Poco-Cocoa

Ohmyga. These poblanos are so good. There’s not much I can say, except that you should allow a whole pepper per person. I served half a poblano per person, and I think we were all wishing for the other half by the end of dinner…they’re so delicious! This will be a definite repeater for us. The filling is awesome by itself, wrapped in a warm whole wheat tortilla with a bit of shredded cheese.

Poblanos Stuffed with Veggie Chorizo, Black Beans, and Corn

• 8 poblano peppers
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces Soyrizo, casing removed
• 3/4 onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and well-rinsed
• 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sauce from canned chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Colby-Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400ËšF.

Cut the peppers in half vertically, through the stem. Trim off any white membrane and remove seeds.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and add oil. Place over medium-high heat. Add peppers, cut sides down, and allow to sear for 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, flip the peppers over and sear for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the peppers and allow to drain on paper towels.

Add onion, Soyrizo, and cumin seeds to skillet. Saute, crumblng the Soyrizo, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add black beans, corn, water, tomato paste, adobo sauce, and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.

Spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Carefully stuff an equal portion of the mixture into each of the prepared poblanos. Place the poblanos in the baking dish, and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until heated through.

Makes 4 servings (2 halves per person).

Adapted from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon.

I love food. And I love music. My husband has an amazing ability to find awesome music. He can spend an hour on itunes and end up with a list of really great songs from artists that I’ve never heard of. We recently bought these songs:

Dub Latina…..Calexico (from Feast of Wire)
Flames…..Mark Ishram (from Crash soundtrack)
Hide and Seek…..Imogen Heap (from Speak for Yourself)
Jesus Walks…..Kanye West (from The College Dropout)
Malaguena…..Brian Setzer (from Ignition!)
Mariposa en Havana…..Si*Se (from More Shine)
Mushaboom…..Feist (from Let It Die)
Se Va, Se Va, Se Fue…..Jorge Drexler (from Eco)
Summer’s Gone…..Aberfeldy (from Young Forever)
Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games…..Of Montreal (from The Sunlandic Twins)
Dou Way Robyn/Sancta Mater…..Trio Mediaevel (from Stella Maris)
More Than This…..10,000 Maniacs (from Love Among the Ruins)
These Words (I Love You, I Love You)…..Natasha Bedingfield (from These Words)

The last two songs are my picks. Boring compared to Justin’s. Anyway, I’ll try to update you all on our latest music finds, in case you’re interested.

My husband has also introduced me to Pandora. I love Pandora. It’s a great tool for finding new music based on music you already like. You can type in your favorite song or your favorite artist, and Pandora will find similar music based on the Music Genome Project. It’s a truly amazing piece of work, and it’s my current choice for my crafting soundtrack.

As for food, this is another recipe from Lindsay’s wonderful Thanksgiving feast. Apparently this main dish was easy to throw together, but it tasted so good! I loved the phyllo crust, and the filling was flavorful and fresh. Lindsay is considering trying a spinach filing similar to this, and I’m betting that the ingredients can be endlessly tweaked with good results.

Butternut-Cheese Pie

• 4 cups coarsely shredded butternut squash (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 cup uncooked bulgur
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed and divided
• Cooking spray

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; cover and chill 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add onion, feta and Parmesan cheeses, chopped mint, and black pepper to squash mixture, stirring to combine. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place 1 sheet into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. Gently press sheet into pie plate, allowing ends to extend over edges of pan; lightly coat with cooking spray. Place another phyllo sheet across first sheet to form a crisscross design; lightly coat phyllo with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with 2 phyllo sheets and cooking spray.

Spoon squash mixture over phyllo. Place another phyllo sheet over squash, repeating crisscross design with remaining phyllo and cooking spray. Fold in edges of phyllo to fit dish and form a rim. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Cooking Light magazine.

I hope all of you had a great holiday weekend! We’ve been having such a good time, spending time with friends and with each other, watching movies and eating, eating, eating. We watched Paradise Now, a thought-provoking film about two childhood friends who are recruited to be suicide bombers. We also rented The Interpreter, which we thought was okay, and the new documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. We had been anxiously awaiting this film, as it had really been talked up here in Austin, but it was a disappointment. It had a great intention, but just wasn’t well-executed. However, we’re about to sit down and watch The Corporation, which I’m sure will be much more…interesting.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, thanks to our gracious hosts, Lindsay and Chad. They really went all out, from food to decorations. (Thanks so much, guys!) We had a kickball tournament…I sat on the sidelines, still sick with a cold or flu, but it was fun. You can see some of our photos on Flickr.

Lindsay’s food was delicious, and she has happily shared her recipes with me, so I’ll be sharing them with you!

I’m normally not a big fan of goat cheese, but I loved this appetizer. Lindsay used a mild cheese, and I’ll be searching for that cheese pronto. I couldn’t believe how easy the recipe is, since the flavors are so perfect!

Goat Cheese in a Cranberry-Pecan Crust

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
• 1 (3.5 ounce) log of goat cheese

Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a work surface. In a small bowl, combine cranberries and pecans. Dump the mix onto the plastic wrap and form it into a small rectangle on the plastic wrap. Roll goat cheese in the mix to completely coat. (If you are not going to serve right away, wrap it tightly in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.) Slice into 6 slices and serve with whole wheat crackers. (NOTE: It helps to let the cheese stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling in the mix…it sticks better.)

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Adapted from Eating Well magazine.