Enchiladas with zucchini, black beans and corn

Yes. I said corn. I have reintroduced corn without any difficulty as far as I can tell. Still out: dairy (excluding butter), wheat and eggs. 

This is another gem I picked up while spending time in Costa Rica. The concept of what I make today was born out of one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, rebar. You should probably just buy it, because its so amazing. The deliciousness is endless. The black beans are a recent addition by Adam, who felt like it needed a little more ooomph! I agreed, and we've never gone back. I think tonight I'll throw in some black olives too, just for fun. Sounds fun, right? 

These enchiladas are casserole style, which means this takes almost no time at all to prepare. Its like a tasty enchilada lasagna. Awesome. 

If you have some time on your hands...and own the rebar...you can make their mesa red sauce. Its quite good. I've become dependent on Trader Joe's and use their enchilada sauce, yet another reason why I call this "easy"... if you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, you can also use canned enchilada sauce, but I recommend working on it until it actually tastes good. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. In a skillet saute diced onion, garlic, red bell pepper, zucchini, corn, jalapeno and 1 T each, coriander and cumin until veggies are tender, yet firm. Set aside. Mix in 1 can rinsed black beans and chopped olives.
   
3. In a 9 x 13 or similar-sized oven proof pan, spoon about 1/4 cup enchilada sauce into the bottom and begin the layering process with a layer of corn tortillas. 
4. Layer sauce, tortillas and veggies so that you have 3-4 layers, depending on the size and depth of your pan. 
5. Top with cheese if you eat it. Omit if you don't. Bake until bubbly. 
6. Cut into squares and top with real or fake sour cream, and avocado.
7. Enjoy!

On a side note, the beholder is totally my new favorite blog to read. I cannot wait to try her ab routine! 

Blueberry Banana Muffins

These muffins are wheat-free, gluten-free, vegan, and totally awesome. 

• 1 1/4 c brown rice flour 
• 1/4 c garbanzo bean flour
• 1/4 c tapioca flour
• 1/4 t cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 c flax seeds
• 3/4 c warm water
• 1/3 c oil
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c almond milk
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Blend the flax seeds and warm water for two minutes and set aside. 
   
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. 
4. In a separate bowl, mix the oil and sugar. 
5. Dice the banana and add to the oil and sugar mixture, mashing a little with a fork. Add the remaining wet ingredients, including the flax/water mixture.
6. Fold wet ingredients into the dry, and add blue berries. 
7. Spoon batter into muffin liners, and bake for 30 minutes. 
8. Enjoy!

Come monday, I'll be able to introduce the eliminated foods, one at a time into my diet. I cannot believe its almost been two weeks already! I've been managing pretty well, Adam even made me these rice cake tostadas the other night for dinner: 

Sounds a little strange, but they were really good! We've also been having some super veggie intense stir fry - although I do really miss tofu and all soy based sauces - I've been using a combo of garlic/ginger/chili and sesame oil and its working out great. 

Breakfast has been mostly warm quinoa with berries, chopped almonds, cinnamon and rice milk or a banana and peanut butter. To mix things up a bit, I made a green smoothie this morning with: almond milk, banana, a handful of spinach, 1 T flax seeds, frozen blueberries and frozen pineapple. I was a little nervous about the flax seeds, but they were great! Blending flax seeds causes them to thicken, which is why they work as an egg replacer. Boost of Omega 3's for the day? Check!

Black Beans and Spinach

I'm so glad its still cold enough out there for soup to sound good. When you take away wheat, corn, soy, dairy and eggs, it seems like the easiest thing to make. This is one of my favorites. I've made it so many times this winter that Adam says, "this one again?" when I make it. Its cheap, tasty and takes minimal effort. What's not to like?

I like to use dried black beans for this because I think they add something lovely to the texture. If you don't have the time, or want to make this on the fly, canned beans are delicious as well.

• 1 cup dried black beans 
• 1 bunch spinach, chopped
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T coriander
• 1 T cumin
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 T minced ginger

If you eat dairy or soy.... neither of which can I have this week or next....

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt added at the end

1. Soak beans overnight. Rinse, drain and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer at medium heat until tender.
2. Saute oil, garlic and ginger and spices. Add tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add beans and chopped spinach. If the beans are in quite a bit of water, you may wish to drain some off.
4. Stir in yogurt (if you're using it) and simmer until stew thickens. 

Potato Chickpea Curry

I was searching through my list of posts this morning because I thought I had drafted this last night. Apparently I'm going crazy because I most certainly did not, but I did find an old draft where I had written only this: 

 Environmental Degradation in the Tropics was hands-down the best class I took as an undergraduate at the University of Washington. I took the course one Summer after a long stretch in Costa Rica. It took my heart and tore it to pieces.

Its a bit dramatic, but absolutely true. Changed the way I feel about trade and tropical commodities forever. Don't even get me started on shrimp...

This post is actually about curry, not global environmental issues. Yesterday was my first official day on the elimination diet, and I went home early with a splitting headache due to inadequate caloric preparation for the day ahead of me. I went to Madison Market immediately and stocked up on some wheat, corn, gluten, dairy, soy and egg free essentials. Basically, ingredients for cooking up an allergen free storm. Whee. 

I found this one over at Meaty Vegan (and she found it over at Simply Recipes) I more or less paid attention to the recipe, tripled the spices as I tend to do, and ended up with something quite delicious. 

Saute together: 

• 1 T coconut oil
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 1 T ginger, minced
  
• 1 T cumin
  
• 1 T coriander
  
• 1 t cayenne 
  

To this add: 

• 1 large tin diced tomatoes
  
• 1 tin coconut milk
  
• 2 tins garbanzo beans, rinsed
  
• 1 sweet potato (I had one around, so threw it in - it was an awesome addition)
  
• About 10 small potatoes
  
• Chili's (the recipe called for anaheims seeded and diced - I couldn't get them at the store, so had to use diced green and it wasn't hot enough for my taste)
  

Add water as needed (about a cup) to have enough liquid to cover potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are soft, and serve over brown rice. Add salt to taste.