Forbidden Rice Blog

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

Generally I try to keep homemade desserts (and/or any desserts in general) to a maximum of once a week. Let’s be real. I have been failing at this for months now. I don’t know if this time of year is just bringing a certain kind of crazy or what, but my apparent desire for sweets is peaking at an all time high.

Can we talk about weird real spring time related ordeals? I have never been much of a morning person. Typically I can find some middle ground and still get a decent amount of sleep each night… but something has gone awry. My insomnia has been ridiculous this week. I’ve been falling asleep somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 AM each day, no earlier, sometimes later. Luckily my husband is loving enough to let me sleep in, come morning.

I realized how absurd this is getting when I got dressed for a meeting this morning. After I got home from said meeting after a couple hours, I looked in the mirror and realized I had put in two absolutely completely different earrings – neither of which was close to looking like the other. I wondered if the woman I was meeting with thought this was some new hippie girl, new-age style trend…

It appears that my new getting-by life-tactics include eating a lot of dessert and sleeping the minimum number of hours my body will function on. This is not a suggestion for you. I do not believe it best supports ones growth or productive capabilities. However, if I must resort to functioning off of little sleep and sweet treats… these cheesecake bars are where I’m heading.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Makes one 9×9-inch pan (about 12 bars).

Ingredients:

For the crust:
12 whole graham crackers
1 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake layer:
2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
10 oz. blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 2 medium-sized lemons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Directions:

Prepare the crust:
Preheat your oven to 305 degrees F. In a food processor, combine the graham crackers, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Pulse until rough crumbs remain. Slowly add in the melted butter, pulsing the mixture until the ingredients are just incorporated.

Line a 9×9 inch square pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to hang off of two sides. Lightly coat with cooking spray, then pour the graham cracker mixture into the pan. Press the mixture down firmly into the bottom of the pan. You can use a slightly smaller baking pan to do this. Bake for 20 minutes until fragrant and golden brown. Remove from oven.

Prepare the blueberries:
While the crust is in the oven, prepare the blueberries by combining the berries, two tablespoons of sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of lemon juice in a small pot. Bring the mixture up to boiling, occasionally stirring. Once the berry mixture has begun to thicken (5-7 minutes), remove from the heat and set aside until needed.

Prepare the filling:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and half-cup of sugar, until light and semi-fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, blending each new addition until completely incorporated. Mix in the lemon zest and juice, flour, and vanilla until fully combined.

Pour the cream cheese mixture into the pre-baked crust. Tap the pan on your counter top 2-3 times, releasing some of the trapped air.

Gently spoon the blueberry mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Use a butter knife to swirl some of the blueberry sauce into the cream cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the cream cheese layer sets without being overly browned. The center will be just-slightly jiggly.

Allow the cheesecake bars to cool on a cooling rack for 30-45 minutes. (At least to room temperature.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cheesecake bars for a minimum of 3 hours, up to 24 hours.

Cut into bars (9 or 12 of them will suffice!). Serve while chilled. Cover leftovers and refrigerate for a maximum of three days for best results.

Meatless Monday : Cream of Asparagus and Mushroom Soup

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

A couple weeks ago, I told you how excited I was that fresh asparagus would begin showing up in our grocery stores. It’s one of my favorite spring time vegetables. Roasted, steamed, in risotto, baked into a frittata, topped with hollandaise sauce (how my mama made it for us when I was a kid)… I love these weird looking long skinny vegetables.

Asparagus is a great healthy choice, as it’s high in vitamins B6 and C, fiber, folate and an anti-carcinogen and antioxidant called glutathione. This time of year, the asparagus is mildly sweet and can be used in subtle ways. I decided to make a soup where the asparagus was my highlight. I paired it with earthy mushrooms to make a cream of asparagus soup. While I used cream in the following recipe, you can omit it (the potatoes will add a bit of creaminess anyway) and keep things entirely vegan if you prefer.

I was very surprised when Vincent came home from school the day after we had this soup for dinner. “Can I have a snack before rehearsal?” he asked. When I asked him what he wanted, fully expecting some elaborate dish that would require messing up the whole kitchen, his response was simply, “soup!” Followed by “This… mmm this is good soup!” while he demolished a bowl.

