Dinner 7/23/09

• Quinoa-Stuffed Bell Peppers
• adapted from Vegetarian Times
• 
  
• 6 large or 12 medium-sized bell peppers
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup diced poblano chile
• shredded carrots
• diced zucchini
• diced portabello mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup dried quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• 10 dried apricots, diced
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 4 oz. queso fresco or queso blanco, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup mild Mexican green or tomatillo salsa
• 6 Tbs. Mexican crema, crème fraîche or sour cream
• 
  

1. Preheat broiler. Cover baking sheet with foil.
2. Put bell peppers and poblano chile on baking sheet, and place 3 inches from heating element. Broil until charred on all sides. Remove from oven, wrap with foil and let steam 10 minutes. Peel, cutting bell peppers in half, and dicing poblano chile. Remove seeds.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
4. Heat vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms, poblano, oregano, salt and pepper, and sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently stir in cooked quinoa, apricots, cilantro, queso fresco and lime juice. Toss gently to distribute ingredients.
5. Pour green salsa into bottom of 2-qt. baking dish. Place peppers in dish and stuff each one with quinoa mixture, gently pressing it into pepper, and fold pepper over mixture. Bake 30 minutes, or until heated through.
6. To serve, carefully transfer peppers to serving plates. Top with spoonfuls of salsa from the baking dish, and drizzle with crema. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Tomatillo Sauce

from Vegetarian Times

1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husks removed **(I used canned)
3 small jalapeños, seeded
1 cup chopped cilantro
2/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
4 green onions, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Coconut Flan

from Vegetarian Times

***This was a bit of a bust, folks. As I sat drinking a glass of wine Wednesday night while Dash slept and Blake chopped onions for this meal, relieved that the flan was in the oven and my work for the evening was over, I looked up to see the cans of coconut milk still sitting on the counter. So, this flan was made without the coconut milk. It was also my first time attempting caramel, and I don't think the sugar dissolves as much as it was supposed to. I taste tested it, though, and I think its alright, so I'm bringing it to you all anyway. Maybe I'll get it right next time.

Caramel

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Coconut Flan

• 1 14-oz. can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. To make Caramel: Heat sugar and 2 Tbs. water in saucepan over low heat until water simmers. Remove, and swirl pan until sugar dissolves.
2. Cover pan, and boil over medium-high heat. When syrup’s surface is thick with bubbles, uncover, and continue to boil and swirl. When syrup is golden, remove, and keep swirling as it darkens. Pour 1/6 of syrup into each custard cup; swirl to coat bottoms.
3. Preheat oven to 350F. Boil several cups of water for roasting pan.
4. To make Coconut Flan: Blend milks and vanilla. Whisk in eggs; stir in coconut. Pour into custard cups, and set in large roasting pan. Pour 1 inch of boiling water into pan.
5. Bake about 40 minutes; leave cups in pan 20 minutes. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
6. To serve, invert cup onto plate.