BUTTERNUT + GREEN CHILE ENCHILADAS

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

We lost Aunt Suzy this week. It has felt strange and sad and I am in no place to speak on grief here. My heart hurts for her boys and husband, my mom and grandma and the gaggle of friends she had who adored her. Talking about anything else feels cheap right now, so excuse my brevity.

I did however want to share this enchilada recipe. You see, this is the recipe (and I use that term very loosely since I make them different every time) I make when I deliver food to friends in need. Mostly families with a new baby. I got extra ingredients this week to make a batch for friends who are battling cancer with their baby girl, and I passed off a plate today to a friend who stopped by who has been sick with a flu this whole week. It feels good to feed someone. I read my pal Ashley's post this week and saw much of myself in her words. Of course I like food; I enjoy eating and I find it somewhat of a challenge to make wholesome food more tasty, but, BUT, I like cooking because I'm a nurturer. It's what comfort I have to give when there are no words. In my language, it says I care for you when a gesture is the only thing that can fill silence. I made a few notes on details below, but enchiladas are pretty forgiving. These are not particularly authentic. They have more vegetables than cheese and a fresh, green topping for color and contrast. Use more sauce if you like them saucey or more cheese if you want a little more decadence.

Give extra hugs. Make your wrongs, right. It's a fragile life we lead, friends. xo

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

BUTTERNUT + GREEN CHILE ENCHILADAS // Serves 4

If squash are no longer good, or available, sweet potatoes are a great alternative. I would say about two large potatoes will give you the same yield as the squash here. Spice level is subject to what sort of sauce or salsa you use.

Because I think this is a great meal to deliver to someone in need, it can be made halfway and finished off by the receiver of said enchiladas. Prepare everything and simply don't bake them, just cover in foil and leave the directions for the cook temp + time. You can replace the black beans with two small shredded chicken breasts if you're looking for something more omnivorous but I venture to claim these are plenty filling for the meat eating sort. The cilantro topping can be made in advance but I wouldn't suggest salting it if it will be eaten more than a half day later. The salt makes the vegetables get a little mushy.

• 1 large butternut squash
• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 5-6 ounces soft goat cheese, divided
• milk or broth as needed to thin
• 1 1/2 cups/ 15 oz. can cooked black beans, drained
• 1/2 cup/ 4oz. can mild, fire roasted green chiles
• 8 corn tortillas
• 12 oz. green salsa or enchilada sauce*

•  // cilantro topping //
• 1 small bunch cilantro
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
• juice of one lime
• pinch of salt
• 1 avocado, diced

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

Preheat the oven to 400'. Peel, seed and cube the squash. Line a baking tray with parchment. On the baking tray, toss the squash with the oil, chili powder, smoked paprika and salt to coat. Spread in a single layer and roast on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes or until nice and soft. Turn the oven down to 350'.

Put 4 oz. of the goat cheese in a mixing bowl, reserving the rest for garnish. Add the squash to the mixing bowl with a generous splash of milk or broth and mash until roughly smooth. 

Mix the black beans and green chiles together. Char the tortillas over the stove. Gather your assembly line with the tortillas, beans, and squash mash. In a 13x9 baking dish, spread 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce to cover the bottom. Into the tortillas, spread about a heaping 1/4 cup of the squash mash and a few spoonfuls of the beans on top. Roll the tortilla and put it in your dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining tortillas for as many will fit in your dish. Spread remaining enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle on remaining goat cheese. Lightly cover with foil and bake at 350' for 20 minutes to warm through. Take off the foil and broil another 5 minutes to char the tops. 

While the enchiladas bake, make the cilantro topping. Roughly chop the cilantro and put it, the green onions and pom seeds in a small mixing bowl. Add the lime juice and a pinch of salt and stir to mix. When ready to serve, gently stir in the diced avocado. Serve the enchiladas with a scoop of the cilantro topping on top.

* I use a jarred enchilada sauce or salsa but you could make your own should you have the desire and time. This batch I tried the hatch valley salsa from Trader Joes but I also really like their red enchilada sauce. I am anxious to try Laura's next time (those enchiladas look amazing). 

Winter Veggie Enchiladas. Sprouted Kitchen

FIESTA KALE SLAW WRAPS

ZFiesta Kale Slaw Wraps . Sprouted Kitchen

It's been nearly a month since we posted last and literally it feels like we were just here last week. Every stranger keeps telling me "time flies" or "it'll go by so quick!" As if that's just something you say to moms when you see a little baby. But it's not only that they grow quickly, which they do, but because your time and attention gets so enraptured in this tiny person that it's really true what they say - the days seriously whiz past. The mortgage is due AGAIN? Didn't I just mow the lawn? How are we already out of groceries? I feel like I just had a baby last week but I suppose it's appropriate to jump back into real life now. Real life, but with a newborn. Which, of course, changes absolutely everything. 

I'm taking the blame for passing on this personality trait, but Curran is a particular little fellow. The boy knows what he likes and what he doesn't. He's really happy and flirty when he's well rested and has a full belly but he makes it quite clear when his environment is less than ideal. He prefers to be held at all times, has gas volume that rivals that of a grown adult, a natural mohawk inside his infant bald spots and a smile that makes the exhaustion and baby-mind-reading (or lack there of) a barely noticeable speed bump. I just stare at his sweet face and smile back over the complete joy that my son recognizes me. He knows me! Who'd have thought something so simple would make me so happy. I will gracefully admit this season has taken some getting used to. I'm tired and I lose my patience beneath his crying sometimes and I miss when I could just come and go when I wanted, but life feels so much more full with him here. We're living this life of relationship and experience and he is the character in our story that had been missing and it feels so right to have him here. 

