Chipotle-themed food

     I've discovered a new love in my life; chipotle peppers (and no, I'm not talking about the restaurant!).  It all started when I had one of those moments at the grocery store (although it could also happen at a deli, restaurant or any other place where they serve food) where I looked at something and thought "I could make that at home for way cheaper."  I think it happens to every cook once they get comfortable with cooking and want to explore more.  The item in question was Chipotle macaroni salad sold at New Leaf (a local health food store).  Scott and I have ordered this deli item before and absolutely loved it.  However, it is uber expensive!  Scott remembers it being something like $8.49 a pound.  Which means that if you buy anything remotely resembling a satisfying amount for two people you are paying like $10 or more!  For macaroni salad, for goodness sakes!  So, I wrote down the ingredients and decided to try to make it at home.  Doing a little research, I found a very similar recipe online and used it as a guide.  I'll re-print that recipe here, and tell you what changes I made.

Chipotle Macaroni Salad from http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-chipotle-pasta-salad-363696

Ingredients:

8 ounces ziti pasta

3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

4 chipotle peppers with adobo sauce

1/2 cut thinly sliced red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup green onion

1/4 cup cilantro

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin

lime zest

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Boil pasta according to directions and rinse with cold water after it has cooked.

2. In a small skillet on medium low heat saute garlic and red bell pepper and 2 tsp oil until peppers are slightly softened and garlic is aromatic; remove from heat.

3. Put chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in food processor and pulse until it becomes like a paste and there are no large chunks.

4. Chop celery, green onions, and cilantro.

5. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl with the Veganaise.

6. Stir and add salt to taste.

7. Add additional peppers if you like more heat.

     So, here's what I did differently:  First of all, I used whole wheat macaroni pasta instead of ziti.  I also used a whole box (13.25 oz I believe) so upped all the rest of the ingredients.  I used regular mayonnaise, as that was what I had in the house.  Besides which, I don't really like the taste of vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise).  I guestimated on the rest of the ingredients and chopped them up in the food processor.  I remember using a whole red bell pepper, 6 chipotle peppers, about 2 stalks or so of celery, the top 3" or so from the cilantro and the green onions, all the lime juice and zest from one lime and whatever amount of mayo that made the recipe come together.  It was amazing!.  I must've been particularly ADD when I made this because I forgot to add in both the lime zest and juice and cumin!  I caught the lime zest/juice mistake before I served but, but realized the next day that I had forgotten the cumin.  We had the cumin with seconds.  I suppose this goes to show you that neither of those ingredients are absolutely necessary although they definitely add to the taste (especially the cumin!).  The whole salad came out just like the store-made version.  And so much cheaper!

Chipotle macaroni salad

     After making the chipotle macaroni salad, I had some leftover chipotle peppers and adobo sauce.  I wanted to tasted that deliciousness again!  I remembered that Mark Bittman really liked chipotle peppers in his Food Matters cookbooks, so I perused through them. And, what do you know, I found a recipe I had been wanting to try for months but never had chipotle peppers for: Chipotle Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans.

Chipotle Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook


Ingredients:


3 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp. minced garlic

2 (or more) canned chipotle chiles, minced, with some of their adobo sauce

1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tsp. dried

3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

salt and black pepper

1 cup cooked or canned black beans, drained

1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen are fine)

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, beer, or water

Lime wedges


Procedure:


1) Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When it's hot, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the chipotles and adobo (use almost none to a lot, depending on how hot you want the finished dish) and oregano and continue stirring for about 1 minute.


2) Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the quinoa, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the beans,corn, stock, and some salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Stir, cover, and reduce the heat to low.  Cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes.


3) Uncover and test the quinoa for doneness.  if the kernels are still crunchy, make sure there's enough liquid to keep the bottom of the pan moist; cover and cook for another 5 minutes or so.  When they're tender, taste and adjust the seasoning.  Serve warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.

Chipotle quinoa with corn and black beans

     Deliciousness!  Definitely a dish I will be making again.  Making this dish, I've come to realize that I get lazy about measuring ingredients when I don't think that I really have to.  For this particular recipe, I used a whole can of beans and a whole can of corn because it was a lot easier than measuring out the amounts.  Besides which, I made this recipe to use up a leftover ingredient (the chipotle peppers) and did not want more leftover ingredients (corn and beans).  Because of this, I upped the quinoa to 1 cup and used 2 cups of stock (chicken- because that was what I had in the house).  As a variation, I think it would've been awesome with some cilantro and chicken as well.  Yum!       Now that my eyes have been opened to the deliciousness of chipotle peppers, I think I am definitely going to start using them more often!  Prepare for future chipotle-themed foods!