Southwestern Tempeh Rice Salad

Once upon a time...2010 to be exact, I started creating recipes for what I had hoped would be my very first vegan cookbook of the southwestern variety. I had a group of amazing testers (to whom I owe a big apology and hopefully someday a free cookbook) and was moving right along on creating some spicy, fun and flavorful dishes (almost 100 recipes!). Unfortunately I got distracted, busy, unmotivated, WHO REALLY KNOWS. Bottom line is I am very sad I did not finish the book. Someday it could become a reality. I'm truly hoping it will. In the mean time, there are some noteworthy recipes that have been collecting virtual dust for years. I thought I would give you a little sneak peak. 

It's hotter than hades here again...HELLO SUMMER! So I often get very unmotivated during the week to go anywhere near heat sources. I'm always looking for make-ahead cold dishes for the week days. This one fits the bill. 

I love this recipe for good reason. It is freaking delicious. But more than that, the black beans and tempeh provide lots of protein. The combination of peppers has the spice hitting all over your tastebuds. The rice fills you upon with healthy dose of fiber. 

Warning: this recipe while pretty easy to make, does take some time. To save time you can cook the rice a couple of days ahead of time. You can buy pre-roasted peppers as well. You can buy ranch, but the home made version is really easy and really good! But I get time crunches, so again, feel free to sub away as you need.

Southwestern Tempeh Rice Salad

This makes a good amount so it is great for a potluck or large gathering.

Makes 8 servings

1 cups brown long grain rice (measured before cooking)
2 cups water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 fresh jalepeno roasted and peeled
1 fresh anaheim chili roasted and peeled
1 red bell pepper roasted and peeled

1-8 oz pkg tempeh
1 t canola oil
1/8 t coriander
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t hot chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C Vegan Ranch (I used homemade) or Chipotle Ranch (see recipe below)
1 chipotle in adobo sauce (optional, depending on how hot you like it)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 bunch cilantoro chopped
3 green onions sliced thin (both white and green parts)
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t hot chili powder
1/4 t ground coriander
3/4 t salt
black peper to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved

Prepare your rice (this can be done ahead of time). In a medium saucepan bring rice water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 35-40 minutes until water is absorbed. Turn off heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and let cool completely.

Now would be a good time to roast those peppers. When they cool, peel and dice them.

Blend the ranch and chipotles until smooth. (eliminate this step if you are using Chipotle Ranch)

To prepare your tempeh:

Dice tempeh into 1 inch cubes. Boil or steam tempeh for 15 minutes. Drain. After draining, in a 10 inch sauté pan, saute the tempeh and spices in oil for about 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool.

In the mean time get yourself a very large bowl. Crumble tempeh into bowl. Mix together remaining ingredients except for the cherry tomatoes until well mixed. Gently mix in cherry tomatoes. Salt and pepper further to taste if needed.

This is best if it sits overnight. It lends itself very well to variations. Like a little less heat? Sub more roasted red peppers. Don't like tomatoes? Forget about 'em. Like it with more fire? Add more jalapeños or chipotles. 

Please leave me a comment if you decide to make it. Love to get some feedback!

Chipotle Ranch

Makes about 1 cup

1/2 cup  plus 2 tablespoons vegan mayonaise (I like Veganaise brand)
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (sweet or hot will work)
2 chipotle chiles (canned in adobo sauce), leave seeds intact

Blend all ingredients in blender of food processor. Let chill for at least 4 hours before using. Can store refrigerated for up to  2 weeks.

The Annual Chili and Beer War Submission for 2014

The 8th Annual Connell Chili and Beer War was yet another unqualified success. A great time was had by all. Every time I go, I make new friends and feel so welcome and happy. I told my lovely hostess this is one of those events where I sometimes lament about not eating meat. As I look around at all of the simmering creations in the crock pots, I am amazed at all of the creative culinary definitions of chili. My friend and hostess was so considerate. She made a vegan chile so that we could experience more than one of the entries. It was really awesome, chunks of hearty vegetables, beans and soooooo much flavor.

Mr. Host is a beer aficionado. He has probably done the beer tour at OC many times. He shared some fun brews with the crowd by serving tastings of several unique microbrews. I was pleasantly surprised by a pumpkin ale he offered. Nothing better than excellent beer with hot chile!

Our chili was pretty well received. The flavor was rich and smokey. When I discussed it with the prior year's champion (and third place winner this year), she suggested that while it had very good flavor, it needed more texture. I concur, so I made some slight adjustment in the recipe below to add beans for more texture.  I used the DePuy or French lentils because A) I had a small amount left in the pantry and B) they are the type of lentils that stay more firm when cooked for long periods of time. I love the smokiness of the paprika and chipotle in this. I hope you do to! This a a pretty spicy chili. If you are more delicate, reduce the amount of jalapeños by half and use a milder chile powder.