Cream of Asparagus and Mushroom Soup

Yields about 8-10 servings.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, tough ends removed, then cut into 3-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut into large slices
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, each one quartered
3 small russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
zest and juice from one meyer lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 cups No-Chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the cut asparagus, zucchini, potatoes and mushrooms. Add the thyme, oregano, lemon zest, and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle in a semi-generous amount of salt and pepper. Turn the vegetables to evenly coat with the oil and herbs.

Spread the vegetables in a single layer on two large baking sheets. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the veggies are fork-tender. Once the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the oven, then blend in a food processor or blender with the lemon juice, cream, and broth. Blend until completely smooth. (You may have to do this in two batches, if all the vegetables won’t fit into your food processor or blender.)

Pour the pureed soup into a stock pot and gently bring up to your preferred serving temperature, over low heat, occasionally stirring. Taste, then add more salt and pepper to your liking. Serve hot.

If the soup is thicker than you prefer, you can add more broth or cream to thin it out.

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Kids, Lunch, Meatless Monday, Soup, Vegetarian | Tagged asparagus, asparagus soup, cream of asparagus and mushroom soup, cream of asparagus soup, creamy soup, Meatless Monday, Meatless Monday recipes, soup, soup recipes, spring soups, vegan soups, vegetarian soups | 1 Comment

Day to Day Life: Week Ten

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

The last week looked a little like this:

To the oven, little romas and bell peppers… we have sauce to conquer.

Burrito bowl is easy dinner-ing.

When the sun comes out, these little birds flock into the trees and bushes around our house. They’re ready for Spring, too.

Egg, toast, cheese, lotsa pepper. Still my favorite brunch these days. (Equally good with tortillas, no toast.)

An experiment with pizza dough: pesto twisted bread sticks.

From this,

to this. Soup for you, for Mondays.

sun10-3

Budding Springtime.

We have been loving omelets around here this week. For my husband, just cheese. For me, a Greek-inspired concoction of spinach, feta, olives, artichoke hearts, and more cheese.

I started brewing my first batch of jun this week with the scoby our friend John gave us. I was thoroughly amused by Vincent’s very serious question: “Is that thing on top actually called a scoby or did Julie just name him that!?”

Something for us to share next week.

Bean and cheese pupusas for dinner with Vincent one night.

Buzz, buzz… little bee butt.

I’ve been enjoying this porter.

Another Ashland institution shut its doors this past week. Giseppi’s Pizza was one of my preferred spots in town to grab a pizza. Luckily I’ve figured out a good homemade pie, as we sure do eat a lot of pizza on pizza-night. These are three 16-inch pizzas. Gone in less than 24 hours.

Another round food I enjoy. Homemade chocolate chocolate glazed baked doughnuts.

Vincent’s high school theater is doing Cabaret as their production this term. We thoroughly enjoyed Vincent’s opening night performance. The whole play was so well put together. We’ll go again next weekend, I’m sure.

A totally-winging-things split pea curry one night with tofu, homemade garlic naan, and rice.

photo (9)

So much for that approaching Spring sunshine we had early in the week… back to these heavy skies.

photo (10)

This photo, accompanied by a soundtrack of,”it’s Silas boy! He’s not a bird, he’s not a plane! He’s Silas boy! Yes he is. Silas boy!”

Posted in Day to Day, Life, Photography | Tagged AHS Theater, AHS Theater Cabaret, Ashland High School, Ashland Oregon, brewing jun and kombucha, day to day life, Giseppi's Ashland, iphone photos, iphoneography, life, march, photography, southern Oregon, spring time | Leave a comment

Saturday Sites: Week Ten

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

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1. This 4 year old girl and her mom make dresses entirely out of paper. The designs are so fun!

2. These stir-fried noodles look and sound like something I’d love to eat.

3. I am simultaneously intrigued, perplexed, humored, and terrified by this post.

4. These whole wheat maple walnut scones sound tasty. I would probably add some dried fruit, like cherries or blueberries.

5. We have been brainstorming ideas for storing the ever growing number of pots and pans that accumulate in our small kitchen… I loved some of these spaces!

