Recipe: Black bean and sweet potato tacos

I love the combination of black beans and sweet potatoes. I think their textures go great together. I made some black bean and sweet potato tacos that were really delicious and satisfyingly filling. I've been meaning to share this recipe for a while. This would be a great dish for a party or for picky eaters because everyone can just put whatever they like in their tortilla. Feel free to mix up the toppings however you like. I always have the problem that I put way too much stuff in my tortilla and then I make a mess. A delicious mess that I don't regret one bit.

As you can see, this tortilla is never going to close! I got over-excited about the toppings.

Me, excited to eat a taco.

Recipe: 

About 6-8 tacos

-Two medium-sized sweet potatoes

-1 can of black beans, drained

-1 large onion, chopped

-2 cloves garlic

-2 tbs vegetable oil

-1 tbs chili powder

-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

-1/4 tsp dried oregano

-1/4 tsp paprika

-1-1/2 tsp cumin

-1 tsp sea salt

-1 tsp black pepper

-2 avocados

-1/4 cup fresh lime juice

-8 flour or corn tortillas

-Toppings: salsa, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, diced sweet peppers, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.

1. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Boil them until they are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth, although a few chunks can remain.

2. Heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion. Saute for 5 minutes. Add 1 clove of garlic, minced, along with the seasonings. Saute on low heat until the onion is translucent. Mix in the black beans with 1/4 cup of water. Continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed. Transfer the bean mixture to a bowl and mash with a potato masher until the bean mixture sticks to itself.

3. To prepare guacamole, cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Add 1 clove of grated garlic and the lime juice. Mash and mix the ingredients together with a fork, leaving a few chunks of avocado. Add salt to taste. 

4. Heat the tortillas briefly in the oven, if desired. To prepare the tacos, spread a layer of sweet potato, a layer of black bean mixture, and a layer of guacamole down the centre of the tortilla. On top of these, add any additional toppings, as desired. Fold or roll the tortilla and eat!

Recipe: Simple Soba

Lately I've been spending most of my free time packing so it's distracted me from this blog. Today I cooked a really simple and delicious meal and I knew I had to post it here. It's cool for the hot summer days (it's finally officially summer!) and it's very healthy. And it's a simple recipe, which is good since most of my kitchen things are packed already! Get ready to see a new kitchen in the background of my photos of food, because I'm moving in only one week.

This recipe involves soba noodles, also known as buckwheat noodles. You may or may not be able to find them in your local grocery store, but if not they can be found in almost any Asian supermarket. If you want you could sub out soba noodles for spaghetti noodles, but I urge you not too. Then you'd be missing out on the tastiness and healthiness of this delicious Japanese noodle. Soba noodles are high in protein, fibre, and manganese. They don't contain gluten so they're a perfect noodle option for people who can't eat gluten.

Soba noodles aren't just healthy, they're delicious. Like, really delicious. About four years ago I went through a period of time where I was obsessed with soba noodles. I ate them twice a week, at least. I ate them for lunch and dinner, sometimes on the same day. I ate them so much that after about a year I became tired of them. For four years I didn't eat any soba noodles. A couple weeks ago I saw them on the shelf in a grocery store and decided to buy them. One large and delicious bowl later and I'm hooked again. I just need to remember to pace myself this time!

Feel free to experiment with your toppings! 

Delicious soba noodles!

Recipe: Simple Soba
Serves 4

-4 servings of soba noodles (The same amount as what you would cook for 4 servings of spaghetti. One good rule of thumb is that a bundle with the diameter of a quarter is about one serving.)
-1 avocado, cubed
-1 cup soft tofu, cubed
-2 green onions, sliced
-1 large carrot, grated
-4 tbs toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
-1/4 cup soy sauce
-2 tbs of sugar, or to taste
-1 tsp sesame oil
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 tsp ginger, minced
-Juice of 2 limes

1. Boil water. Once the water is boiling, add the soba noodles. Allow the noodles to cook until al dente, about ten minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse them in cold water.

2. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients. Add more sugar if desired, depending how sweet you want the sauce to be. Traditionally, cold soba noodles are dipped into sauce with chopsticks. You can do this if you want, but I just mixed the sauce in with the noodles.

3. Serve the noodles in individual bowls topped with avocado, soft tofu, green onions, grated carrots, and toasted sesame seeds. Feel free to omit or add other toppings such as cucumber, edamame, fried mushrooms, or seaweed.

Guest recipe: Orange Mjadra with Mush-Lime© salad

My roommate Sam is a fantastic cook. He's Lebanese so his cooking is very Mediterranean, which I love. Many times I've eaten dinner only to have Sam come home and offer me a second dinner. Of course I don't refuse, and I end up feeling very full but very happy. I'm going to miss living with him when I move out in July, but I'm sure we'll have each other over for dinner on a regular basis. 

Below, Sam teaches us how to make two of his signature recipes: Orange Mjadra (lentil and rice stew) and Mush-Lime© salad (a Sam-original, although somehow I doubt he's taken out a copyright for it). Both are extremely delicious.  

*  *  *

Greetings, salutations. Tonight, I had the most imponderable joy of sharing my dinner once again with my awesome roomie Shaun. The dish that I made is a Lebanese one, and is called ‘Orange Mjadra’. It is a very tasty meal that is often served with cabbage salad, but tonight I resorted to my famous Mush-Lime© salad because it’s simply the best. Sorry for mutilating your recipe, mum.

The recipe is quite simple and on the contrary to Mrs. Trunchball’s school ‘cookie’ in the movie Matilda, no blood or sweat were involved in the making of this meal.

Cut the onions lengthwise or dice them.

Make sure you check your lentils for stones. One way to do this is pour a bit at a time onto a dinner plate and spread them into one layer. Once any stones have been removed, pour the lentils off the plate and into a container. Pour new lentils onto the plate and continue the process until all the lentils have been checked.

Add the lentils and the rice into the caramelized onions. 

Mmmm! They might not be much to look at, but these lentils are delicious.

Nothing like a cool, refreshing salad to go with the hot lentils.

Lime juice makes the perfect salad dressing for this salad.

Ingredients:

Orange Mjadra for 4 people:

-1 big red onion

-1 cup of orange lentils

-½ a cup of rice

-4-5 cups of water

-6 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil

-Mediterranean sea salt

The Mush-Lime© salad:

-One head of Romaine lettuce

-One fat tomato

-One box of mushrooms

-Mint

-Pomegranate seeds

-Half a lime

-4 tbs olive oil

Orange Mjadra:

The main ingredients of today’s quick meal are gentle orange lentils, rice, and onions. 

We shall start by finely chopping dem onions to thin slices and sautéing them in the sultriest oil there is, the Virgin Olive oil. We will toss and flip and turn dem sexy onions until they are caramelized (oh boy do they smell heavenly – slightly sensual whispers with yer roomie are greatly encouraged during the onion-frying process). This is very important… It can greatly affect the final flavour of the meal... Um, I mean the caramelization state of the onions. 

Once cooked, we are going to add the gentle orange lentils to the onions and toss them a bit until well mixed. 

Next, we will add the rice and water as well as a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer slowly until it becomes thick. 

Once the mixture has acquired enough thickness, add 2 tbsps of butter (or margarine for my vegans out there). Allow the butter to melt and infuse the dish with unequivocal richness.

Salad:

The Mush-Lime© salad is made by chopping romaine lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms into a bowl.

Fresh mint leaves and pomegranate seeds are added (num num num num). 

Squeeze half a lime for the dressing… Limes, limes, limes… more limes, please. Finally, add some of that sultry olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Bon appetit!