Smoky Red Hot Chili

1 cup french lentils (DePuy)
2 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large pasilla chile pepper, diced
3 medium jalapeños, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon hot chile powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1teaspoon chipotle powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan brown or red ale beer
1-15 oz. can fired roasted crushed tomatoes
1-15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1-8 oz can El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco
1-6 oz can tomato paste
3 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup organic textured vegetable protein (TVP)
1 - 15 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

In a medium sized saucepan add lentils and water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 25-35 minutes until lentils are tender (they will still be somewhat firm).

In a large stock pot over medium heat add oil then onions and fresh peppers. Saute until softened and onions are translucent, about 7-10 minutes. If mixture starts to stick, add a little water Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chile powder, oregano, cocoa, smoked paprika, cumin, chipotle powder and salt. Sauté until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Deglaze with beer and simmer for about 2 more minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, El Pato, tomato paste, vegetable broth and bay leaves. Combine well. Stir in TVP and beans. Let simmer for at least and hour to let those flavors develop.

Serve with diced green onions and vegan sour cream if desired. Oh and corn bread is a natural for this chili!

Food Network Friday - Chile Relleno Burgers

This week's challenge is a recipe for Chile Relleno Burgers from Food Network Magazine. Chile Rellenos have been an obsession/addiction for me for quite some time. I no longer partake of the cheese, but in the day I went to many Mexican restaurants in search of the ultimate Chile Relleno. My love was the regular cheese stuffed variety. Not that I couldn't appreciate them stuffed with other goodies, but the true test of authentic goodness and skill of the recipe creator was reserved for the cheese only version. In my trials I had some super eggy messes, grease bombs, some with almost no chile in them (REALLY?), naked, sauced, baked, you name it.

After several years of researching, my favortie ended up hailing from a small taco shop whose employees spoke little or no English, the music was so loud you couldn't hear yourself chew and, well, lets just say it was always questionable whether they might pass health inspections. They had the perfect coating/chili/cheese ratio. Depending on who was cooking on any given day, the fried beauties would be served with a heavenly light tomato sauce. You never knew what the spice level of the chiles would be. Some days they would be very mild. The next time they would almost blow your head off. I think part of the allure was the mystery of what you were going to get that day. One thing was always consistant; they were always delicious! Ah, but I digress.

My happy relleno memories made this a must try conversion for me. The original recipe calls for beef and cheese. It is technically not relleno (stuffed). As is my often M.O., I took the liberty of modifying this one considerably to be something that would make it a bit more authentic and a lot more my own. First it was important to develop the burger itself. I had yet to develop my own burger recipe, so I figured no time like the present. The burger, while very tasty and delicious, has some textural issues, so I won't be posting the recipe. It is still a work in progress. I used the flavors of mushrooms, onion and soyrizo to give you an idea of the flavor profile. The texture is too soft, so I am going to rework it and maybe even come up with a gluten free version. I will share with you the method and maybe some day soon I can share a workable recipe. After developing the burger I used a 1/3 cup scoop and portioned out 8 scoops. Each portion was shaped into a ball and flattened between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4 " thick and 5" rounds. Then about 1 1/2 tablespoons of shredded Italian Daiya were placed on the round leaving a 1/2 inch rim around the outside. On top of that one roasted and peeled chile was placed (also leaving the 1/2" around the outside edge. Then another one of the rounds was carefully placed on top. The edges were pinched together to keep the tasty goodness safely inside. The burgers were then grilled for 6-8 minutes on each side.

While they were grilling, I sauteed a mixture of thinly sliced mushrooms, pablanos and onions seasoned with my own taco seasoning mixture. The whole shooting match was served on top of some yummy whole grain buns with fresh avocado slices and tomatoes slices. I HAVE to get the textural issues remedied, because hot damn were these tasty!

The real beauty is on the inside.

Don't forget to check out all of the other creations at Vegan Appetite!

MOFO - Day 28 - Pablano Vinaigrette from VegNews

We're getting mighty close to the end of MOFO. I'm not running out of inspiration, but I am running out of steam. Last night we did a soup night. Fred was roped in to making a salad dressing. I haven't used any pablanos this MoFo and it just so happens that last month's VegNews was featuring this mild chile. It originates from the city of Puebla, Mexico. Here in AZ they are sold by the name of pasilla. You may be familiar with them in their dried form - ancho.  Rumor has it you can find a hot one here and there, but all of the ones I have had the pleasure of meeting have been very mild.

