These burritos are super simple, super tasty and are the perfect thing to serve vegetarian (or vegan) guests after you’ve had a baby. Trust me on that one! I don’t usually use cumin, but after looking up several recipes for chickpea tacos, I noticed that it’s a common theme and since I had some in the spice cabinet, I decided to go ahead and use it. Let’s just say that I’ll be using cumin a lot more in the future!

Chickpea Burritos

Makes 4 burritos

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

salt to taste

2 Tblsp. oil

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 head of lettuce, chopped or shredded

4 8″ flour tortillas

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the drained chickpeas. Cook for 2 minutes or so and sprinkle the spices over them. Stir and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the spices begin to blacken. Remove from the heat.

Use a fork or wooden spoon to mash the chickpeas a little. You don’t want a puree, just mash enough to keep them from rolling out of the burrito . . . they like to escape!

Lay out your tortillas and add lettuce down the middle of each. Divide the tomato chunks between the four tortillas and then do the same with the chickpea mixture. Roll and serve. Delicious!

Hint: You could also add some sour cream in these if you aren’t vegan, it would add a nice tang and some moisture.

This pasta sauce is creamy and rich and combines two favorite flavors . . . mushrooms and garlic. As long as you can make a simple roux, you can whip this sauce up in about 10 minutes, making it perfect for impressing company. It’s also the perfect way to surprise your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day with a little something different.

Garlic Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Serves 4

1/4 lb button mushrooms, chopped small
3 cloves garlic
2 Tblsp. olive oil

Roux
1 c. milk
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tblsp butter
3 Tblsp flour
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt to taste

In a frying pan, heat the oil over low heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook without stirring for 3 minutes or until the mushrooms brown a little on the bottoms. Stir and continue cooking until tender. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour until well incorporated. Stir frequently until the mixture changes color slightly.

Whisk in the milk slowly, avoiding lumps. Add the broth and whisk frequently until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the mushroom mixture, including the oil and stir well. Simmer until the sauce is the thickness you desire. Serve over pasta or rice.

This is a great side dish to any meal and while it does take a little longer than the average salad, I think we can all agree the visually pleasing aspect is well worth it! Even my kids tried this one because of all the colors in it. Serve with your favorite dressing!

Rainbow Salad

serves 4

1 small head purple lettuce, chopped
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
2 c. snow peas, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 c. grilled or boiled corn
1/2 c. alfalfa sprouts
1 carrot, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, sliced
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Toss all ingredients together, separating the sprouts so they don’t bunch up.

Serve with your favorite dressing or add a squeeze of lime and a dash of salt for flavor.

This vegetarian sandwich might seem kind of simple for the first fare of 2012, but let me assure you, it is well worth the minimal effort required to whip it up. This is a sandwich that I first ate in a tiny diner on Vancouver Island as a teen, when going through my vegetarian stage. There were a couple of vegetarian sandwiches on the menu, but this was the one that really grabbed my attention and it was so delicious that I remembered it while hankering for something vegetarian in the early days of my pregnancy, nearly16 years later.

Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwich

Makes 1 sandwich

2 slices bread

Cream cheese

Alfalfa sprouts

1/2 cucumber, sliced

1/2 avocado, mashed

Spread one slice of bread with cream cheese and the other with the avocado.

Lay the cucumber slices over the cream cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, then cover with a generous bunch of sprouts.

Top with the remaining piece of bread, cut in half and enjoy! This is a fresh, light tasting sandwich that is perfect for year round eating.

This is a super simple dish that you can whip up in about 10 minutes to impress anyone. Add a couple of sides or serve over rice and you’re good to go! As you know, I’ve been looking at simpler dishes lately, particularly since morning sickness tends to kick in if something has too many ingredients!

Tomato Basil Chicken

Serves 4

2 chicken breasts, cubed
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 Tblsp. basil, minced
1/8 c. water or chicken stock
salt and pepper

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add the chicken cubes and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock or water, as well as the basil, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute longer. The water should be gone by this point. Toss the mixture with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot or cold.

Back in April, my regular readers may have read that my oldest son ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery. It was a very difficult time and during it, I didn’t cook, as I was in the hospital the entire time with my son. When he got out, he promptly came down with chickenpox and was very ill for quite some time.

He finally recovered and we were trying to figure out how to deal with his new diet, plus a number of trips to the hospital for tests. His new diet didn’t leave much time or energy for making other types of food that I could feature here, so I didn’t.

