Maria's Ecuadorian Mini-Tamales

I've had a dozen requests for this recipe in the past couple days, so here you go:

My youngest 'Sprout' recently had a presentation on the country of Ecuador for her Geography class.Part of the project involved bringing in a food or regional dish from that country.

We were a bit stumped at first.. bananas were boring and coffee? Probably not appropriate for 5th-graders.Fortunately, however, both of Sprout's older sisters had visited Ecuador on Youth Mission trips with church or school. They both remembered having some unique regional dishes, none of which seemed exactly convenient, interesting, kid-friendly or suitable to transport to school and serve to a classroom of possibly finicky 11-year-olds...

Then we remembered tamales! Of course! A little bit unique, interesting, (relatively) easy to make and transport, and possessing that "fun" factor my daughter was hoping for.
Since my budget (and steamer) weren't quite ready to handle 30 full-size tamales, we decided to scale down the recipe to make thumb-size 'mini-tamales' so each student could have a bite-sized taste or two...

Now, I've had tamales many times, but never seen them made in miniature, probably because they're JUST as much work and labor intensive as full meal-sized ones, maybe more-so. Once we figured out the scale of how small to make and fill them, everyone pitched in and we had a steamer full of 50 tiny tamales in no time.

Yes, I DID say above that these were "easy" and I still feel they are. I don't always think 'quick' = 'easy', though. They are time-consuming, so may not exactly fall into everyone's definition of "easy".

Just so you know, tamales originated in early Mesoamerica. Aztec and Mayan civilizations as well as the Olmeca and Tolteca before them used tamales as a portable food, often to support their armies but also for hunters and travelers.

Known bollo in Guatemala, hallacas in Venezuela, pamonha in Brazil and santandereano in Columbia, they may have different fillings or wrappers, but are all pretty similar in the end:
Corn masa and meat, bean and/or cheese; wrapped, and then steamed.

Known as humitas in Ecuador, corn husks or canna leaves are used. Traditional fillings include boiled eggs, spices, chicken, carrots, bananas, green olives, raisins and nuts.

Since I don't have a ready source for canna leaves (they're a large lily that grows only in the tropics) we went with corn husks, much like the traditional Mexican tamale.

A couple notes: We used several "authentic"(?) recipes combined them and then made a few

vegan adjustments. Never too sure how "authentic" something is that I read off the Internet, but I think we stayed with the basic idea,
We minced our ingredients very fine, since we were making such small tamales. If I were making bigger/traditional sized ones, I would probably chop things a little coarser.

Most important, every child in the class loved them, and apparently rumors followed them home, as I've gotten calls from just a few parents asking for my recipe (which I didn't exactly have written down until now)....

Ecuadorian-Style Tamales

Masa Dough:
2 cups (or more) Tamale Masa (Looks like this, you can buy in most standard grocery stores, in the Mexican food section).
2 cups broth (I use vegetarian 'chicken' broth)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 Tbsp. margarine

Combine masa, baking powder, salt and seasonings in a bowl. Work the broth in with your fingers until it forms a soft dough. Add margarine and coconut oil and beat with mixer until dough is fluffy. Add more masa or broth if needed. The dough should be like very soft, fluffy mashed potatoes.


Tamale Filling:
2 cups whatever 'burger' product you prefer: crumbled tempeh, burger crumbles, reconstituted TVP or ground-up "chicken" type product (we used Gardein brand "chicken" cutlets because that's what I had, browned and chopped fine in food processor)
2 - 3 teaspoons oil as needed
1/2 onion, minced fine
1 red bell pepper,chopped fine
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1/2 cup finely chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup finely chopped garbanzo beans
2 Tbsp peanut butter
3 Tbsp tomato sauce,salsa or New Mexican red chile sauce if you have access
2 teaspoons medium hot sauce or to taste (I used "Franks Hot Sauce", again, because it's what I had on hand)
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins soaked in hot water to plump,drained and chopped
1 cup shredded vegan cheese of your choice (you'll need it to melt - we used Teese from the lovely Chicago Soy Dairy folks - use whatever you like).
16 - 20 corn husks, soaked in water while you make the dough and filling.

Put "burger" of your choice in non-stick skillet. Add oil and warm a bit, you might need to add more oil (sorry!) depending on the product.
Add onion, bell pepper and garlic, saute on medium until onion is translucent and peppers are soft, making sure not to burn the garlic.
Add green olives, garbanzos, peanut butter, tomato sauce and hot sauce. Continue to stir together and heat over low, until peanut butter and hot sauce are incorporated.
Add allspice, raisins and salt to taste. Continue heating over med-low, stirring frequently until all ingredients are hot. Remove from heat. Add cheese and stir in until melted.
The filling should be sticky, not runny.

