Spicy!

I live in the Southwest and spicy food is a staple here.  I was feeling like some comfort food, so I made vegan versions of my faves.

First I made pinto beans, seasoned with onions, sea salt and cumin.  

Then green chili sauce.  You start with the green chilies, of course.  I chose mild, they still have a little heat.  The frozen ones are best, unless you can find freshly roasted.  For one 13 oz container, saute a small onion and two cloves of garlic in a little canola oil over medium-high heat.

After the onions have started to soften, add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook an additional minute or so, until browned.  Then add the defrosted container of green chilies and about 1 cup of water.

Stir and bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to thicken, this picture is before the sauce came to a boil.

It takes about 15 min or so to thicken, salt to taste and serve.  It is served here on almost every thing.  Makes amazing green enchiladas.

I wanted something cold and fresh to go with the beans and rice, but was completely out of tomatoes and lettuce, so I decided to make a simple corn salsa.

• 1 green pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 slice purple onion, diced
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• salt to taste

Combine and serve, very yummy.  If you want it to be hot, chop a jalapeno and add that.

I made a long-grain brown rice and seasoned it with salt and Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime.  I'm blessed to have a rice cooker, so not sure how long it took to cook exactly.  

Lunch was a big hit, we had some leftover chipotle tostadas from last week.  It was so good!  I served it with a little Tofutti sour cream.  The kids had some vegan cheese with theirs.