In June, I discovered that I was pregnant and was so incredibly ill that I couldn’t even get out of bed most days. My kids lived on burritos and sandwiches. Again, not Gourmet Mama fare! Unfortunately, the morning sickness was still with me in August when we headed to Canada for 6 weeks to visit my family. Again, very little cooking was done. On top of that, the photos of the dishes that I did make were all on my other hard drive, which committed suicide. Argh. Backups, backups, backups!

We returned last month and my oldest son ended up in the hospital yet again. I’m pleased to report that no surgery was required this time and he’s healthy, as is our second son and the upcoming son! I, however, am still ill. This is not an easy pregnancy. Someone suggested I do a series of posts on pregnancy foods, but at this point, that would mostly be salads and fresh fruit for me! I do have some recipes to share as I can finally cook without feeling sick, so I will be getting those up shortly.

When I was a child, my mother used to make a Cheddar Corn Chowder that we absolutely loved. Fast forward to today when I live in a country that seems unable to produce a decent cheddar cheese to save its life and I started looking for alternatives to the cheesy goodness that my mother used to create. The result? This tasty Chicken Corn Chowder. It’s a great way to get vegetables into your family and it’s filling enough to make it a good meal.

Oh, and yes, I realize it’s summer so chowder is probably the last thing on your mind . . . but this is perfect for a cool, rainy day!

Chicken Corn Chowder

serves 6

2 chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 c. chicken broth
2 c. corn kernels (I used fresh, but you could add a can of corn, too)
2 c. milk
black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 Tblsp. flour

Saute the onions and celery in a small amount of oil until translucent. Add the chicken and brown slightly. Add the broth, potatoes and corn and let cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove 1/2 c. broth and whisk in the flour to make a thicker liquid. Add this back into the soup, along with the milk and thyme. Stir. Cook another 5 minutes on low heat. The chowder will thicken up. Remove from the heat and pepper to taste.

This is really tasty served with Butter Rolls.

This is a nice quick dinner idea that goes well with rice or noodles. As you can probably tell, I’m on a bit of a ginger kick right now . . . it just goes so well with everything! For this dish, you can increase or decrease the amount of garlic and ginger, according to personal taste.

Garlic Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

serves 4

2 chicken breasts, sliced
2 c. sugar peas, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1″ ginger, peeled and minced
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 red pepper, chopped

Heat a little oil in a frying pan or wok and add the onions and chicken. Cook until the onions are tender. Add garlic and ginger, carrots and red pepper and cook for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Add the sugar peas and cook another 30 seconds. Serve on rice or noodles.

Cantelope is a favorite snack around here and since we live in the tropics, it’s available year round! Now that things are starting to heat up in Guatemala, I’ve been making a lot of ice cream and one of the newer recipes I’ve made is this cantelope ice cream. It’s delicious and the boys have eaten most of it already. You can make it even more fruity by adding fresh chunks of fruit right before serving. I found the original recipe here.

Cantelope Ice Cream

Makes almost 1 L

Cantaloupe

1 ripe cantaloupe
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Ice Cream Base

1 cup milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend the cantelope, sugar and lemon juice together and let sit in the fridge for one hour.

Mix the sugar and milk together until the sugar is dissolved.

Drain the cantelope puree reserving the pulp. Add the juice (about a cup and a half) to the milk. Add the cream and vanilla.

Make ice cream according to your machine’s instructions. About 5 minutes before it’s done, drain the puree again and add only the puree, discarding the juice. Finish freezing and serve.

Note: Make sure your cantelope is a very ripe, sweet one or the ice cream will taste odd.

I couldn’t think of a catchy name for this recipe, but rest assured it’s good! Inspired by a Vietnamese soup recipe I came across, I changed it to fit my ingredients and tastes. The end result? A very simple, but exquisite soup that everyone in my family enjoyed. Oh, and it only takes 10-12 minutes to whip up.

Glass Noodle Soup with Ginger Lemon Chicken

Serves 4

2 bundles cellophane or bean thread noodles

4 c. chicken broth

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 chicken breasts, cut into julienne strips

1 onion, minced

1 inch ginger, peeled and minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. dried basil

Soak the bean thread noodles in very hot water. While they soak, sauté the onion, garlic, ginger and chicken in a small amount of oil in a pot.

When the garlic is cooked, add the broth and basil and let simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add lemon juice and remove from the heat.

Drain the noodles, chop into small lengths of about one inch and divide between three bowls. Ladle soup on top of the noodles and serve hot.