VEGAN ME?

No. I haven't become a vegan. I don't think I ever could. I, like many, often hold them in poor regard. I think because many of them do it without truly believing in the principles of veganism and aren't very well educated about it. They do it more to by stylish, trendy or to be like their friends or celebrities. That bothers me a lot. Like the people who come into the chocolate shop asking for chocolates that are vegan. When I point out that some vegans won't eat chocolate, they think I'm crazy...until I tell them that some cacao beans are cleaned or roasted over charcoal made of animal bones. But they just seem to dismiss that and buy the chocolates anyway.

But now that we have great fresh fruit and veggies year round, we are often eating vegetarian meals more and more frequently. I think it's just easier to be a vegetarian here. We always have a supply of fresh veggies with our CSA and supplement with additional stuff from the farmer's market or Monterey Market. And it's just been a lot less convenient to buy meat. As for the veganism, my cousin, who many of you know is sick, has decided to become a vegan. And since I cook for them all the time, I've needed to start experimenting with vegan recipes and I've even purchased a vegan cookbook.

The thing is, a lot of these things are tastier than you'd think. And it's actually not that hard to make versions of different recipes vegan. Like my veggie soups- now I'll just make them with vegetable stock rather than chicken stock. Or beans, lentils, pastas - all of these things I can make vegan versions and they come out rather nicely. So today I made vegan butternut squash and kale enchiladas. And I made this recipe because when I read it, I thought, hey, this might be a vegan recipe, but it sounds pretty great.

So here's the recipe below. Try it out sometime, and like me, you might find that not all vegan things are bad. Here's a link to the actual website. (I substituted the butternut squash for the potatoes cause that's what we had around).

Ingredients
For the Enchilada Chile Sauce:
2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
1 onion, cut into small dice
3 large green chiles (such as Anaheim or even Italian-style long green peppers), roasted, seeded, peeled (see page XX), and chopped coarsely

2–3 teaspoons chile powder, preferably ancho
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon marjoram or Mexican oregano (epazote)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (roasted preferred)
1 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2–2 teaspoons salt

For the Potato and Kale Filling:
1 pound waxy potatoes (Yukon gold or red)
1/2 pound kale, washed, trimmed, and chopped finely
3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds, page XX), chopped coarsely, plus additional for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

12–14 corn tortillas





Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F and have ready a shallow casserole dish, at least 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.

Prepare the enchilada sauce first: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onions is oil for 4 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer, and remove from the heat. When the mixture has cooled enough, taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Puree with an immersion or regular blender until the mixture is smooth and even.

Prepare the filling: Peel and diced the potatoes, then boil them until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Cook the grapeseed oil and minced garlic in a saucepot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is sizzling and slightly browned (be careful not to let it burn). Add the kale, sprinkle with a little salt, and raise the heat to medium, stirring constantly to cover the kale with the oil and garlic. Partially cover the pot to steam the kale until it has wilted, 4 to 6 minutes.

Remove the lid and mix in the potatoes, vegetable stock, lime juice, pumpkin seeds, and salt. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of the potatoes. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until the stock is absorbed. Add more salt or lime juice to taste.

Create an enchilada assembly line: Have ready a pie plate filled with about 3⁄4 cup of enchilada sauce, a casserole dish, a stack of corn tortillas, a lightly greased, heated griddle or cast-iron pan (for softening the tortillas), and the potato and kale filling.

Ladle a little bit of the enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish and spread it around. Take a corn tortilla, place it on the heated griddle for 30 seconds, then flip it over and heat until the tortilla has become soft and pliable. Drop the softened tortilla into the pie plate filled with sauce; allow it to get completely covered in sauce, flip it over, and coat the other side.

Now, place the tortilla either in the casserole dish (the easiest way) or on an additional plate. Layer it with another heated, sauce-covered tortilla or just use one per enchilada; either way, run the potato filling down the middle and roll it up. Continue with rest of tortillas, tightly packing enchiladas next to each other.
Pour about a cup of sauce over the top (reserving some for later), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until edges of the tortillas poking out of sauce look just a little browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Top individual servings with any remaining enchilada sauce, warmed slightly.