Black Bean Dip

By Corinne

Cilantro seems to be one of those things that people like or REALLY dislike. The people who like it always seem to like it a lot. To me, cilantro tastes fresh and almost a bit citrusy. The people who hate it usually describe it as tasting like soap. That all being said, this black bean dip is for sure for the cilantro lovers! The ingredient list is short, and it’s a nice complement to salsa.

Time: 5 minutes

You will need:

• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• a generous handful of cilantro including stems-see photo below for an idea of how much- you could of course use less if that is your preference
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• juice of two limes

Drain and rinse the black beans. Give the cilantro a rinse, but don’t worry about drying it. Add beans, cilantro, 1-2 cloves of garlic, and the juice of two limes to a food processor and pulse until combined. Serve with bread or tortilla chips, or as a yummy spread on a wrap (think the way you might use hummus). This is fine made the day before, but doesn’t keep well for more than a few days because of the mass of cilantro. I used canned beans, which I usually find salty enough, but if you are using dried beans that you’ve rehydrated, you may wish to add salt.

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Hominy with Kale and Chicken

By Corinne

Living here in the great white north I’ve only recently been introduced to hominy.  After a bit of looking around on the internet, it seems like canned hominy is easy to find and can usually be found near beans in the grocery store. Most sources recommended using canned rather than dried, and if you can find them, it will certainly save them a step. If you’re living in Thunder Bay, I haven’t found canned hominy anywhere (though word on the street is that Bulk Zone has brought in some canned hominy now!) and the only place I’ve found whole dried hominy is Renco’s Foods on Court St.

Once you’ve figured out the hominy part, this is an easy supper.

Time: about 35-45 minutes (depends on the thickness of the chicken you are cooking)

Serves: 4

You will need:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups of hominy* (rehydrated and cooked) or probably one can drained will do
• 1/2 onion diced
• 6 cups of washed and finely chopped kale leaves – no stems
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of cherry tomatoes (I used mini san marzano because they are my fav)
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes, or one crumbled red chili
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Juice of one fresh lemon
• 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth. I used white wine.
• Salt and pepper

*If you can find canned hominy, by all means, use that. If using dried hominy, start this recipe the day before by cooking the hominy. I skipped the soaking overnight step and cooked it in the slow cooker on low overnight. It still took until early afternoon before kernels were tender and had popped. I cooked the whole bag of dried hominy and froze what I didn’t use in two cup portions so that I won’t have to do this step again for a while.

In a large pan heat 1 tbsp canola over medium heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to pan. If your chicken breasts are quite thick, you may wish to cut them in half to reduce cooking time. Cook for about 15-20 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken) until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken from pan.

Add 1 tbsp canola to the pan and turn up the heat a bit to medium high. Add the hominy and stir and cook for about 10 minutes until some of it is getting a bit browned on the edges. Add the onion and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Slice the chicken breasts and add back to pan with the other ingredients. Add the chili flakes, thyme, garlic and kale. Add the white wine and the lemon juice. Stir until chicken is reheated,  kale has wilted and the liquid has been mostly absorbed, about 5-7 minutes. Some of the tomatoes may have just started to break down, that’s ok, but if they’re all still whole that’s ok too. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.

Harissa Chicken Wraps with Hummus

By Corinne

I am generally not one for buying spice blends, though I do enjoy when my friends visit exotic places and bring them back for me! Harissa is a Tunisian (though variants are found throughout north Africa and the Mediterranean) blend of of chilies, garlic and other spices such as mint. It’s often found as a paste rather than as the dry spice blend and either will work in this recipe. I picked up this Harissa blend on a bit of a whim, though I did receive a cookbook for Christmas that calls for harissa in a few recipes. I made my own wraps for this, but you can certainly use store bought tortillas or pita breads.

Makes: about 6-8 wraps

Time: about 30 minutes, more if you make your own flatbreads

You will need:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• about 1 tbsp of harissa spice blend
• about 3/4 cup of hummus (mine was very garlicky!)
• veggies you like- I used sprouts, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and red onion- other options might include red peppers, lettuce, baby spinach, mushrooms or any other veg you like in a wrap
• wraps or pitas (I found this was enough chicken to make about 7-8 wraps, but I used a lot of veg in my wraps) I used Homemade Flour Tortillas, but certainly store bought is fine

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with harissa spice. I cut my chicken breasts in half lengthwise as they were fairly thick and I wanted to reduce the cooking time. Set chicken aside and allow to marinate for a bit while you prep any of your veggies you will be using with your wraps.