Now fill and roll your tamales.
At this point, you're on your own. I was taught how to roll tamales years ago by an elderly Hispanic woman who spoke little English - I'm still not sure if I'm doing it "right", but it seems to work. I think everyone should learn that way. To write out the method would take another two or three blog posts.

Instead, PLEASE go this TAMALE ROLLING TUTORIAL and watch the very helpful video.

MUCH easier than trying to read instructions!

Or simply Google "How To Roll Tamales" and you'll get all sorts of different (and equally authentic) ideas! We rolled our "mini" tamales much smaller, but you get the idea.

After the tamales are rolled, place standing up in a steamer basket and steam an hour to an hour-and-a-half, depending on size. (If you don't have a steamer, you can rig something up, again, Google is your friend)
After an hour, unwrap one and test; the filling should be firm and fall away from the cornhusk in one piece, if it's still sticky, continue to steam. Add water to the steamer as needed.

When finished, let them cool a bit and serve with your favorite sauce. You can also freeze them and reheat later, or serve cold in your lunchbox!

Spring Green St. Patrick's Day Asparagus

I LOVE Spring! (I've mentioned that already, haven't I?)

One of the reasons I love it? Beautiful, "local" (OK, local = Walla Walla Valley, which is a couple hundred miles) asparagus is cheap, cheap, cheap right now so I'm taking advantage of the availability of one of my favorite vegetables... and since it's GREEN, I thought it'd be a nice St. Patrick's Day subject.

(Sorry, I can't get any more creative than that.)

First though, some fun with vegetables:

AN ASPARAGUS QUIZ

1.) Where was asparagus first grown?
2.) What do asparagus, onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, and yucca have in common?
3.) What famous king had gardeners grow asparagus in greenhouses so he could eat asparagus year round?
4.) What state grows most of the asparagus in the United States?
5.) Ancient Greeks and Romans believed asparagus had what medicinal qualities?
6.) What kind of climate is best for asparagus?
7.) What are the two main varieties of asparagus?
8.) What civilization cultivated asparagus as an offering to the gods?
9.) In what section of this country was asparagus first grown?
10.) The word "asparagus" is derived from what language? What does it mean in that language?
11.) Does asparagus have aphrodisiac qualities?

(I'll give you the answers at the end of this post. No prizes, just pride in the knowledge that you know so much about asparagus!)

OK, on to the good stuff...

Our favorite method is ROASTING:

• Simply lay the spears on a cookie sheet.
• Drizzle some really good olive oil over.
• Add a sprinkle of sea salt (try a "fancy" salt here like Hawaiian red salt or smoked sea salt... :swoon:!!)
• Roast in oven about 7 min. or until done, tender-crisp. Heaven. And SO easy.

Next up, Asparagus with Pasta. They were MADE to go together. In fact, they should get married.

Here's a super-easy one I made the other night, all measurements are approximate:

Asparagus and Rigatoni

4 servings rigatoni, cooked and drained
3 Tbsp olive oil
About a pound of asparagus, nice thin stalks, washed and cut to the same length as the pasta
1 teaspoon lemon juice - FRESH squeezed
fresh grated lemon zest - just a pinch
pinch of red pepper flakes
About a handful of sun-dried tomatoes OR kalamata olives OR roasted red peppers (or a bit of all three), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
toasted nuts like pecans, hazelnuts or pinenuts

It works out well if you start the asparagus cooking at the same time as adding the pasta to the boiling water.
Heat the oil over med-high heat and add asparagus and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5 minutes, until asparagus just begins to brown a bit. Turn the heat down to low and add sun-dried tomatoes, the lemon juice and zest, and the garlic. Once the garlic begins to brown, remove from heat. Toss with pasta and divide between two bowls. Top with toasted nuts and enjoy.

And here's basically a simpler version of the same thing made with linguine instead. And we skipped the sundried tomatoes. Just asparagus, garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes and pasta... I think you can see a theme here.

Eat up.

Asparagus is very low in calories and sodium, but offers a a good deal of potassium, Vit. A, folic acid, B vitamins, copper and zinc. It's also one of the best vegetable sources for Vitamin E.

