Pumpkin & Pomegranate

Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo so of course I had to make Mexican food. I re-did the Mexican quinoa (with a few minor adjustments, which I also made to the previous blog), and I also tried my hand at some Marissified enchiladas. I admit that this first attempt was not perfect. in fact next time I will make one big change. Since I don’t do the grains I decided to make zucchini rolls. The problem is that I decided to try it with raw zucchini. Unfortunately this did NOT work, and so I ended up with “enchilada pie”. Tasty, but not what I wanted, Plus since the zucchini was raw it let out a lot of water during the cooking process, and I didn’t need for it to do that. Next time i will blanch the zucchini strips first, and then they will be pliable enough to overlap strips to make rolls. That, or I will use blanched collard green leaves instead. So, for this I am not going to tell you how to make the “pie” but I will tell you what I used as a filling, and I will give you recipes for the 2 yummy sauces. When I have this dish down pat I will tell you which method worked best for me to make actual Marissified enchiladas. Deal?

For Matt’s enchiladas I used corn tortillas, and I also realized I do not own a normal sized casserole dish. I need to get right on that as 2 pie plates and a small casserole dish are not the way enchiladas are to be done!

The first photo shows my “pie” and Matt’s actual enchiladas, and the second shows my pie again, and how much water was released while cooking. Not bad tasting though! but next time I will definitely pre-cook the zucchini and the spinach.

So, inside the enchiladas we have chopped and roasted sweet potato that has been combined with cooked black beans and some raw spinach. Next time I would cook and drain the spinach first.

The sauces were really good though. The cheese sauce would be great as a dip or spread as well.

Nacho “Cheese” Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 C. Raw Cashews
• 1 Large red Bell Pepper, cleaned and seeded
• 1/2 Small Red Onion
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• Juice from 1 Lime
• 1/4 C. Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tsp. Sea salt

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until nearly creamy. It will be more like dip and less like a creamy cheese sauce.

Red Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

• Virgin Coconut Oil or Olive Oil
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
• 4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
• 5 T. Chile Powder
• 6 C. Water
• Sea Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a heavy bottomed pot sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until the onion is soft.
2. Add the chile powder and stir, sautéeing until it is aromatic.
3. Add in the tomatoes and the water and bring to a boil, cooking for 15 minutes.
4. Transfer the contents to a blender and blend until smooth. *Pour back into the pot.
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

*If you prefer a smoother sauce you can use a food mill or strainer to strain the sauce before putting it back into the pot. personally I prefer keeping all of the veggies in there and don’t mind that the sauce is slightly chunky.