The dressing featured in VegNews was a bit sweet for my taste, but if you like a sweeter dressing, this one may be up your alley. It had both orange juice and orange zest as it's main ingredients. We served it with a simple salad of romaine, tomatoes, avocado, red onion and spicy croutons. I thought it might make a nice marinade for tofu.

MOFO - Day 20 - Harry's in Shock Green Chili - Contest Winner!!!

First and foremost I'm happy to announce the winner of the Amercian Vegan Kitchen Giveaway.

#26 Noelle!!! Your are the winner! Noelle likes to put roasted chiles in her sketti. Now she can find some other great ideas from AVK. Thanks to everyone who commented.

I am working a 12 hour shift today, but will be making my green chili and posting it tonight, so make sure to check back later today.

My green chile recipes is a conversion of a green chili recipe I got from an old lineman from work. Harry is a tough old lineman from Kentucky. He retired a few years back just shy of 70. He would have worked until he was 90, but his lovely bride had other ideas. Harry was an incredible troubleshooter and a fantastic guy to work with. He used to bring all of "us girls" in the office lovely jewels every year for Christmas. He is quite the southern charmer. Wow, I guess I really miss having him around work. He's far from vegan, hence the name of the recipe. I'm sure he would poo poo this version, but the original was so good, I had to veganize it. Now that I have written the intro, I MUST cook this tonight.

A word of warning. This recipe can be very spicy hot. The heat is what makes it Harry's. So if you like something milder, I'd shy away from this recipe. It gets hotter as it sits too!

Don't forget the Iron Chef Challenge: Chipotles and Portobellos! Submit your entries by tomorrow at 4pm!

Harry's in SHOCK Green Chile

Makes 4-6 burritos

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 medium sweet or yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 large hatch green chiles, diced (leave seeds in if you like the heat)
2 serrano chiles, finely diced (again leave seeds in if you like the heat)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 chile tepins, crushed
2 medium red potatoes, un-peeled, very small dice (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 pound beefy seitan (I used Savory Seitan from AVK)

In small stock pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, green chiles and serrano chiles. Saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, red pepper flakes, black pepper chiletepin and salt. Stir until combined and saute for about 30 more seconds. Add potatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. While the potatoes are simmering, slice the seitan into thin strips about 2 inches long. See photo. In 10 inch iron skillet or non-stick pan, saute seitan strips until nicely browned. By this time the potato mixture should be cooked and thickened. Add browned seitan to potato mixture and simmer for about 10 more minutes.

Warm 4-6 flour tortillas (8 inch). Scoop filling into tortilla. Roll it up and enjoy!

The original version was served in flour tortillas without garnish. I recommend them that way here as well. If you are a garnisher, feel free to garnish away, but try 'em naked first.

Here's what the potatoes look like diced. See how small they are. You can cut them larger but I like the texture best when they are small.

This photo shows a good shot of the thinly sliced seitan. They should resemble a shredded style "beef"

MOFO - Day 14 - Iron Chef - Quinoa

The iron chef ingredient this week is quinoa. Now I love quinoa in so many ways. I wanted to do something reflecting fall and Thanksgiving. I also managed to make it gluten free for my sensitive friends and readers. Quinoa is an amazing seed (it is not actually a grain). It is a complete protein all on its own which makes me love this cute little nutritionally packed ingredient even more.

I thought about making something very healthy, but seeing as I just acquired a brand new deep fryer, my inner fried food loving fiend won out. I was very pleased to discover that quinoa makes an incredibly crunchy coating for fried treats. To keep with the chile theme, I used two types of chiles in today's dish: hatch green chiles and serrano chiles.

Red Inca Quinoa Crusted Hatch Green Chile Croquettes with Serrano - Lime Cranberry Sauce

Serrano Cranberry Sauce

Makes just under 1 cup

1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup water
8 oz fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon tequila
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1 serrano chili pepper, seeded and finely minced

In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. place all ingredients in pan and simmer until thickened, stirring frequently. This should take between 15-20 minutes. Cranberries will pop as they cook. Be careful of splattering. Once thickened, remove from heat.

Red Inca Quinoa Crusted Hatch Green Chile Croquettes

Makes 20 croquettes

3 large cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons red onion, finely minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons minced roasted Hatch chiles (you can sub any type of roasted green chiles)
1 1/2 cups roasted mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup corn flour
3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 cups cooked red inca quinoa

Preheat deep fryer or oil in deep pan (with enough oil to be 2 inches deep in pan).