6. Growing up, I loved reading. Summer reading contests where you’d win prizes for reading a certain number of books never stood a chance… I racked up my prizes every week. These 19 Quotes That Will Make You Fall in Love with Books Again really did remind me about something I’d missed incredibly much.

7. My absolute number one favorite doughnut is a yeasted glaze doughnut. Nothing fancy. My second favorite is an old fashioned glaze doughnut. These look like an immediate love affair for my doughnut affection.

8. I firmly believe that pizza math is the only math for me! (Always order the largest pizza!)

9. I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with being considered sensitive. It took me a long time to learn and appreciate the beauty of feeling everything deeply rather than feeling nothing at all.

10. This recipe for General Tso Cauliflower sounds dee-lish!

11. This was a good reminder for the week:

12. The worst things about Hawaii? This list is spot-on.

13. Bwahaha, Webcam 101 for Seniors.

14. I would love to visit a number of these places within my lifetime.

15. There are some great post-workout snack ideas here. Typically after working out I just want to shove ANYTHING into my face. Self-control is a good practice…

16. I love discovering new curry recipe ideas these days. They are one of my favorite food experiments currently.

Posted in Life, Saturday Sites | Tagged blogging, link love, Links, Networking, Saturday Sites, websites | Leave a comment

Classic Lemon Bars

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

It may seem like a funny time of year to crave lemon bars. Spring is trying to get here, but aside from a few days of sunshine and almost-warmth, I am still waiting for shorts, tank top, and slipper (flip-flop) weather. Nevermind the fact that it’s always slipper weather for this still-an-island-girl-at-heart girl.

Regardless of time, lemon bars are one of my favorite desserts, hands down. I would happily pick them over some cake, or ooey gooey chocolate confection any day. When I was a freshman in college, it was a splurge: the grocery store in walking distance from my dorm room hosted a decent bakery filled with all sorts of treats, including $1.75 lemon bars that were about 3×3-inch squares. When you’re poor and living on a cafeteria based meal plan, that $1.75 lemon bar easily becomes a meal in and of itself. Let’s not talk about those “lunches.”

A lemon bar really doesn’t need a whole lot of fancy-frilly-extravagant ingredients. A classic lemon bar, featuring a good shortbread crust, is delicious simplicity. Personally I like a substantial lemon layer, not one that is equal in depth as the crust. I used Joy the Baker‘s classic lemon bar recipe, but doubled the filling. The result was a tart, sweet, slightly gooey lemon bar with a perfectly balanced shortbread crust. These are wonderful at room temperature or cold (the latter being my preferred way to eat them!).

Classic Lemon Bars

Yields one 8-inch square pan (9-12 lemon bars).

Recipe modified from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt

For the lemon layer:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, placing the oven rack in the upper third portion of the oven. Grease a 8×8-inch baking pan, lining it with parchment paper so the parchment over hangs slightly from the pan. Lightly grease the parchment paper. Set aside.

Make the crust: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add in the flour and salt. Beat on low until the dough is incorporated. Dough may come together, but may also remain a bit shaggy, which is okay.

Dump the crust into the prepared pan, using your fingertips to press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until just browned around the edges.

Prepare the filling while the crust is baking: In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined. Add the flour, lemon juice and zest, whisking until blended.

Pour the filling over the still warm, baked crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned on top and no longer jiggling in the center.

Allow the lemon bars to cool completely in the pan. Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Slice lemon bars into squares. Use the over hanging parchment paper to lift the squares out. You can lightly dust the top of the lemon bars with powdered sugar if you’d like.

Store leftover lemon bars in an airtight container.

Posted in Baking, Dessert | Tagged baking, classic desserts, classic lemon bars, dessert, lemon bar recipe, lemon bar recipes, lemon bars, lemon bars with shortbread crust, lemon desserts | Leave a comment

Spanish Red Rice

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

When I was growing up, we had rice almost every night. Steamed, slightly sticky, white rice. Even if we weren’t going to eat it, there was a pot of these little sticky grains cooked to add into dog food. Seeing as I grew up in Hawaii, that isn’t really surprising or uncommon. Rice is inexpensive and filling, plus as I have been learning, lends a good amount of versatility.

