MUSHROOM + BLACK BEAN TACOS WITH CILANTRO BLENDER SAUCE

I had a rough time the first two years of college. It was up and down and there were certainly parts I really liked, but I remember crying in my car asking my parents if I could quit and switch schools on more than one occasion. I was an English major and turns out I am a slow reader with poor retention and grammar. I’d graduated high school with a really tight group of friends I had known my whole life and making new friends was a skill I’d little experience with as an adult. I had broken up with the boyfriend I thought I was going to marry and had one great but a few rough roommates to start. It just seemed...hard. I believe we are equipped to do hard and challenging things but I couldn’t quite find the silver lining. I really wanted to go home. So as my last effort to finish what I started, I applied to study abroad in Spain my Junior year to get better at Spanish (because clearly my English wasn’t awesome) and to hit refresh. And it worked. I loved the experience, saw so much of Spain, started a little romance with Hugh via email, didn’t get much better at Spanish to be honest but came back to school to live with a group of girls that just had great chemistry together. They were fun, kind and communicated well instead of gossip and hurt each other which unfortunately, groups of girls often have the potential to do. I can’t really explain it, or I wouldn’t do it justice if I tried, but those ladies changed me. By the time I moved back towards home to start a career, I was dragging my feet. You couldn’t have told me that three or four years prior. 

I spent last weekend with a few of those ladies and while we don’t keep up as often as I’d like, they are the same sweet women they were in that season. We all now have kids and lives going different directions but I was inspired by our conversations around our rental’s dinner table. One of these was talking about feeding a family, ideally somewhat healthfully, when you are short on patience, energy and creativity. I like to cook and I still find this hard. One of my girlfriends is a nutritionist and and she really believes we dumb down flavors for kids starting at baby food, often followed by bland starches so there is work involved in turning that around when you get to the point of wanting everyone to eat the same meal. It got me thinking of meals I could make that represent something we could all make on a weeknight. I am guilty of dumbing things down too. Hugh and Curran love tacos and burritos so I started with something generally popular, and then made it a little different. I nabbed the name “blender sauce” from the new How to Celebrate Everything cookbook by Jenny Rosenstrach and it’s so telling because you literally throw all the ingredients into a blender at one time and give it a few pulses. My KitchenAid® Pro Line® Series blender has a pulse function so I could keep the sauce a little chunky like I like it and I chopped the mushrooms small so Curran couldn’t single them out from the beans. We ate tacos and even little Cleo girl ate bits of the mushroom saute and avocado bits. We all ate at the same time! I can’t say that happens very often and it was really nice. More of that, please. 

This post was created in partnership with the new KitchenAid®Pro Line® Series Blender.

Mushroom and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Blender Sauce // Serves 4

The sauce can be made in a blender or food processor and can sit for a few days so make it in advance if you’d like. The heat of the jalapeno is in the ribs and seeds. The sauce needs some for spice but adjust to your taste. Here it’s drizzled on tacos, but makes for a great salad dressing too. If you don’t stock the spices below, 1 teaspoon of your favorite taco seasoning will do. I was trying to not over stuff the tacos but a little shredded cabbage is welcome here too. 

cilantro blender sauce 

1 bunch of cilantro
2 garlic cloves
4 green onions, light and dark parts
1 jalapeno, barely seeded
juice of two limes
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. drained capers
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. grapseed or coconut oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 large or 3 smaller portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (roughly one 14 oz. can, rinsed and drained)
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika

8 corn tortillas
2 avocados
goat, feta or queso fresco, for garnish

Throw all the sauce ingredients in the blender and pulse until everything is well chopped and combined. Set aside. 
Warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt to the pan and cook for a few minutes until softened. Dice the portobellos and add them to the pan with the garlic, remaining oil and another pinch of salt. Saute until browned and the mushrooms have reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in the black beans and spices and adjust to taste. 
Lightly char your tortillas over the stove. To assemble, mash some avocado down the center of the tortilla. Drizzle a large spoonful of the sauce and top with some of the mushroom bean mixture. Garnish with a sprinkle of cheese and enjoy. 

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SPICY BUTTERNUT + KALE CHOPPED SALAD

I have photos and thoughts to share of the newest addition to our team, baby Cleo Jane, but will get my act together on that next week. She blazed her way into the world three weeks ago and it is taking a little time to adjust, as expected - the rough nights paired with day time toddler tantrums - but I have been finding myself craving some sense of routine and normalcy regardless. It's a funny thing to carry on with life per usual after another person joins your family. I know the long nights slow, and then end, eventually. I can only say after doing this once before that newborns are easier than a walking, talking, child but also so hard in a completely different way. So, in an effort to keep moving forward, I have been cooking a little between the meals our gracious community of friends have brought by. I am trying to go on walks, slow ones and we have someone watching Curran one day a week so we can get some work done. Slowly but surely, we'll get there.  

