Pico de Gallo from the Garden

IMG_1674I had to buy the cilantro and onion for this batch, since mine was gone. But, this is a great use for all those tomatoes you might be overrun with!

Ingredients
Coarsely chopped fresh tomatoes
Diced sweet onion
Chopped fresh or picked jalapeño
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime or lemon juice
Cumin
Salt

Process
Mix and allow to marinate overnight.

Serve on salads, tacos, tortilla chips, burritos, enchiladas, etc.!

You are Such a Dip!

It’s make your own wrap night at TheVeganAsana house.  This means preparation of several forms of dip (or fillings) and then letting everyone go to town.  So, today I made baba ganoush, pico de gallo, and prairie fire bean dip.  I vary all of these depending on my mood, so what follows is how I did them today!  As you can see, I had a taste for cumin.


Baba Ganoush

1 large or 2 small eggplant
3 cloves garlic
2-3 T sesame tahini
1 lemon juiced
1 t cumin
sea salt/pepper

Cut off top of eggplant and slice vertically in half.  Place on baking sheet with flat sides down and pierce each half 3-4 times with a sharp knife.  Place 1/2 bulb of garlic (or whole if you really love garlic) on the sheet.  Put sheet in oven at 400*.  Allow to cook 45 minutes to 1 hour (until the eggplant begins to collapse).  Remove and allow to cool.  Using a spoon, scoop insides out into your food processor or blender.  It should be pretty easy to remove everything but the skins.  Add the garlic from the roasted bulb and the reminder of the ingredients.  Pulse until everything is chopped and mixed.  You can continue to mix if you like a smoother baba ganoush.  Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Grape Tomato Pico de Gallo

1.5 pints grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup pickled jalapenos, diced
1 t cumin
1 small bunch cilantro, minced
2 limes juiced
1/3 t sea salt

Mix and cool before serving.

Prairie Fire Bean Dip

4 cups kidney beans (make your own or canned)
1 onion diced
1/3 cup pickled jalapeno slices
1 bunch cilantro
1 T cumin
1/2 t sea salt
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup soy cheese

Combine all ingredients except soy cheese.  Pour in blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into oven safe dish, add cheese and mix.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until heated through.  Image to the right is before cheese and cilantro.

Serve it all with wraps and plenty of other goodies to stuff inside!

Guacamole or Avocado Pico de Gallo

I love avocado.  I will eat it on sandwiches, alone, or in any sort of Mexican style food item.  I’m a big fan of guacamole, and if I have fresh tomatoes on hand, I also like to make an avocado pico de gallo.  The biggest difference between the two is the amount of tomatoes and how much you want to puree the item.  I always use haas avocado, but that’s a matter of taste. If you haven’t made your own, but have had guacamole out, chances are it was made with haas avocados.

For either one, you’ll want: 

2 avocado
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 – 1 jalapeno (dependent on heat)
1 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 t. cumin
1 onion diced
2 limes juiced

For the pico de gallo, you’ll also want 2 large tomatoes, diced.

If making guacamole, add all items except tomatoes to a food processor or blender and pulse until just mashed.  Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust seasoning.  If making pico de gallo, add all items (including tomatoes) and stir.  Either way, chill tightly covered until time to serve.