This just in:

Sailing on Sunday

Rafting (for my first time) on Saturday. Fun!

I had the day off from work yesterday. It was tough fitting in everything I wanted and needed to do but I managed. I accomplished all of those mundane things that are only great accomplishments to me: laundry, mopping the kitchen floor, grocery shopping, walking the dog. There is nothing more satisfying than a day when the dog gets walked and the floor gets cleaned.

Monday ended on a high note too. I made enchilada sauce completely from scratch and we had some fabulous enchiladas for dinner. The recipe came along with a bag of Anaheim chiles in my CSA box last week. I didn’t have any onions and I’m sure preferred it that way. The sauce was simply roasted chiles, fresh tomatoes (also from the CSA), garlic, and cumin. I’m ashamed to admit how much I licked off the spoon. It wasn’t even too hot for Lee. Victory!

The sauce was so good I didn’t even feel the need to add much else to the enchiladas. They were just corn tortillas, smooshed tofu, and some chopped broccoli for green + crunch. I think of this as the vegan version of cheese enchiladas: simple, creamy, saucy, good.

The sauce kind of looked like this cozy fire we had the other night.

I thought of photographing the sauce and enchiladas for one flitting moment but I decided to just enjoy the cooking process and forego the pictures. How can I teach myself to slow down and document what I’m doing?

I’m giving you the original recipe, straight from the Mariquita newsletter, along with my slight modifications. This was so much easier than I thought it would be. The chiles roasted while I cleaned the house and peeling them was s cinch. After that It was just a matter of throwing everything in a pot to simmer. I didn’t even chop the garlic or peel the tomatoes, since I knew I’d be using the blender.

Red Enchilada Sauce, from Mariquita Farm (makes 3 cups)

12 Anaheim or Poblano chiles, about 2 pounds (I only had 6 chiles to work with)

2 cups thinly sliced onion (left this out)

1 cup chopped tomato (I used maybe 8 small, quartered tomatoes, so about twice this)

1/2 cup water

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

4-6 chopped garlic cloves (I just smashed mine and threw them in the pot)

Preheat oven to 450°.

Place chiles on a baking sheet; bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until blackened, turning once. Place chiles in a non-reactive bowl or pot then top with a plate or lid; let stand 10 minutes. USE GLOVES FOR THIS (I didn’t but I washed my hands really well afterwards): Peel; discard seeds and membranes. Place chiles and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Whirl in food processor or use immersion blender to puree.

I think doubling the tomatoes and halving the amount of chiles made my sauce less spicy than it would have been otherwise. That was perfect for my spicy food-hating husband but I bet the original recipe, complete with onion and plenty of chiles, would be sweeter and have quite a kick to it.