for another recipe.

Potato stuffing (kugel)

I'm going to share an old family recipe with you. I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother, who got it from her mother and so on. It originally came from Russia with my great-great grandmother. I have no idea how the recipe may have changed over the years except for the changes I've made. Even though I've altered the recipe a little, it still tastes the same to me as when my mother made it. The original recipe from my mother had an egg in it, and she dotted it before baking with butter or margarine. The recipe has bread in it but sometimes I use cooked buckwheat instead. In the "olden days" everything was grated by hand, but a food processor makes the prep very fast.

We called this recipe "stuffing" in my family, because that's how it was used - to stuff a turkey for a holiday dinner. There was always a huge pan of it in addition to the stuffed version, because we could never get enough. It even tastes amazing re-heated, or just cold. My mother served it for every holiday dinner and we never tired of it. Over the years of raising a family, I have served it for every holiday, too, and now my kids are continuing the tradition. The first time I made it, I was delighted to discover that the enticing smell I associated with holidays came from the stuffing, and not the turkey. Yay.

I think that because I associated making the stuffing with hectic holiday cooking for a crowd, I thought it might be too much trouble to present on an easy cooking blog, but really, it's a snap. It took me no time to make a recipe. (For holidays I usually make two or three recipes, depending on who's coming. If my middle son will be there, for example, I have to make a lot!) Now I think I won't wait for a holiday to make it, it would be an interesting side dish to share with friends or family at any meal.

Potato "stuffing" (kugel) serves 4 to 6
-three medium potatoes, peeled (I used organic russet potatoes.)
-three medium onions
-three slices sandwich bread (I used whole wheat)
-two large cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
-olive oil or margarine (optional)
-paprika
food processor (or fine hand grater for you traditionalists)

Peel the potatoes and put them in a bowl of cold water so they won't turn weird colors. Peel the onions and cut into small cubes. Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside. Put about one onion into the processor bowl and process until nearly smooth. Cut a potato into small cubes and add to processor. (Processing an onion before adding the potato seems to keep the potato white) Alternate cubed onion and potato until all is smooth. As the food processor fills, empty the mixture into a large bowl. If there are a few potato lumps it won't matter. When the potatoes and onions are all in the bowl, add the garlic and mix. Add the salt (more or less to taste) and pepper and mix. Stir in the bread cubes. If there seems to be a lot of liquid from the potatoes in the mix, stir in a tablespoon of matzoh meal or flour.

Place the mix into an oiled 9-inch square baking dish or any casserole dish of about 1-1/2 quarts. (I used a Le Creuset ceramic dish but sometimes I use a stainless steel pan and sometimes a ceramic baking dish I made) Sprinkle with paprika, and drizzle with olive oil or dot with margarine, if desired. I drizzled mine with two teaspoons of olive oil. Cover with foil and bake about one hour in a pre-heated 350˚oven. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more until the top is brown and the edges are crispy. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish. (Different kinds of potatoes and different shaped dishes can require different baking times. Taste a little bit from the center to see if it tastes cooked, and if it is, uncover it to brown and crisp.)

Instead of bread, you can add a cup of cooked buckwheat to the potato-onion mix. It's really good and a little heartier.

You can double, triple, whatever, the recipe to serve the number of people you have. I usually make two or three recipes. It will take about twice as long to bake a double recipe. Cold leftovers are delicious!