In small saute pan over medium heat, saute garlic and onion in olive oil until onion is just soft, about 2-3 minutes. In large bowl, combine garlic, onion, chiles, sweet potatoes, corn flour and dry spices until well combined. Form 1 tablespoon of mixture into a ball.  Roll ball into cooked quinoa, coating evenly. You may have to press quinoa into ball. Carefully drop balls into oil. Do not crowd. Fry for 3-4 minutes until croquette is golden dark brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with toothpicks and side of cranberry sauce.

MOFO - Day 10 - Habanero-Cascabel Pickled Nopales

Two for the price of one special! This day of MoFo is brought to you by the chiles Habanero and Cascabel. Habaneros are often incorrectly thought of as the hottest of chiles. Actually the hottest pepper honor goes to the Naga Jolokia (ghost pepper). This pepper I'm sure would turn many people into ghosts, so it will not be part of my experiments. Make no mistake habanero at 100,000-350,00 on the Scoville Scale should command your respect in handling and eating them. The small but mighty pepper hails from the Yucatan Peninsula and are a common ingredient in many Yucatan dishes. They are around 1-2 inches and heart shaped. They are usually sold when they are orange in color and ripe. It might not be a bad idea to don your gloves when working with them.

Next I'd like to introduce you to the Cascabel pepper. This cute, round, reddish-brown pepper is sold dried. It is also known as the rattle pepper because if you shake it, it sounds like a cute little rattle. It is fairly mild rating between 1250-5000 on the Scoville Scale. Last year I had the honor of hanging out with Tami from Vegan Appetite, Liz from Cooking the Vegan Books and Kelly from Seitan Beats Your Meat in Chicago. I wanted to bring them some Southwestern goodies, but I also didn't wanted to bring some things that would travel well. Dried chiles filled the bill. I had not yet tried this variety yet, so I figured I should come up with a recipe for them to use. I don't know if they still have them, but if they do, here is a tasty way to use them.

I was taking a stroll at my local Mexican grocer to procure some chiles for MoFo and ran across the Cascabel again. I was also perusing the produce aisle in search of some exotic southwestern vegetable that might inspire me. My eyes and hands were drawn to this unsuspecting bag of cleaned and diced fresh Nopales (edible cactus). It doesn't get much more Southwetern than cactus. I had seen them in jars filled with preservatives and never felt very compelled to ingest them that way. When I got home, the inspiration hit me. I would pickle my own without chemicals or coloring. Plus this way, I could use the flavors I love. It makes me feel close to my roots to can anything. I come from a long line of gardeners and canners. I was beginning to think I didn't have it in me, but I think I may be waking up the beast.

Habanero - Cascabel - Pickled Nopales

1 lb diced cleaned nopales
1/2 onion cut into 8ths
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 cloves garlic, slightly crushed
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
4 large sprigs cilantro
1 habenero cut into  equal pieces
4 cascabel chili, sliced open (make sure to put pod and seeds in jar)

2 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons pickling salt

In large bowl mix nopales,  onion chunks and carrots. In each of 4 pint jars place 1 clove garlic, 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds (approx 10 seeds), 1 sprigs, 2 pieces habenero. Evenly distribute nopales mixture in each jar.

In medium saucepan heat water, vinegars and pickling salt until boiling and salt is disolved. Pour liquid over vegetables in pint jars until 1/2 inch from top. Seal jars and refrigerate for at least two days. They should keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. Eat them straight out of the jar or serve as a garnish for tortas, tacos, tostadas etc. Try chopping them smaller for a reallly great relish for Mexi-dogs.

As a little side note Tami = American Vegan Kitchen

Kelly = Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

If you haven't checked out their books yet make sure to click on the links!

MOFO - Day 9 - Anaheim Chiles

I know yesterday's post was a bit of a yawner, but it was a lead up to this post which should prove to be more exciting. Today's featured chile is the very versatile Anaheim. This pepper looks very similar to the Hatch chile from my earlier post, but they are not exactly the same. The Anaheim is named after the Southern California city where they were originally grown. This is a good entry level chile for those who aren't quite trained for the heat yet. They are mild and sweet. They rate a mere 500-2500 on the Scoville Scale. Because of their size and relative mildness, they are very popular in Chile Rellenos Recipes.

This recipe was developed especially for my good friend and fellow foodie, Jackie. Jackie and I spend a lot of time on the hiking trail. We spend lots of time chatting it up about many subjects, but more often than not, the discussion turns to our favorie subject - food. Jackie was in search of a healthier version of chile relleno. I don't know why, but I was thinking about Kittee (of Cake Maker to the Stars) and how she is always coming up with delisious GF alternatives since she has had to cut it out. I thought it would be interesting to try a gluten free version as well.

