Spicy Raw Corn Soup with Sour Cream and Pico

Spicy Raw Corn Soup
serves 3
1 lb yellow corn kernals
1 cup fresh pico de gallo
1/4-1/2 cup water
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
2 tbl nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1 avocado, for garnish

Combine the corn, pico, 1/4 cup water, jalapeno, nut yeast and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve with more pico de gallo, sour cream and avocado. 

Pico De Gallo
yields 2 cups
4 roma tomatoes, seeded, small dice
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tbl cold pressed olive oil
Salt, to taste

Combine and season with salt to taste.

Raw Sour Cream
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour then drained
1/4 cup water
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt

Combine in a blender and blend for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy, adding more water if necessary .

Sweet Potato & Plantain Tacos with Pico, Mango Barbecue Sauce & Black Beans

These tacos are what my husband commonly refers to as "white mans tacos", so far fetched from traditional refried beans and rice but so delicious that he doesn't care where it's origins lie. The combination of sweet and spicy plantains and sweet potato give these tacos enough body and substance to end with a full belly after only eating two.


Roasted sweet potato and plantains wrapped in warm corn tortillas with jasmine rice, black beans, fresh pico de gallo and spicy mango barbecue sauce.

Sweet Potato & Plantain Tacos
makes 8 tacos
1 large sweet potato, peeled, 1/4" dice
1 large black plantain, 1/4" dice
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 tbl maple syrup
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper
1-15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked jasmine rice
pico de gallo
mango barbecue sauce
2 tbl chopped cilantro
vegan sour cream, for garnish
8- 6" corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 425.

Toss the sweet potato and plantain with oil, maple syrup, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, ginger and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes until tender and lightly charred on the edges.
Heat up the beans in a small pot and season with salt.
Assemble the tacos with all of the fixings.

Pico De Gallo
1 cup small dice tomatoes
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 jalapeno, seeded, minced
2 tbl lime juice
1 tbl chopped cilantro
sea salt, to taste

Combine and serve.

Mango Barbecue Sauce
1 mango, peeled, small dice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tbl organic light brown sugar
2 tbl apple cider vinegar
2 tbl dijon mustard
1 canned chipotle pepper, minced
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Blend together the mango and orange juice into a puree.
Combine all of the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened.

Sweet Potato & Kale Breakfast Burritos, Pumpkin Seed Crema, Pico De Gallo

These burritos are great for any meal, not just breakfast. With tons of vegetables both roasted and fresh these burritos pack a powerful punch of flavor and nutrition.
Instead of boiling or sauteing the kale separately, I tossed it in the oven to roast with the sweet potatoes, giving the greens a nice crisp, airy texture you don't often find in burritos.

Roasted kale, sweet potato and red bell pepper with cilantro mashed pintos, fresh pico de gallo, avocado and a homemade pumpkin seed cream with green chilies in replace of sour cream.

Sweet Potato Kale Breakfast Burritos
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large sweet potato, unpeeled, medium dice
1/2 small red onion, small dice
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
1 tbl cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 head kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 small spanish onion, minced
1-15oz can pinto beans
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
flour tortillas
sliced avocado

Preheat the oven to 400. On a large baking sheet, toss 2 tbl of oil, sweet potato, red onion, red bell pepper, cumin, chili powder, kale, salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 15 minutes, toss the potatoes around, reduce the heat to 350 and bake 15 minutes more so the kale doesn't burn.
In a small pot saute the spanish onion with 1 tbl of oil until translucent, 7 minutes. Add the beans and vegetable broth and simmer for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Mash the beans to your liking. I like to do half mash half whole. Toss in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
Assemble the burritos with the sweet potato and kale mix, kidney beans, avocado slices, pico and pumpkin seed crema all wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.

Pumpkin Seed Crema
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion, small dice
4 oz can mild green chilies
2 garlic clove, minced
1 cup pepitas, toasted
1/2 cup diced bread (I used stale baguette)
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Saute the onions and chilies in oil until soft and fragrant, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and pepitas and toast for 3 minutes. Add the bread and broth. Simmer for 20 minutes until the bread has soaked up the broth.
Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Bring back to the heat and add the almond milk. Simmer for a couple minutes then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pico De Gallo
2 cups seeded, diced roma tomatoes
1 jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup small diced spanish onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbl freshly chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
salt and pepper

Combine all of the ingredients and chill to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Summer Corn Cakes and Black Bean Sauce

Now that corn is available fresh and by the dozens, I like to take advantage of it as much as possible. You know the corn is good when you don't even have to cook it. While I love eating it straight off the cob, I've never made it into a patty type cake, so I came up with this recipe using fresh zucchini as well and it turned out awesome!
Summer corn cakes with zucchini, cilantro and jalapeno, avocado pico de gallo and black bean sauce.

Corn Cakes
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 small zucchini,shredded
4 ears of corn, kernals removed
2 scallions, chopped (whites and greens)
1 small sized russet potato, fully cooked
1/4c breadcrumbs
1/4c cilantro, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed and minced
3 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 a lime
In a food processor combine the cooked potato, kernals of corn from 3 cobs, scallions, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and lime juice. Puree until almost smooth but still slightly chunky. In a bowl combine corn mixture with remaining corn kernals, shredded zucchini and breadcrumbs. Mix together, form patties (around 7) and chill for 30 min. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook patties until golden brown on each side.

Black Bean sauce
1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
4c vegetable broth or water
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
stems from one bunch of cilantro, chopped small
salt and pepper
Place beans in a large sauce-pan and add all remaining
ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer,
uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Add additional water if needed.
Remove bay leaves, then transfer the bean mixture to a food processor.
Process well, adding water if needed to make desired consistency.

Avocado pico de gallo
1 avocado, diced into small cubes
1 red pepper, small dice
1/4 sweet yellow onion, small dice
1/4c cilantro, minced
Juice of half a lime
1/2 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed and minced
salt
Combine all ingredients.