I know that nutritionally, white rice is pretty ridiculous… Regardless, I prefer it to brown rice on most days. We eat a decent amount of Mexican food, typically no less than two meals of this type each week. That said, there are a lot of bean and rice combinations in my kitchen.

This Spanish red rice is flavorful, easy to put together, and a great accompaniment to enchiladas, filling for tacos and burritos, or great merely paired with a pot of beans!

Spanish Red Rice

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
half a small yellow onion, diced (about 1/2-cup)
1 1/4 cups long grain white rice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/2 cups No-Chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:

In a sauté pan with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cooking until it becomes translucent. Add the rice, stirring to coat with the oil. Continue stirring, cooking the rice until it goes from translucent to chalky-white in color (5-10 minutes).

Stir in the spices and tomato paste, until all of the rice grains are coated with the tomato paste.

Carefully pour in the broth, in a steady stream. It will bubble up as soon as it touches the pan. Stir, then cover the pan. Reduce the heat to low. Cook, covered, until the liquid is completely absorbed (about 25 minutes).

Uncover, fluff with a fork, and serve hot.

Posted in Dinner, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged keeping rice from being overly sticky, mexi rice, Mexican Rice, side dishes for mexican food, spanish red rice, spanish rice, stovetop rice | 4 Comments

Meatless Monday: Acini di Pepe with Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

We were out of town for most of last week. Every time we are about to travel for any extended amount of time, I like to empty out our fridge prior to leaving. For the few days before a trip, we eat weird meals of whatever needs to go. Typically this type of cleaning means I eat a lot… I mean a LOT of yogurt for a three or four days, with other heavy-on-the-dairy dishes and concoctions of whatever vegetables and fruits are laying around.

When we got back from Seattle Friday night, it was late. The following day was busy and grocery shopping didn’t happen. The next evening I realized I hadn’t gone shopping, again, and I didn’t feel like maneuvering through the grocery store while hungry. Seeing as it was just my husband and I, I asked, “Do you care what we have for dinner tonight?” The simple, “No.” was a green light to make my favorite go-to dinner variety dish: pasta.

I dug around in the refrigerator and found a pint of grape tomatoes I’d managed to neglect before we went to Seattle, along with a pint of heavy whipping cream. (Turns out I didn’t clean out the things I would’ve, had I looked better, very well.) This is an easily thrown together dinner. You can skip the breadcrumb topping if you prefer.

My favorite part was eating this again, like a pasta salad today for lunch. It was equally tasty cold as it was fresh out of the oven.

Acini di Pepe with Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta

Feeds 4-6 folks.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups acini di pepe
3 tablespoons prepared pesto
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 ounces feta, crumbled
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (depending on your spice preference)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch square pan and set it aside until needed. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a small skillet, then stir the breadcrumbs into the butter. Set aside once the breadcrumbs are coated.

While the water is coming to a boil, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, occasionally stirring until the onion is translucent (5 to 7 minutes). Add the garlic, tomatoes, and salt. Saute until the tomatoes soften (5 or so minutes).

Pour the acini di pepe into the boiling water, stirring to separate the grains. Cook until tender (7 to 8 minutes total). Drain, setting the pasta aside until needed.

Meanwhile, add the pesto to the onion/tomato mixture, stirring to evenly distribute everything. Add the cooked pasta, feta, fresh spinach, parmesan, and cream, stirring to evenly combine the ingredients. Taste, then add more salt and ground black pepper to your liking.

Pour the pasta into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the buttered breadcrumbs over the top of the pasta. Bake until the top is golden brown (10 minutes or so). Serve while hot.

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Meatless Monday, Vegetarian | Tagged acini de pepe, acini di pepe, little pasta rounds, little pastas, Meatless Monday, Meatless Monday recipes, meatlessmonday, pasta, vegetarian dinner recipes, vegetarian pasta, vegetarian pasta dishes | 2 Comments

Day to Day Life: Week Nine

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

The last week looked a bit like this:

Blue skies in Southern Oregon early in the week.

Our living room couch is a place of accidental naps.