This is a tasty version, but a word of warning for traditinalists, the rice flour gives a more powder like texture to the coating, so if you can eat gluten, feel free to substitute AP flour. This has several components and requires a bit of time if you do it all in one day. You can make the sauce and the mashed potatoes ahead of time to save yourself time on assembly day.

Porcini and Caramelized Jalapeno Chile Rellenos with Southwest Tomato Sauce

Makes 8 peppers

8 large Anaheim Chiles
Double recipes of Southwestern Fresh Tomato Sauce
1 recipe Porcini and Caramelized Jalapeno Whipped Potatoes at room temperature or slightly warmer
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy creamer*
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup rice flour (for GF) or all purpose flour
1 cup medium ground corn meal
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

* You can easily substitute soy milk here. I used creamer because I had it left over from the mashed potatoes.

Preheat oven to 350.

Roast the chile peppers. My preferred method is to use the gas grill, but this can certainly be done in a very hot oven or over a gas flame. Make sure the peppers are charred on all sides to a medium to dark brown. If you don't char them enough it will be difficult to peel them, if they are too charred, the skin will burn and dry out the peppers. Below is a good picture of how they should look when you're done charring, I might even go just a touch more. Put in bowl and cover with a towel or platic wrap for 20 minutes. This will loosen the skin and make them a breeze to peel. You will want to make a slit in the pepper and very gently and carefully remove the seeds leaving as much of the pepper intact as possible.

In a shallow, wide dish mix soy creamer and vinegar. Let curdle for about 5 minutes. Add cornstarch and mix well.

In a second shallow dish combine flour, cornmeal and the remaining dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

Set up your assembly station (see picture below) by laying out in order: whipped potatoes, roasted and peeled chiles, cornstarch slurry, breading and a 9 x 13 oiled glass baking dish.

Start by carefully stuffing chiles with about 2 -3 tablespoons of the whipped potatoes. The chiles will tear easily, so take your time on this part. The nice thing about using whipped potatoes as your filling and baking the rellenos is that they will hold together quite nicely. Now I'm going to throw yet another option at you here. If you decide you want to be a bit more sinful, use toothpicks to hold them together if you decide you want to fry 'em.

After all of the chiles are stuffed we want to get them all nice and coated. First you want to dip them in the cornstarch slurry making sure to comlpetely soak them on all sides.

After they go for a swim you'll want to gently roll them in the flour mixture. Repeat a second time.

Place the breaded chile in the prepared baking dish. Make sure there is space around each chile for even browning. When all 8 chiles are in the pan place them and spray with canola spray. Place in the oven and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until heated through and golden brown.

While they are baking heat tomato sauce. To serve plate 2 chiles per serving. Smother with tomato sauce (or you can serve the sauce on the side). I recommend serving these with your favorite refried beans or whole bean side dish to add a little protein to the mix. A word of warning, these are pretty darn filling!

Mofo - Day 8 - Chile Arbol

Chile Arbol means tree-like in Spanish. The stems on the dried chiles resembles tree branches. You can occasionally find them in their fresh form. They will be green and about 2-3 inches long. Most commonly they are found in their dried form. They are beautiful and bright red. They are often used to make decorative items, especially Southwestern themed Christmas decorations. They are distantly related to cayenne and pack a bit of heat, rating 15,000 to 30,000 on the Scoville Index.

This light tomato sauce is wonderful over dishes that you don't want to overpower. The inspiration for this sauce comes from a divey little taco shop here in Phoenix. They are anything but vegan. They served a sauce similar to this over their Chiles Rellenos. While it was always a health risk to eat there, this sauce was worth the risk. I don't think I have it nailed exactly the way theirs was made, but I think you will like it for something different and lighter.

Southwestern Fresh Tomato Sauce

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chili oil

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon mexican oregano

3 medium tomatoes cut in medium chunks (about 8 per tomato)

2 dried chile arbol

1 cup vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat oil and add onions a garlic. Heat until garlic is fragrant and onions are just slightly softened, 1-2 minutes. Add Mexican oregano, tomatoes, and chili Arbol. Stir and saute for another minute. Add 1 cup vegetable broth. Bring mixture to a gentle boil. Turn down to a simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes. Using immersion blender, food processor or blender, blend until mixture is mixed but still a bit chunky. If you like a smoother sauce, feel free to puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I used a locally produced chili oil from Queen Creek Olive farm. You can see the Chile Arbol pictured here as well.