Yesterday was a red letter day in the Veggin’ household. I made enchilada sauce. Sure, it seems simple enough now. I had always thought it was a more complicated affair. But, now I know I can whip this sauce up pretty fast and have some super-good sauce as a result.

A word of warning, if you’re one to shy away from spicy then make doubly sure that the chili power you are using is NOT spicy. A friend of ours was moving overseas and gave me a lot of her Indian spices. I had an extraordinary amount of chili powder that I was looking forward to using. It smelled glorious, deep and smoky. I proceeded to add the required 1/3 cup into the mixture and once blended, did an initial taste test and exclaimed, “YOWZA!” To which the In-House Taste Tester yelled from the back room, “Hot, eh?” Yes, yes indeed.

Fortunately, I like the hot and the spicy. I did cut it a little bit with some lemon juice and some dollops of milk after it boiled on the stove for a bit.

But all-in-all, this recipe is basically throw it in the blender, then heat it up on the stove and you’re all set to go make your enchiladas.

Summertime, when the living is easy…and so is this recipe. Chop tomatoes, a nice spicy pepper and an onion. Toss it all in a blender, and you’re good to go.

This recipe came from a cookbook that I’ve had for a while. I got it from a now defunct Indian Spices and Appliances store that was walkable from my house. They swore they were going to re-open when a new condo development kicked them out. About ten years later, they haven’t returned. I continue to remain hopeful that someday they’ll be back, but, at least I have this great cookbook to remember them by.

This is a perfect recipe for summer.  I made this on a day where it was over 100 degrees outside, so I can speak from experience. This chilled soup is cooling and the slight spiciness is very refreshing.

Tangy Tomato Soup
from Summer Cookery

• 1 lb tomatoes, well washed
• 1 small onion
• 1 small pepper/capsicum, de-seeded
• 1 teaspoon dried or 1 Tablespoon fresh dill
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Chop the tomatoes and the pepper into quarters

Put all the ingredients into the container of an electric bender…

and blend smooth.

Check seasoning and chill. Serve garnished with black pepper, freshly ground.

I think I ended up eating 99.9% of this cashew cheez all on my own because I was certainly not sharing it. Sure, the In-house Taste Tester maybe got a piece of bread and a cracker or two with the cashew cheez spread on it. This stuff didn’t stand a chance in this house once I discovered how fantastically good it is. (However, lest you think I’m a total glutton, I ate it all over the course of a few days and not just one one sitting…)

What makes it good is the flavor explosion from the cashews with the bite of the green onions. Make sure you puree the cashews so it’s nice and smooth. This is nothing like you’d get in the store and it makes a decent amount so it’s worth investing in the cashews. (I bought mine in bulk at the organic store.)

If you don’t have nama shoyu use tamari, soy sauce or some liquid aminos. The cheez keeps well in the fridge and can serve both as a spread or a dip. It’s good enough to serve for company, but, like me, you’ll find it’s so good that I don’t think you’ll want to share it with anyone else but your self.

“Conquering Lion Cashew Cheez”
from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine

• 2 cups cashews
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1/3 cup red pepper diced (I omitted this)
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons green onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced (I used parsley)
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon nama shoyu, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
• Pince crushed red pepper flakes

Blend cashews with filtered water until very smooth. Place in a 1/2 gallon open-mother glass jar.Cover tightly with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.

Cover with a towel and allow to sit in a warm place overnight.

Our cashew mixture into a large mixing bowl, combine with remaining ingredients and mix well.

Trick or treat, indeed. Strange weather brewing in the DC area today. Folks are enjoying the Halloween weekend with some early snowfall. I guess I need to head down into the basement to dig out my snowboots. No time to be in the kitchen today, instead I bring to you this Halloween post from my archives with vegan and vegetarian spooky food ideas.

Boo!