avocado – The Kitchen Illiterate

Chicken and Chard Burritos

Sometimes on Sundays I peruse cookbooks and I start getting excited. I start making up grocery lists and weekly menu plans, and I have it all figured out. I know that Thursday, I’m going to make Chicken Escabeche with Carrots and Jalapenos, and wild rice. Then things happen. The market doesn’t have any acceptable carrots, though the shelves are overflowing with beautiful leafy greens. Thursday, which seemed like a perfectly lovely day earlier in the week, turns out to be kind of exhausting, and when work is over and I’m standing in the kitchen, I know I don’t have the patience for wild rice. I have to re-think my plans, so that I can get back on the couch for a little restorative bad television. Sometimes when this happens, I turn to pizza, or bread and cheese. But sometimes when this happens, I get lucky, and something wonderful manages to happen in my own kitchen anyway. This was one of those times.
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Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

I’ve made many enchiladas in my life, but I always make them the same way. There is usually chicken, and definitely refried beans. There is always cheese. And the enchilada sauce comes from a can. These are terrific enchiladas.

I’ve also cooked many sweet potatoes in my life. They are almost always roasted, either whole or cubed, tossed with oil and salt. They get stirred into rice, or baked in gratins, or mixed into soup. They find their way to salads. I love me some roasted sweet potatoes.

I have never thought to combine these things. But last weekend, I did. And I did not regret it. The enchilada became something wholly new, something a little bit healthier, and full of flavors I never thought I would find there. Sweet potatoes love enchiladas. They love beans and chiles. How have I kept them apart for so long?
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Tortellini and Avocado Salad

Update: The giveaway is closed. Thanks to all who entered!

Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day is one of these books. It’s just so lovely, and Heidi has a gift for thinking up original, creative vegetarian recipes that go beyond sauteed kale and tofu stir-fry. Even when I don’t follow her recipes exactly, I find so much inspiration just looking through this book. I probably do so at least once a week.

This tortellini salad is one example of how inspiring this book is. I love that all of her recipes encourage variation and substitution, based on what’s available for you. What she really encourages is playfulness in the kitchen, and a willingness to experiment. Heidi’s recipes often remind me that the best times in the kitchen are when you’re trying something new and untested, because frankly, even when things don’t turn out the way you expect, they almost never turn out inedible, and you usually learn something new. Food is fun and nourishing and satisfying even when it’s imperfect.
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