Potato-Soyrizo Stuffed Poblanos and Smoky Garbanzo-Vegetable Soup with Fresh Avocado

Today we made a special trip to the Spanish grocery so I could make a celebratory dinner just for me. Why just me? Yesterday my rheumatologist felt that I have been doing well enough to reduce my rheumatoid medication down by half. In eleven years this has never happened. Instead of my weekly Enbrel injections, I am going to every other week. I am hopeful and excited. I may have problems down the road, so I suppose I shouldn't be as excited as I am since it may not work out for me, but this is the first time the doctor has given me the okay to reduce the bio-tech meds. I am thrilled and nothing can bring me down now. Getting down and dirty in the kitchen with some awesome ingredients is a good way to celebrate.

So I went all out and bought lots of stuff from the Spanish grocery, like dried anchos, arbol chili pods, guajillo chili pods (which David thought said guano pods - gross), corn husks (for tamales) and epazote. Epazote is a new one for me. I have been very excited about this particular ingredient and couldn't wait to use it tonight. I used it in the soup I made and it, to quote Emeril, kicked it up a notch. You don't have to use it, though. The soup is still worth making, even if you don't have epazote. But it is a beautiful, earthy addition to the dish. Because of the epazote, the soup freakin' rocked!

Now, you may have noticed the diced avocado in the center of the soup. Avocado and I haven't always been good friends. I used to love avocado years ago. And then one night in Chicago I ate a lot of guacamole. And drank a lot of Long Island Iced Teas. You and I both know that Long Island's have no tea in them. See where this is going? You and I both know how *that* night ended without my even telling you. That was almost ten years ago. So avocado and I are slowly becoming friends again, one tiny little step at a time.

The soup is an adaptation from Rick Bayless's book, Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico. It is not a vegetarian cookbook in any way, shape or form, but it is one of my favorite books. Back in my pre-veg days, I ate at his restaurant, Topolobampo in Chicago (note that this was not the same night I drank too many Long Island's). As a vegan, there is nothing in his restaurant today that I can eat. I am happy with adapting many of his recipes from the two books that I have of his. David and I enjoyed this soup a great deal. Kelsey, on the other hand, did not. More for us!

Smoky Garbanzo-Vegetable Soup with Fresh Avocado

(Caldo Tlalpeño)

8 cups vegetable stock
1 package Morningstar Farms Chik'n Strips, shredded

1/2 cup water

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 15-oz can garbanzos, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups cooked)

1 sprig epazote

Salt to taste

1-2 canned chipotle chiles, minced (I used two from a can of them with adobo)

1 ripe avocado, diced

1 large lime, cut into 6 wedges

Saute the onion and carrots in the water until the onions begin to brown. Add the garlic and saute for a minute longer. Add the stock, garbanzos and epazote. Partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt.

Add the shredded chik'n and chipotle chiles. Heat through. Ladle soup in the bowls, top with avocado and a lime wedge.

Potato-Soyrizo Stuffed Poblanos

This recipe was actually inspired by David. Really, it was kind of his creation. He asked me to take some poblanos and stuff them with a potato and onion mixture. I decided that soyrizo and black beans would also be great. It's a simple dish, but lovely. David and Kelsey are not vegan, they like cheese. Their peppers have melted cheese on them. If you want, top yours with Follow Your Heart vegan cheese alternative. I liked mine just fine with it. I only stuffed three peppers, but this recipe makes enough to stuff six. We are just going to use the leftover filling in a burrito wrap tomorrow. I can't wait until grilling season comes around. I'll be doing this one on the grill. Now for the recipe.

6 poblanos

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large baking potato, cooked and cubed

1/2 package of Soyrizo

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

Salt to taste

Preheat the broiler. Lay the poblanos on a baking sheet and broil them until they are charred and blistered on all sides. When this is done, put them into a metal bowl and cover with plastic wrap (I actually put them into a ziploc baggie and sealed it). Let them sit for 15 minutes. Remove the skin from each pepper. Open only one side of each pepper and remove the seeds, leaving the stem attached. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Saute the onion and garlic in the vegetable oil. Add the Soyrizo and saute for about 10 minutes. Add the cooked and diced potato and cook for a few minutes longer, mixing everything together. Add the black beans and salt to taste.

Stuff each pepper with the filling. Place in a baking dish and cover. Bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and top with vegan cheese alternative, if desired, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve your delicious Mexican meal with a Simple Margarita. My favorite sweetener for it is agave nectar. You could even listen to some Latin jazz while you're cooking up this Mexican feast. Nothing makes a meal better than some great music and a great margarita.