Add a little oil to pan if necessary. Add chicken to pan and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.  When chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan and slice into pieces about 1/2 inch thick. Since these wraps are delightful with the chicken warm or cold, you could certainly prep the chicken the day before, and they are awesome for lunch the next day.

To assemble, spread about 2 tbsp of hummus on centre of wrap (or more or less as you like it!) and place chicken and veggies of your choice down the middle. Fold up from the bottom, then wrap both sides around. You can pin it all together with a toothpick.

 

 

 

 

Avocado Lime Rice

By Corinne

Oh Avocados!

As the cartoon implies, when you go to buy an avocado, it seems as though they are all either over ripe or hard as rocks. I generally buy them in a bag when the price is right, and of course, they all seem to ripen at exactly the same time, leaving me needing to use up 4-5 avocados in a short amount of time.

This rice is delicious in a wrap, or with Chipotle Pepper Beef.

Time: about 25 min – 5 min prep, 20 minutes cook

Serves: 4 as side

• 1.5 cups rinsed brown rice
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup finely minced cilantro
• 1 small clove of garlic, minced or pressed
• juice of one lime (if your lime isn’t very juicy, feel free to use two)
• half a minced jalapeño

Cook rice using your preferred method. I generally use a rice cooker, but just follow your usual method.

While rice is cooking, remove skin and seed from avocado. To do this, run a knife lengthwise along the avocado through the fruit around the seed. Twist halves apart, and use your knife to knock out the seed. I generally cross hatch it with my knife and then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, but since you are mashing it you can just take it out in one chunk if you like. Discard skin and seed and place flesh in a bowl. I was going to take photos of this process, but sometimes I don’t feel like re-creating the wheel so to speak. There is a lovely diagram of how to cut an avocado here as well as additional information about them.

Juice lime(s) over avocado. Mince about 1/4 cup fresh cilantro and mince or press clove of garlic. Add to avocado. Use a fork to mash together. Season with a pinch of salt.

When rice is cooked, mix together with mashed avocado mixture. Serve hot.

Creamy Vanilla Whisky

By Corinne

This makes a delightful drink that is creamy without cream, flavoured with vanilla and just a hint of coconut.

After I posted Homemade Irish Cream I had a request for a dairy free version. Now, when making things like this, whether it be gluten free, or dairy free, I don’t want the best part of the recipe to be the absence of the ingredient, but rather I like them to be delicious in their own right. For instance, I prefer the extra chewiness that the chana flour imparts to My Favourite Brownies, so I make them this way whether or not I’m making them for someone who is gluten intolerant.

This one is a little more effort than the Homemade Irish Cream, but if you’re looking for something dairy free, or just something a little different, it’s a win.

Makes: about 4 1/2 cups or about 1L

Time: about 20 minutes to reduce coconut milk, + cooling time

You will need:

• 2 cans of full fat coconut milk (2 x 398 mL) or 28oz
• 2 1/2 cups (20oz) of Wiser’s Vanilla Whisky or other vanilla whisky
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar, but regular will work)
• 2 tbsp of chocolate syrup
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

In saucepan or pot, pour contents of two cans of coconut milk and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Whisk together and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about 1/3 or 8oz – this took about 20 minutes for me, but will depend on the surface area of your pan, if you are using a pan or pot with larger surface area, it will take less time, if you are using a regular pot, it will take longer. If you skip this step it will result in a rather watery end product.

Once reduced, remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Add 2 1/2 cups vanilla whiskey, 2 tbsp chocolate syrup and 1/4 tsp of almond extract to the cooled coconut milk. Whisk together until blended and pour into a container. Keep refrigerated for at least a month- though it’s probably good for much longer but my bottle ends up mysteriously empty sooner. Shake well after being refrigerated.

Enjoy on the rocks or added to coffee.