And I didn't forget the quiz answers:
1.) No one knows for sure. We do know it existed in the Mediterranean area in ancient times.
2.) They are all in the lily family.
3.) Louis XIV of France
4.) California (with WASHINGTON a close second, just thought I'd add that).
5.) Helped to prevent bee stings and relieve toothaches.
6.) One where the ground freezes in winter to a depth of two inches or more.
7.) Green and white.
8.) Egyptian.
9.) New England
10.) Greek word meaning "sprout" or "shoot."
11.) Hahaha... All through history asparagus has been trumpeted as an aphrodisiac. A 16th century Arabian love manual gave an asparagus recipe to create a stimulant for amorous desires. In 18th Century France Madame Pompadour had her asparagus concoction for sexual vigor. In his book Food, contemporary writer Waverley Root devotes a section to the sex life of the asparagus.
(Source: Wikipedia; Vegetarians in Paradise; Washington Asparagus Commission)

Shepherd's Pie

As a child, I often heard this referred to as "Cottage Pie" and thought it sounded disgusting - after all, who wants cottage CHEESE in a pie? Imagine my pleasant surprise years later, when I discovered it contained no nasty cottage cheese, in fact it was the same thing as "Shepherd's Pie" and an easy dinner casserole (plus a great way to use up leftovers!).

Not all that exciting-looking, but perfect for a cool winter (spring?) dinner and with the 'meat', green veggies and potatoes, it always seems sort of St. Patrick's Day appropriate, even though I'm sure the dish is not of Irish origin at all.

Here's my easy, cheap, sorta-short-cut version. I've included lots of options for using leftovers. You can even use (*gasp*) instant mashed potatoes if that's what you have.

Shepherd's Pie

• 5 large potatoes, (peeled if desired) and cut into quarters
• 3 Tbsp Earth Balance or other margarine
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup plant milk
  (OR 4 cups already-prepared instant mashed potatoes, to sub for the above 4 items)
  
  
• 1 cup dry TVP (dry/unreyhdrated textured vegetable protein granules)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 Tablespoon vegan Worcestershire or soy sauce
  (OR 2 - 3 cups prepared vegetarian burger crumbles of your choice, to sub for the above three items)
  
  
• 1 small onion
• bit of oil to cook onion in
• 2 tsp dry vegetarian bullion/broth powder, 'beef' flavor if possible (or "George Washington Broth" works well here)
  
  
• Aprox. 2 cups "Imagine Foods" Portabello Mushroom or Potato /Leek Soup OR 2 cups leftover homemade creamy soup (or gravy) of your choice
• 2 cups frozen peas, corn and carrots OR other mixed vegetables of your choice (leftover cooked-from-fresh, or even canned work OK here)
• paprika to garnish
• (OPTIONAL)1/2 cup vegan cheese, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Boil potatoes in a large pot of water for approximately 15-17 minutes or until soft.
Drain. Mix/mash the potatoes with an electric hand mixer on low. Add the margarine and salt; mix well. Slowly add the milk to potatoes.

(Or prepare instant mashed potatoes according to package directions).

Set potatoes aside.

Rehydrate TVP granules in boiling water and soy or Worcestershire for ten minutes. Drain very well (I actually squeeze the excess liquid out with my hands, messy but effective).

Sauté onions and add with broth powder to drained TVP.

(Or 'brown' whatever vegetarian burger product you're using with the onions).
Set 'meat' mixture aside.

If using frozen vegetables, pour some boiling water over them to partially thaw. If using canned, drain well.
Place vegetables in a casserole dish, dot with small amount margarine. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, whatever seasonings you like.

Add 'meat' and onion mixture to casserole.
Pour soup/gravy over all. It should barely cover vegetables and "meat" but not be soupy.
Spread mashed potatoes and top with paprika and grated cheese if desired.
Bake in oven until heated through and cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. I like to turn the broiler on for JUST a moment at the end, to toast the potato topping. Watch carefully if you do this...

Enjoy!!

Middle-Eastern Inspired Rice Pilaf

Dinner the other night seemed to have a Mediterranean twist without any particular planning ahead.

First, I'd found some amazing artichokes, (2 for a DOLLAR, if you can believe it), at "Tacoma Boys", a local produce and wine market that can have some amazing deals if you watch their flyers! I was SOOO excited, as artichokes are a rare treat in this house - my kids can each inhale an entire 'choke in about five minutes flat!! I do try to buy them, in season, when possible though, because everyone LOVES them, they're loaded with tons of fiber and great vitamins and they're super easy to cook - simply trim and steam them, that's it!! If you don't know how to trim artichokes, there are many tutorials online, but, in my opinion, they usually they trim off WAY more leaves than we prefer. Basically, mine looks like THIS before I put 'em in the pot...