Meals have been pretty simple lately and I suppose it'll be that way for awhile, but I'm making big bowls of sturdy green or grain salads that we can keep in the fridge and grab when we only have one free hand to eat with. This is my recent favorite so I made it again for you. Hugh added bacon to his, so there 's that, but I think you could add in a variety of different proteins if you prefer. I'm including a picture of our baby Bug, down at the bottom, because he's just the cutest thing and I wanted to show you :)

ZFiesta Kale Slaw Wraps . Sprouted Kitchen

ZFiesta Kale Slaw Wraps . Sprouted Kitchen

FIESTA KALE SLAW WRAPS // Makes 4

I try to chop everything small so it's easy to wrap up. They turn out to be a little messy but they taste great. The wrap makes it more filling and portable but the salad can stand alone as a meal as well. I wrapped up a few extras in parchment to keep in the fridge. Note the tortillas will give under the moisture of the slaw so if you're planning on eating it any further than a day away, keep the slaw and tortilla separate until ready to eat. 

• 1 Tbsp. muscavado or brown sugar
• pinch of cayenne
• 2/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 small bunch kale, stemmed and shredded
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1 cup baby tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• 1 small english cucumber, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup cooked lentils, black or green preferably
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• juice of two limes
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. hot sauce
• sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream or non dairy sour cream
• 4 brown rice or flour tortillas for wrapping

ZFiesta Kale Slaw Wraps . Sprouted Kitchen

In a small, nonstick skillet over medium low heat, warm the muscavado or brown sugar with a pinch of cayenne and salt. Add the pepitas and stir so the sugar sticks to the nuts and they smell toasty - about 5 minutes. Remove to cool on a piece of parchment (or left in the pan is fine). 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the kale, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, cucumber, cilantro, lentils, avocado and feta. Add the juice of both limes, olive oil, hot sauce, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and the cooled pepitas and toss everything together to mix. 

Warm the tortillas over the stove. Add a spoonful of sour cream down the center of the tortilla, add a pile of the kale slaw and wrap 'er up. Wrap everything in parchment to keep it together for portability or to make in advance and keep in the fridge. 

ZFiesta Kale Slaw Wraps . Sprouted Kitchen

GRILLED SERRANO SALSA

grilled serrano salsa . sprouted kitchen

This all started when a good friend brought over a package of gluten free oatmeal apricot mini cookies and told me to please read the back and recreate them. In some way, I was flattered that she found me capable of unraveling a recipe like that. She has my complete empathy at the moment for some tough stuff she's going through, so of course I did it. I took my favorite cookie recipes, read the ingredients on the back, did some very scientific exchanges of sweeteners, flours etc., tested one cookie at a time and added from there making sure they'd hold together. They didn't have nearly the same texture as the package, a more homemade shape and tenderness (which I prefer, even if they didn't mimic the suggested cookie) and the taste, while not the same, was close enough. I apparently gave a mouse a cookie, literally, because then she asked me to please write a recipe for salsa. So here we are. Apparently my bleeding heart takes recipe requests.

I've written about the tomatoes at our local farm in summers past. I'd guess you have a place for great tomatoes too, and this is the time to use them. For something as simple as salsa, the better the ingredients, the better the end result. Something tells me you've heard that before? There isn't much to cover up a mediocre tomato here. I charred most of the vegetables, and leave a few raw to stir in at the end. This gives some of the sweeter tomato and onion flavor, while also including the sharpness of the raw onion and texture of tomato and pepper chunks. Take liberties to play around with the amounts depending how you like it. Just promise me you'll find great tomatoes.

grilled serrano salsa . sprouted kitchen

GRILLED SERRANO SALSA // Makes about 2.5 cups

I hesitate to call this mild because so much will depend on the heat of your chiles. Mine were not that hot, so even with two and their seeds, this salsa was very mild. With the quantity of other vegetables, it should keep things from getting too spicy, but you could add one at a time to your processor if you know you are super sensitive to heat.

• 1 1/4 lbs. tomatoes (roma, beefsteak, heirloom - whatever smells amazing)
• 1 small red onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 serrano chiles
• 3 cloves garlic, in their peel
• 1 tsp. smoked salt or sea salt
• 1 large, juicy lime
• 1/3 cup well chopped cilantro

Clean and heat your grill to medium high heat or preheat the broiler.

grilled serrano salsa . sprouted kitchen

Slice the tomatoes, onion and bell pepper into large wedges. Pull aside one wedge each of the tomato, pepper and two of the red onion. These will get added at the end. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes, onion, pepper, serrano and garlic cloves in a thin coat of oil with just a pinch of salt. Grill the items over direct heat for about 10-15 minutes until charred on the edges, keeping the garlic cloves in a little foil pouch to soften. If using the broiler, set the tray in the upper third and broil about 15-20 minutes until the edges char, but the vegetables to do not completely break down.

Set everything aside to cool completely. Discard the stems of the serranos, leaving the seeds in tact and push the garlic out of it's skin. In a food processor, pulse the cooled, grilled vegetables with the serranos and garlic until just chopped up. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Finely chop the reserved raw tomato, pepper and onions and add them to the salsa. Stir them in along with the salt, lime juice and cilantro. Adjust seasoning to your taste - a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes aren't super tasty, chipotle powder if you like it smoky/hotter, more cilantro if you are me, etc.

Salsa will keep for about a week.

grilled serrano salsa . sprouted kitchen