Cilantro and Chipotle Chimichuri

-
I decided to try using chipotle as an ingredient. I've had it in hummus. I love chipotle hummus. So I got myself some goya chipotle. I also got some cilantro. I was thinking a more latin styled chimichuri was something fun to attempt.

I added the cilantro, some of the chipotle and its sauce, garlic, ginger, a little olive oil. Gave it all a buzz.

When I tasted it I was surprised... it wasn't all that flavorful.

So in went more chipotle. More cilantro. More of everything.

I tasted again and was pretty pleased... knowing the flavors tend to intensfiy after they've had a chance to sit and mingle.

I saved it in the fridge intending to return to it the next day. Which I did.

It was pretty intense. It went from quite mild to very strong. I put some on my salad and I was sweating bullets. Let me just say, I'm no stranger to heat, but Goya means business with their chipotles in adobo sauce. That is some intense stuff.

I don't know if it's just me, but I taste often and am always taken by surprise. I like to cook in advance. I rarely eat what I've made that day. And it always seems what was quite mild yesterday becomes quite potent by the next day. I try to keep that in mind, but it's difficult. Becuase the flavors seem to intensify not just a little bit, but a great deal.

Still, I enjoy some powerful heat on occasion. The more I ate my mixture, the more it grew on me. It was simple to make, but had a huge payoff in flavor.

Next blender experiment... dill and scallions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vegan Spicy Curry Vinaigrette Recipe

-
Image
I was thinking about ways to make classic curry lighter and more summery. A flash idea that I had was curry vinaigrette. Eliminate the heavy coconut milk. Forego thick tomato based sauce. Replace the base with a vinegar based dressing.  What I came up with is this.  Curry Vinaigrette Ingredients 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tbls olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 jalapeno, minced 1 habanero, minced 2 tsps curry powder 2 tsps salt Heat all ingredients in a small sauce pan until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Pour hot vinaigrette over prepared vegetable/bean mix that you've chosen to curry. Stir to combine and coat.  Allow to cool/absorb for at least 10 minutes.  It's kind of a hybrid quick pickle and vinaigrette dressing. Perfect for when you want something light, but flavorful. 
Read more

Hummus Mac and Cheese

-
As I was eating my salad with hummus dressing this afternoon I accidentally discovered yet another awesome way to use hummus. My hummus and salad and some macaroni got all mixed up together with some nutri yeast and vinegar. It was an amazing accident. Hummus is a culinary chameleon! It is a vegan dream. It does so much. Fills so many voids. Mayonnaise, butter, salad dressing, and now mac and cheese. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. I wasn't trying to make this happen. It was just serendipity. There are numerous ideas already out there about making 'vegan mac and cheese', many of which are quite good. But I've yet to find any that incorporate hummus into the mix. And let me tell you, it's the perfect addition. It adds that rich, creamy texture that is expected of the classic comfort food. I'd even venture to say, that while it wouldn't fool people into thinking it is actual mac and cheese, it would please anyone enough that they'd be quite conte...
Read more

Easy Vegan Garlic Sauce (No Tofu) Recipe

-
Image
I recently learned that many of the foods that I consume on the regular are iodine blocking. While these foods are generally considered beneficial and good for a person, they do have some properties that can have negative effects. Particularly when consumed often and for those who may have a genetic predisposition toward hypothyroidism.  My mother had an underactive thyroid.  I noticed some of the tell tale symptoms appearing for myself.  That is when I did a little research and discovered that cruciferous vegetables and soy can inhibit iodine absorption. And since an animal product free diet means iodine intake is somewhat limited, I figured that maybe I had to cut back a little on tofu. I was eating a lot of it thinking the extra protein would be helpful. Guess I was wrong about that.  So, I started coming up with new ideas for sauces and purees that didn't use tofu.  Don't get me wrong. I think tofu is great. But I suppose too much of anything is not good....
Read more