Well, artichokes take a while to steam, and I had a starving 11-year-old "Sprout" bouncing around the kitchen anticipating her favorite veggie, so I decided to distract her by having her help me concoct a rice pilaf-type thingy to go with.

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Since Sprout was assisting/advising me in the kitchen, the rice ended up with several of her OTHER favorites, garbanzos and pistachios. And it turned out GREAT! The combination was such an accidental hit with my kids, I made it for a spring potluck yesterday and again, it disappeared quickly.

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The secret to our rice is a spice blend called za'atar (also called zatar and zahtar). Za'atar is generally prepared using ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, or some combination thereof, mixed with toasted sesame seeds and sometimes, salt. I prefer the Penzey's Spices version that also has sumac, and is more tangy and reddish in color - TOTALLY delicious stuff.

I discovered it several years ago and use it often; especially in roasted veggies, potatoes and hummus. It's also really good on toasted pita bread that's been brushed with olive oil. You can find it online and at Middle Eastern markets and specialty grocery stores. (You CAN sub some thyme, oregano, sesame seeds and a squeeze of lemon juice if you really have to).

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Middle Eastern Inspired Rice with Za'atar and Garbanzos

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1 cup long grain white rice

1/2 cup vermicelli crumbled into 1 inch long pieces (or angel hair pasta, or orzo)

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 cups chicken-style, or vegetable broth

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans

1/2 cup water

(OPTIONAL) 1 cup finely chopped carrots and zucchini (or other veggies of your choice)

2 tsp za'atar Mediterranean seasoning blend

(OPTIONAL) 2 Tbs nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Put vermicelli and oil in a deep, covered pan suitable for cooking rice.

Heat until the vermicelli is golden brown. (Just like you were making "Rice-A-Roni" if you've ever done that...)

Add rice, broth, garbanzos and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes until rice is cooked, checking once or so to make sure it's not sticking.If adding optional veggies, add after ten min cooking time and continue. After rice has cooked for 25 min, turn heat off and let sit a few minutes. Stir the pilaf, add seasonings, nutritional yeast or 'cheese' (if using) and lemon juice and sprinkle with pistachios.

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My 'Sprout' loved breaking up the angel-hair pasta into small bits (we did this over the sink, because the stuff flies EVERYwhere..) as well as rinsing the garbanzos, draining them and dumping into the rice. She also chopped the nuts and shook in the spices.

Garlic-Cream Pasta With Asparagus and Mushrooms

It's a repeat, but I'm posting the recipe again because I'm making it for a family birthday dinner tomorrow. It's a favorite of mine, mainly because (if I do say so myself,) it's totally awesome, fairly easy, my kids ask for it over and over, and I've served it to vegan-skeptics many times; ALWAYS a raving success.

Last time, the hostess kept saying "Would anyone like the VEGAN dish?" (in a very nice way, but as if she really couldn't bring herself to call it "Pasta with rich-decadent-CREAMY Sauce").

I'm happy to say, the 'vegan' title didn't scare anyone off - the dish was licked clean. (Yes, I think literally...)

Farfalle Pasta in Garlic Cream Sauce

with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Sauce:
1/2 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (not roasted - if using macadamia nuts, soak overnight!)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (I don't measure, just a good squeeze)
1 cup boiling water
2 cloves garlic (or more to taste)
2 Tbsp. extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Tofutti 'Better-Than-Cream-Cheese'
1 tsp umeboshi plum vinegar (or rice wine vinegar will be OK)
2 Tb. nutritional yeast (optional)
salt to taste

Soy, other plant milk, just a little, as needed - I really like the texture and creaminess of So Delicious UNSWEETENED Coconut Milk here

Other Ingredients:

1 lb. box farfalle (butterfly) pasta or other of your choice

1 bunch (1 lb +) pencil-thin asparagus

2 cups sliced button or crimini mushrooms

2 Tbsp. cornstarch whisked with 2 cups soy or other plant milk

(OPTIONAL) 1 cup buttered breadcrumbs, cracker-crumbs, crushed potato chips, or other crunchy, yummy topping

SAUCE DIRECTIONS:

If using cashews: Pulverize raw cashews in the food processor until very fine powder. Add 1 cup boiling water. (*The BEST way to do this, is to make the sauce while the pasta cooks - scoop out 1 cup of lightly salted pasta-cooking water and use it - the starch from the pasta-cooking water thickens the sauce PERFECTLY!) Add water to cashews and process until smooth... this will take several minutes.

If using macadamia nuts: After soaking overnight, grind in food processor until smooth, adding as much boiling water (See specifics in paragraph above) as needed to make a creamy, thick sauce.