We spent the majority of the week out of town for AWP. Travelling typically means cleaning out the refrigerator, down to bare necessities that won’t expire while we’re gone. This was a thrown together dinner of mashed potatoes, baked chicken-style tofu, green peas and creamy herb gravy for Vincent, Craig and I the night before we left.

Our first stop was Portland for a night. This boy is the self proclaimed king of hotel-ing. Armed with phone, headphones, stuffed animals, bathrobe, granola bars, blankets from home, and a banana – duh.

We all managed to wake up around 4:30 the morning we’d have to drive into Seattle. It’s no secret that I am not a morning person. Not in the least bit. However, being able to see the sun come up over the city wasn’t half bad…

We got to Seattle too early to check in, so we explored and happened up on Piroshky Piroshky while walking around Pike Place Market. I had read about this little spot about a month previous, so I knew the smoked salmon pâté piroshky was going to be in our future. There was no line at all and the elusive salmon piroshky? Fresh out of the oven. We devoured it before I could take a picture. Then went back for dessert. This Oscar’s Star, featuring sweet dough, sweetened cream cheese, chocolate, and hazelnuts.

Again with the king of hotel-ing.

We went to Serious Pie for dinner one night. I think I’ve turned into a pizza snob over the last couple years… I wasn’t impressed with the pizzas considering the prices. We got a buffalo mozzarella, red sauce, fresh basil pie and a roasted seasonal mushroom with truffle cheese pie. The pitcher of Georgetown porter was delicious.

Silas and I shared some fish and chips at the market while Craig was busy with some conference-related working.

Silas’ friend Sydney was up in Washington, too… We managed to get the kids together for an out-of-town play date.

One of the off-site conference events was Writers Who Play, which features a number of writers who also happen to be musicians. My husband has joined this event for a number of years now. While Syd’s mom watched the kids we made it into a quick date night.

The Seattle waterfront and a moment of silence and reflection for Leo, whose life was being celebrated back in Oregon within those moments.

Although we had an 8 hour drive looming, we spent our last day in Seattle doing things Silas wanted. Our lunch stop was in Pike Place Market as well – Market Grill, where the three of us shared a grilled salmon sandwich and a grilled halibut sandwich. There will be a homemade version of both soon enough…

Dessert featured a cinnamon pull apart from Cinnamon Works. This photo is deceiving; that pull-apart bread was bigger than Silas’ face.

Mr. Silas Henry also requested a ferris wheel ride before leaving Seattle. Good thing his papa would ride with him, because you will certainly not find me on any ferris wheel.

Again, no Julie up in that little box… ever.

He he he.

Sunset ala I-5, southbound.

Some of the swag we picked up at AWP included sweatbands from some literary press. Silas insisted he needed his hair buzzed short before his last basketball game… specifically so he could wear said sweatband.

I started a batch of limoncello the day Leo passed away. Technically I should’ve waited until next Wednesday to add the simple syrup, but I finished it a handful of days early so we could share it with his family after the second memorial service yesterday. I have a feeling he’d understand the necessity and knows it was out of love.

Posted in Day to Day, Kids, Life, Travel | Tagged Ashland, Ashland Oregon, AWP, AWP14, Cinnamon Works, daily life, day to day life, day to day life in photos, everyday life, iphoneography, life, Market Grill, photographs, photography, photos, Pike Place Market, seattle, Seattle Big Wheel, Seattle WA, Seattle waterfront, Serious Pie Seattle, travel | Leave a comment

