Chipotle inspiration.




For the most part when it comes to baking I'm completely by the book; very careful about quantities and ingredients and all that. When it comes to regular cooking however, I'm much more lacadaisical; preferring to be inspired by a recipe rather than following to the letter of the law. As if you all don't know that by now.


I love getting inspired. I love it when one ingredient takes you on a ride and you end up somewhere you just couldn't have imagined. It happened for me this weekend. Once again, bouncing around in 'The Big Carrot', I really needed some cumin (got stuck in the middle of a recipe the day before and discovered I was out - ugh!). While trying to figure out how the *&%$ to get the cumin out of the container (really - come on, does it have to be that complicated?), I spied this smoked chipotle powder and... well, I ended up with a very small bag of cumin and a large bag of smoked chipotle powder.
SO
On the back of the chipotle powder package was a recipe for mushrooms sauteed in chipotle powder and then used as an appetizer. Here's where things started to wind in a different direction. My next thought was 'I have spinach in the fridge' (seemingly completely unrelated - right?), followed closely by '...and I could do some rice too'. Ok, now we've got something here. And So it was born. A meal (or very tasty side-dish) stemming from one little ingredient and a spice at that - but what a beautiful creation! If you get your hands on some of this red gem don't let it go!!

Chipotle Rice with Mushrooms and Spinach
serves 6

1 lb button mushrooms, halved
1/2 red onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups of spinach, stemmed and chopped
3 tbsp of olive oil, butter (or sometime I'll use bacon fat leftover - no waste)
3 cups of cooked rice
2 tsp chipotle powder (this will kick so if you are nervous about heat, scale back to 1 tsp)
3 tsp bouillion powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
dash of cumin (ok, I had to use it b/c it was the whole reason I was in the store in the first place, right?)


In a heated Dutch oven saute the onion and mushrooms in oil/fat until the onion just starts to get clear. Add in garlic and spinach and continue to saute until spinach wilts (just a few minutes).
Add the spices into the veggies and mix well. Add in the cooked rice and mix well again. Double check the seasoning (this will have a nice little kick so beware).


This was beautiful. I can't wait to try this in my upcoming bean and rice burrito recipe... soon!!!

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St Michael's Choir School is celebrating it's 75th anniversary year of service to St Michael's Cathedral. Part of the school celebration is a trip to Italy where our boys from Grades 5 - 12 will be performing and celebrating Mass. This blog will be chronicling our adventures. Wanda Thorne is the Vocal Coach at St Michael's Choir School. Gerard Lewis is the Grade 7/8 Homeroom teacher at the Choir School.

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Wanda Thorne
St Michael's Choir School is celebrating it's 75th anniversary year of service to St Michael's Cathedral. Part of the school celebration is a trip to Italy where our boys from Grades 5 - 12 will be performing and celebrating Mass. This blog will be chronicling our adventures. Wanda Thorne is the Vocal Coach at St Michael's Choir School. Gerard Lewis is the Grade 7/8 Homeroom teacher at the Choir School.
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