Fajitas (Pg 162) and Mole (Pg 379)

We love having family dinners at our place (doesn't mean everyone included is actually family, but who's keeping track?). Last week we invited the "fam" over for a little Mexican night. Fajitas, mole, and margaritas.

The fajitas were really easy to prepare, having sliced the tofu and veggies ahead of time and set to marinade in the fridge. Anything requiring a baking sheet and hot oven always feels like cheating it's so easy. Once the veggies got spread out and in the oven we were practically done.

The mole was a huge hit and easy to make, as it was all done in the food processor. It would be a good little sauce to use for any and all Mexican food nights. The perfect green sauce for a burrito buffet to go inside the tortilla or on top for a wet burrito.

Eat well,

Kimberly and David

Stuffed Poblanos

Or so I thought. Who knew the great debate happening long before my first encounter with the so-called Pasilla pepper. This is how it began:
I received our new cookbook at my office, eagerly flipped through the colorful pages and settled, rather quickly, on the delicious looking "Stuffed Poblanos" recipe (maybe it had something to with the smell of Chile Relleno in the office... one will never know). I used my lunch break to gather the ingredients at the store, but came to a confusing stop when the pepper that I recognized at site as a poblano, was labeled at the market as a pasilla pepper. "Eh?" After looking up and down the produce for any other identical pepper called poblano, I realized I was on a time crunch, so I grabbed these "pasillas". At the check out the lady looked at me and confirmed, "Pasilla?"..."I guess?!".
So to settle the debate I thought I would simply google the two peppers (in secret of course, because now all my self-proclaimed culinary prowess was coming into question). Come to find out, I was not the only one confused... It appears that this mis-labeling of the poblano as a pasilla is a California quirk that has been noted by such knowledgeable Mexican cuisine chefs as Rick Bayless. Phew!

So, to get on with the actual recipe...

This was a delicious dish: quick, easy, fresh, flavorful; completely doable on a weeknight after a long day of work. This recipe made enough for me to split into 2 medium casserole dishes, so I froze one (prior to baking) for a quick go-to meal in the upcoming weeks.

I made Spanish rice to accompany the stuffed poblanos, which worked well to soak up the slightly-spicy tomato sauce.

Overall, a great vegetarian-friendly meal that's satisfying when you are having a hunger for Mexican food, but won't leave you feeling weighed down with grease. Looking forward to leftovers!

Stephanie