Saturday Sites: Week Nine

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

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This frame by frame look at the Olympics may be my favorite way to watch the Olympics.
I enjoyed reading this piece: I’ve decided something. And it’s for you too …
To the list of recipes-to-horde it goes… This ice cream sounds tasty.
When tomato season comes around again, this bloody goes to the top of my list!
I think it would be interesting to live in a home like these. But probably not for the entirety of my life.
So, entering into my thirties won’t be overwhelmingly horrendous! Yeah, yeah, I don’t hit 30 until 2015, but, whatever…
Cream cheese danishes are some of my favorite danishes… This blueberry cream cheese bread is like a giant version of a danish… MUST MAKE NOW.
There have been a lot of silly quizzes showing up in my Facebook newsfeed… This one told me that my college major was in fact what I should’ve majored in. I am still questioning such results.
And then there was this quiz, which told me I was a Buddhist monk in a previous life. I was certain that my result would be A Hippie.
These empanadas have peaked my interest.
We have reached March. That means spring is coming. That means fresh asparagus is going to show up around here soon. That means I am a happy, happy lady.
If I make this dip, I will surely devour it all in one sitting.
The Art of Conversation.
I’m not sure why savory french toast blew my mind so intensely… but this savory feta cheese french toast? Yes, yes. Yes.
This has been the case for nearly three decades now. I do not apologize.
This list made me laugh.
Words from a father to his daughter. From the makeup aisle.
I’m into the bright flavors of this cocktail.
While we’re at it, I’m also into the looks and sounds of this cake. Even though I typically don’t care for cake, I’m almost certain I’d happily shove my own face into this one.

Posted in Life, Saturday Sites | Tagged blogging, Networking, Satrudays, Saturday Sites, websites | Leave a comment

Chile Colorado Sauce (Basic Red Chile Sauce)

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

We are huge fans of enchiladas around our house. Honestly, I usually rely on canned enchilada sauce and then make everything else homemade – homemade tortillas, fillings, sides… seems kind of silly, really, to skimp out on the one place where the homemade version would probably make a noticeable difference.

I made enchilada sauce once before but couldn’t remember much about the recipe. All I could recall is reading once upon a time that genuine enchilada sauce doesn’t have any tomatoes in it. In that sense, this isn’t an authentic enchilada sauce… not exactly. It’s a chile colorado sauce which doesn’t come from Colorado, but merely refers to the reddish color of the sauce (colorado meaning to blush, or to turn red).

For this sauce you would generally use ancho and guajillo chiles, although I used ancho and New Mexico chiles. The sauce is pretty mild-medium on heat, but also rich in flavor. I decided to make cheese enchiladas while using this sauce, rather than creating a heavy enchilada filling that would distract from the sauce. Needless to say, three adult-sized appetites ate two and a half dozen enchiladas within 24 hours.

Chile Colorado Sauce (Basic Red Chile Sauce)

Yields about 8 cups of sauce.

Ingredients:

2 large yellow or white onions, peeled and quartered
2 pounds roma tomatoes, cored and quartered
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
canola oil
2 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
4 dried New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 quart No-Chicken broth
salt and pepper

Directions:

Arrange the top rack of your oven on the top rungs. Turn your oven on to broiling. Place the quartered onions, tomatoes, and cloves of garlic on a large sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle generously with the oil. Place the sheet pan under the broiler, cooking until the tomatoes and onion char and blister (7-10 minutes). Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet (I prefer cast iron), lay the dried peppers in a single layer. Toast the peppers over high heat, turning them often, until the outer skins blacken slightly. Immediately place the peppers in a large bowl and cover with water. You may have to place a plate on the peppers to weigh them down. Make sure the peppers are completely submerged. Soak the peppers until they soften completely (30 minutes or so).

Once the peppers have softened, combine them, the roasted onion, tomatoes, and garlic in a high-speed blender or food processor fitted with the large chopping blade. Add the cumin, coriander, oregano, and about half of the broth. Blend until smooth. Slowly blend in the remaining broth.

If the sauce isn’t as smooth as you like, you can strain it. Pour the sauce into a large pot, bringing the temperature up over low heat, slowly. Taste and add salt and ground pepper to your liking.

This sauce should be used within one week, if refrigerated. If frozen, it will last up to one month.

Posted in Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged chile colorado sauce, colorado red, enchilada sauce, homemade enchilada sauce, homemade enchilada sauce recipe, red chile sauce, vegetarian enchilada sauce | 1 Comment

Forbidden Rice Blog

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Meatless Monday : Cream of Asparagus and Mushroom Soup

Day to Day Life: Week Ten

Saturday Sites: Week Ten

Classic Lemon Bars

Spanish Red Rice

Meatless Monday: Acini di Pepe with Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta

Day to Day Life: Week Nine

Saturday Sites: Week Nine

Chile Colorado Sauce (Basic Red Chile Sauce)

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