Ridiculously easy Mexican feast ( not for the authenticity fundies)
Our Cinco de Mayo feast is over, and as tends to be the case when I'm making a huge amont of food, I looked to make it as easy as possible without sacrificing taste. This is not a feast for those overly concerned with authenticity, and those who are vegetarian or paleo will have to wade through-not to mention teetotalers- but I promise you will find something.
First, the beans: You need to start first thing in the morning. Empty a one pound bag of black beans into a pan and cover with water. Add a toss of baking soda, and soak til after lunch. Drain, and rinse thoroughly. Dump in one bottle of Negro Modelo and two bottlesful of water. If you don't drink, or you need to eat gluten free ( I will pay for this in the morning) you can just use water. Add about 2 TBL cumin powder, 1 TBL garlic, and 2 diced jalepenos. Simmer til supper, and salt lightly at the very end of cooking.
Next, start the mole. Chop and onion and 2 jalepenos. Throw in a large pan with a glug of olive oil . Brown while you cut up a standard chicken. Toss in the chicken pieces, 5 dried chiles,a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 TBL garlic, and one Theo chocolate Ghost Chile bar, broken in two. Toss on about 2 tsp cinnamon. Simmer for about an hour.
Now it's time for the rice. In a pan toss 2 cups rice, 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, 1 can of water, and 2 sliced jalepenos. Salt to taste- usually 1 tsp for me. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
While the food cooks, it's times to make the guac. In your Cuisinart, toss 3 avacados, 1 bunch cilantro, 4-6 cloves garlic, juice of one lime, salt, and a jalepeno. Process. Yum.
The last think to make is the margaritas. Start by putting a glass for each imbiber in the freezer. For my husband and I we juiced 2 oranges and 7 1/2 limes. I also had 3/4 of a lemon I needed to use, so I tossed that in too and put it in the freezer til serving time.
When you're ready to party, salt your glasses. Add 1 cup citrus juice to each glass, and toss in three shots of 100 proof Tequila. We used 100 Anos.
The finished meal:
Labels: Cinco de Mayo, dairy free, gluten free, Mexican
Dairy Free, Soy Free Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
I made this recently for my best friend Cheryl's birthday. When made as directed it is free of dairy, soy, corn and gluten. Unlike may
such frozen deserts you won't feel like you're eating it "instead of" ice cream- even my dairy loving husband said it didn't taste like a substitute and that I may have spoiled him for store ice cream.
Whisk together in a medium saucepan:
1 1/2 cups full fat coconut milk (I use
chakoah)
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk (I used
SoDelicious Plain)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
dash salt
Bring to simmer.
In a 2 cup or larger glass measure,
whisk together two large, cold eggs, preferably free range. Slowly , in a very thin stream, pour in about 1/3 the coconut milk mixture while whisking continually.
In a large bowl, combine:
8 oz semi sweet baking chocolate ( the higher the percentage , the better!)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
*2
TBL solid fat (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
*this could be butter, if you do not need to be 100% dairy free, Earth Balance, if you can handle soy (omit the dash salt if you use EB), or, if you want to keep both those out, the solid coconut cream sold in brick. Cocoa butter should work too. Or you could omit it for a less "truffly" dessert.
Pour the custard through a strainer into the bowl ( this will collect and bits of egg that got cooked). Allow the heat to melt the chocolate, them whisk together
thoroughly. Cool, then freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
Labels: chocolate, corn free, dairy free, gluten free, ice cream, soy free
