Sopes are a traditional Mexican dish and is basically like a mini Mexican pizza with layers of masa crust, some meat and veggie options, and some sort of acidified cream.

Spiced seitan and spinach sopes

Mexican fruit salad

The basic masa and water crust was seared and topped with garlic sauteed baby spinach, spiced seitan (garlic, onions, cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder, Corona, and tomato paste), herbed cashew cream with fresh oregano, soaked cashews, lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil, raw red cabbage which was tossed in fresh lime juice, a touch of extra-virgin olive oil, and dried oregano, and whole leaf cilantro. Alongside was a fruit medley of mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, lime juice, a touch of salt, and chili powder.

Herbs, herbs, and more herbs

Fresh herbs added to any dish, salad, and even beverages make such a huge impact on the taste and depth. Some herbs are more grounding such as rosemary, thyme, and sage, while others, such as mint and cilantro, give a certain lift to foods. Three different herbs were featured today: rosemary, sage, and dill. Play around with different herbs and different applications.

Herb stew with seitan and root vegetables

Dill beer bread

Seitan is a high-protein fake meat product (yeah... I'm not really sure what that means either), that is commonly used in vegetarian cooking to simulate the taste and texture of meat. You can make it yourself, but if time is a precious commodity, pre-made seitan can be purchased. The stew was a slow and steady simmer of garlic, yellow onions, red wine, rosemary, sage, tomato paste, carrots, celery, seitan, roasted rutabagas, steamed Japanese purple yams, tomatoes, Bloomsdale spinach, Braggs amino acids, and vegetable stock. It turned out to be a very herby and hearty dish. It's accompaniment was a dill beer bread baked with fresh dill and Harps beer.