This is a quick take on a veggie taco salad that I made in hopes that it would keep well in the fridge and Hugh could wrap it up in a tortilla and add chicken to make a quick meal of it. It feels healthy but still rich enough with the cheese, chips and avocado to actually satisfy. I imagine adding lentils or another bean of choice would help fill it out but I have a newborn with enough of a gas problem that this is likely to set her off in the middle of the night as is. So use this as a starting block or leave it as written. When trying to eat a little lighter, it's salads like this that don't leave me eating a grilled cheese after. Perhaps a personal problem ;) 

SPICY BUTTERNUT + KALE CHOPPED SALAD // Serves 4-6

As it goes with salads, you can alter the amount of add-ins to your taste. A little more cheese, add shredded chicken or roasted tofu or beans if you'd like, but it is plenty of a meal as it is in my opinion. The dressing is light and very simple. If you like extra to keep on hand, simply double or triple the numbers below. 

1.5 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 Tbsp. coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tsp. taco seasoning (I like Penzeys or make your own)
1 large bunch of lacinato/Tuscan kale
3 green onions, sliced thin
1/3 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, plus more for garnish
1 avocado, diced
handful of tortilla chips

// dressing //
juice of one juicy lime
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. sea salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400'. Put the squash on the tray and drizzle with the olive oil, taco seasoning and a few pinches of salt only if your seasoning does not contain salt. Toss to coat and spread in an even layer. Roast in the upper third of the oven for 25 minutes or until just softened and the edges begin to brown. Remove and cool completely. 

Remove the stems from the kale and chop it well. Put it in a large mixing bowl with the green onions. Whisk your dressing ingredients together, pour it on the kale and massage it into the kale with your hands. This will soften up the leaves. You may do this a couple hours in advance, keep covered in the fridge. 

When ready to assemble your salad. Toss the pepitas, feta, avocado and cooled squash with the greens to combine. Crumble the tortilla chips on top along with a little extra feta cheese. 

KALE AND BRUSSELS SLAW WITH QUINOA

I read through the entire Dr. Sears baby book cover to cover while pregnant with Curran. I wanted to understand what was going on inside my body. I mean, I was growing a PERSON, and as a glutton for information, I wanted to know what to expect, at least a little, in an albeit unpredictable, amazing and strange situation. I also had a little more time then. The second time around, I have had a hard time even keeping track of what week I am in, let alone the size of this little critter but the emotional and hormonal changes that I breezed over and barely noticed with Curran have been on point this round. They say in the last trimester especially, the need to nest really kicks in. Like other mammals, mothers seek a calm environment, gather food, clean and prep for what’s coming. But we found a slab leak last week, and Hugh and his dad are fixing up an office in the garage and we’re working on stuff in the kitchen so that whole calm and clean thing has reached a point of resistance in our home. These are things that need to be taken care of, perhaps better a couple months ago would have been preferable, but such is life and here we are with a lot of dust and tools around. I am quick to breakdown in the mess as of late, but what I am grateful for, is that babies are resilient, and besides being greedy with your time and boobs, their needs are few. I have a safe place to call home and 1.75 healthy babies so a step back and some perspective is all one really needs to reign it in. 

We’re heading up to Santa Barbara with some of my side of the family this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is the first without my aunt and it felt right to do something completely different instead of feel the obvious void of her at home. It sounds both great to get away from the house and the messes but also a little bit stressful as going away with a small child and half your energy can be. There will undoubtedly be tears at some point which Hugh has now come to expect. We plan to cook a simple dinner on Thursday to celebrate. I typically do the vegetables and have a few ideas. I want things to look pretty and love those multicolored carrots to be roasted and topped with some crunchy bits, french green beans with a mustardy vinaigrette and then maybe this slaw I developed for Reynolds Kitchens and their Endless Table campaign. No meal needs a fresh green salad as desperately as a classic Thanksgiving dinner. The kale and brussels hold up well so can be prepared and even lightly dressed in advance, the quinoa makes it filling and I can’t get enough of those juicy and tart pom seeds ever. Anyway. I hope it’s as peaceful and enjoyable of a day it can be for you and yours - remembering that there is always something to be thankful for. Happy day to you. 

KALE AND BRUSSELS SLAW WITH QUINOA // Serves 6-8

This salad is great for the slow, lingering meal that is Thanksgiving because it can sit and stay crunchy for some time unlike other tender greens. It is even still good the next day! The full recipe for this salad and a handful of other recipes by some great bloggers, can be found on Reynolds Kitchens site. 

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