Well color me happy, there's a sofa in here for two!

This blog has nothing to do with sofas. As I was sitting here thinking of a title, the great recipes I tried came to mind. Both were from my new book, Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

So next, my mind went naturally to color me happy... which obviously takes you right back to 1990. (And a little visual just for fun... sorry, had to.) A hooker (played by the fabulous Julia Roberts), who thinks her wig is a little Carol Channing-esque, walks into an elevator, plops down on the luxurious, upholstered bench (after all this is the Reg-Bev-Wil) and exclaims "well color me happy, there's a sofa in here for two!" This explanation could go on for a while. It's suddenly dawned on me that I have seen Pretty Woman WAY too many times and know every word in the movie. Sick. So back to the point of this blog entry so that you have enough time to veg out. Lay like broccoli. (okay, okay... I'll stop.)

I made a couple of recipes from Color Me Vegan last weekend and just wanted to share the love. Basically I made the Indian-style black bean and veggie burritos (page 238 from the Rainbow chapter). The author suggested making the pineapple-mango chutney (page 74) to serve with the burritos, so I did. Now, I will say, if you try to attempt both of these recipes in the same day you may end up wanting to kill me, especially after that whole Pretty Woman debacle in the first paragraph. Take my advice, do not try and do them both in one day... annnndd rent Pretty Woman, for old times sake. Here's what I did and it worked out perfectly. I made the chutney the day before I knew I was going to have the burritos. It takes some time but is WELL worth it! While I was making the chutney, I baked my sweet potato for the burrito recipe. You will see in a minute that in the burrito recipe that you are to put the diced sweet potato in raw and cook for 15 minutes. No thank you. I baked mine the day before, diced it up, and stored it in the fridge. That way when I went to make the burritos I saved myself 15 minutes! You're welcome. So here are the recipes and my results.

Pineapple Mango Chutney
Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil or water, for sauteing (I used the pineapple juice from the fresh pineapple that I cut up)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced
1 small pineapple, peeled and diced
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Directions
Heat the oil (or whatever liquid you are using to saute; in my case it was the fresh pineapple juice) in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in the red pepper flakes until they begin to sizzle, about 1 minute, and then add the minced onion. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 7 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and stir in the ginger, bell pepper, mangoes, pineapple, brown sugar, curry powder, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool the chutney and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. I added a touch of black pepper to mine, as you can see in the photo. I like it a little extra peppery. After all, pepper is a good source of antioxidants (lol, seriously... who eats that much pepper??)

Indian-Style Black Bean & Veggie Burritos
Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil or water, for sauteing
2 bell peppers cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 sweet potato
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked brown basmati rice
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
Pineapple Mango Chutney, or salsa
4 large burrito-size whole wheat tortillas

Directions
Heat oil in large saute pan. Saute bell peppers, onion, garlic, and ginger over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the peppers and onions are soft. Add the sweet potato and garam masala (*spice mix made up of peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, and anise) and mix well. Add the stock and cover. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potato is tender.

** Now remember, if you planned ahead you can just add the diced up sweet potato that you baked the day before and just heat them through. No need to cover the pan either. And I used the same amount of stock, plus a little more actually because it reduced very fast. Also, I didn't have garam masala so I just used 1/8 teaspoons of cumin, nutmeg, pepper, ground cloves, and added coriander just for the heck of it, plus 1 bay leaf. **

At the very end of the cooking time, add the beans and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes longer and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the vegetable and bean mixture, rice, lettuce, and chutney evenly down the center of the tortilla and then roll it up. (warm the tortillas up to make them more pliable)

I'm telling you what... talk about a party for your mouth! YUM!! I will be making these a lot! So simple and SO tasty! These do not disappoint. Another thing that does not disappoint is Darbster. Yes, I went AGAIN! You really just cannot keep me out of that place. They always have the most interesting specials. Sunday night they featured a BLT sandwich made with tempeh. I guess that would technically make it a TLT, just sayin. This was my first time trying tempeh (imitation meat, in this case bacon). Tempeh is made from soy beans but does not have that soy-beany flavor that plain tofu does. The texture is meaty. I think when it comes to tempeh, like tofu, it's all about how you flavor it and prepare it. Well I don't know how Chef Seth did it, but it was so delicious. They added some sliced avocado to the sandwich, always a welcomed ingredient in my opinion. AND, we got 20%  off since we brought a dog! Yay!

Talk about a perfect weekend! I got to spend time on the beach with a good friend. Came home and got a head start on the burritos to make for the following day, and then headed to Darbster's for the prefect ending to a perfect weekend! This is truly the life! Until next time...

Oh, and before I go, I just want to give major kudos to my new iPhone 4. This thing takes awesome pictures!! I am very impressed... and obsessed!

The recipes from this blog were written by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.