THEN:
Add all the rest of the sauce ingredients and process in food processor until smooth and creamy. This will take a while.

If it's too thick to process, add plant milk as needed. Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.

Cook enough pasta to go with the sauce. (Different people prefer "less" or "more" sauce depending on their tastes and how creamy they like their casseroles.)

Mix sauce with pasta.

WHILE PASTA COOKS:
Rinse asparagus cut the tender parts (not the tough stem ends) into 1 inch pieces.
Stir fry asparagus and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil until tender but not overly soft.

When sauce is done, and mixed with pasta:
Mix vegetables into pasta and sauce.

Put pasta and veggies in a baking dish.

You can refrigerate at this point until ready to bake.

When you're ready to bake the pasta:

Mix 2 Tbsp. cornstarch with 2 cups plant milk, mixing well with a wire whisk.

Pour over pasta until liquid comes 3/4 up side of dish.
Top with 1 cup buttered breadcrumbs, cracker-crumbs, or other topping, if desired.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 min. at 350. Remove foil. If it looks like it's drying out, add more milk.

Bake another 15 minutes. If breadcrumbs are not crispy-browned after 15 min. , broil for a few seconds, but watch carefully!

OH this is SO GOOD! Enjoy!!!

African-Inspired Quinoa Peanut Soup

Reposting an old, o-l-d family favorite. I still get lots of requests for this recipe every time I make it.

This is another one of those rare recipes that everyone in the entire family actually likes, and I don't have to leave out the offending ____ (fill-in-the-blank; mushrooms, onions, green specks, funny vegetables, weird spices, black specks, brown stuff, WHATEVER!) to make everyone happy.

I made this soup long before I had Sprouts to cook for - (and long before quinoa was readily available. I had to mail order it... 'cause way back then, I thought it was so unique and "exotic").

I originally got the recipe from a college roommate (yes, THAT long ago) and gradually changed a few things to suit my tastes over the years - I like it 'cause it's fairly quick and easy (and healthy) - and my kids think the subtle jalapeno heat and mild peanut butter taste combo is great for soup!

OK, and I confess... especially when my Sprouts were little, they were very amused with the way the quinoa cooks up and it's little "tail" separates - they LOVED to say they had worms in their soup, which, I guess if you didn't know better, might make you wonder.

I know I said it was "fairly quick", I guess that depends on your interpretation - chopping the veggies takes a few minutes, sometimes I'll do them ahead of time so I can throw this together on a busy evening. Plus, it's gluten-free, if you need that. I don't specifically plan to make "gluten-free" recipes but do like to mention when they are.

Either way, it's good stuff.

As an aside, a little bit of bragging here: I originally posted this recipe a number of years ago, over at my favorite Vegetarian forums, Veggieboards.com.
Cookbook author Nava Atlas (yes, of cookbook fame) saw it there, tried it (and evidently liked it as much as we do!) and asked to include it in her cookbook "Vegetarian Soups for all Seasons". Woo!

Better yet, she also included it in the updated version: Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for all Seasons.

So (shameless self-promotion) check out "Vegan Soups..."! It's awesome!!

Actually all the recipes I've tried from both books are great - (if you have either book, you already know this). I happen to LOVE soup anyway and this is an awesome collection.

But enough about that, here's my recipe (oh, it's on page 47 in the original book, I think? just in case you're interested):

Quinoa-Peanut Soup

• 2 Tb. margarine
• 1 chopped onion or 2 med. leeks sliced (I prefer leeks, use all of white and tender part of green)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (I use more)
• 1 fresh jalapeno, minced (Again, I use more)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 diced celery stalks, with leaves (I usually leave this out, cause I don't care for celery all that much)
• 2 small diced zucchini
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• optional: any other veggies you'd like - we often add peas, green beans, corn, chick-peas, asparagus, okra or turnips.
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 4 cups vegetable stock (I use the "non-chicken" style broth)
• 1/2 cup quinoa, (some brands say to rinse and drain before using - I never have..)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 dash cayenne pepper or to taste (I use more!!)
• optional - 1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup chunky organic peanut butter, no honey or sugar

Wear rubber gloves to prepare fresh jalapeno pepper if you need to - or just be careful.
In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt margarine over medium-high heat. When margarine is hot and bubbly, add all veggies, and cumin and oregano.
Saute 10 -15 minutes, or until vegetables are softened.
Add stock, quinoa, black pepper and cayenne (and fresh ginger is using).

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.
Simmer until quinoa is cooked and veggies are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, adding more broth/water if needed to keep it from getting too thick.
Add peanut butter, using a wisk to blend in completely, and simmer another 10 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings.