Saying 'I Love You' With Green Enchiladas @DerekSarnoChef

Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Not everyone says ‘I love you’ the same way. Here are 5 recipes that say ‘I love you’—without needing to say anything, all rolled up and sauced to perfection. An easy to make for mom recipe.

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Mother's Day is right around the corner, whether for mom, friends, family and everyone in between, cooking is an act of love and kindness that nurtures and supports.

This happens to be Gluten free friendly, too! The rough recipes are below and in the video, soon they will be on the new website.
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2 x Whole Food Green Enchilada Recipes Assembled As Shown:
Tofu Scramble with cheese
King Oyster Style Shredded Chicken’ with cheese
Salsa Verde, Green Salsa
Fresh Salsa
Garlicky Greens
Mexican rice (coming soon)

Salsa Verde, Green salsa:
17 – 20 each Whole Tomatillos, rinsed and pan roasted
4 – 5 Whole Serrano Chili Peppers, pan roasted
3 – 5 small cloves of garlic, pan roasted
½ White Onion, Chopped and pan roasted
Small handful of fresh Cilantro (coriander in the U.K.)
1 Lime, zested and juiced

Slightly pan roast, sear on stove top (if desired) roast in oven to finish at 350 fan/convection for 10 -15 minutes. – Build the added flavors.
Blend to finish, chill and serve as is or make these delicious Green Enchiladas

• For less to no spice remove chili seeds or try jalapenos

Fresh Salsa:
6 Roma Tomatoes, diced
½ Red Onion, fine diced
1 Jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
Small handful of fresh Cilantro, shopped
1 Lime, Juiced

King Oyster Shredded Mushroom Meat:
8 King Oysters mushrooms, shredded
2 Poblano Peppers, Julienned
½ Onion, Julienned
Neutral Flavored Oil
2- TBS Mexican flavored Chicken Seasoning Rub
1 TBS BBQ seasoning, optional
1 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp Onion, Granulated
1 tsp Garlic Granulated
Pinch salt
Black Pepper to taste
1 cup Veg or No Chicken broth (Optional)
Handful of plant based cheese

Shred mushrooms, slice veg, sear and saute each separately with broth until tender. Add to bowl to chool down and mix in V- cheese.

Tofu Scramble:
2 Blocks Extra Firm Tofu, patted dry
¼ cup V Mayo
1/2 Red Onion, Julienned
Handful corn tortilla chips, crumbled
Drizzle of Neutral Oil
Knob of vegan butter
2 table spoons Nutritional yeast
½ tsp Turmeric
Pinch smoked paprika
1 tsp Garlic, granulated
1 tsp Onion, granulated
Cracked black pepper
½ tsp Black Salt (optional for Sulphur eggy flavour)
Handful Plant Based cheese

Pan roast whole tofu with a bit of oil on hot cast iron pan, add all ingredients to top of tofus. Once golden-brown skin forms on bottom of tofu, break up and scramble. Remove from heat, add to bowl and mix in vegan cheese

Garlicky Greens
32 oz Collards, chopped
1 bunch Rainbow Swiss Chard
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted then ground
3 -4 garlic cloves, toasted then ground
Pinch of salt
Black pepper to taste
Drizzle Olive Oil for sauteing

Add greens to large bow, blanch by pouring boiling water over, drain and let cool. Sauté when ready

Thanks for being kind.
Love
D and F

EASY TOFU Roast that’ll change your life

$The most insanely delicious TOFU My new favorite curry is made with coconut, corn and then you ask - WTF is “Chana dahl or channa dal,? Well, its a type of lentil that comes from chickpeas. The chickpeas are split in half, and the outer skin is removed. This leaves you with small, yellowish lentils, which are the chana dal. These lentils are a staple in many South Asian cuisines. Super nutritious, they’re packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Delicious in soups, stews, and curries. Slightly nutty and earthy flavor, and can be cooked to be creamy or slightly firm, depending on how you like it. Made from chickpeas thats good for you and used in lots of yummy recipes. Its a great source of energy, protein and nutrition! https://wickedkitchen.com/ Is the company I co-founded with my brother and is a fully plant based / vegan range that puts flavor first! Check out the locator map on the website for where it’s sold. About Frankie Ms America’s din din.. Head over to https://omni.pet/ to give it a try and order yours with my 50% off discount code “DEREK50” – it’s the best decision I’ve made lately! Studies: In vivo model to show amino acids digestibility of plant based dog food diet on par which chicken based control https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/7/1/txad020/7039700 Dogs fed plant based diets for 12 month period maintain normal clinical parameters (Preprint, peer review process ongoing) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.02.18.525405v1 Working Huskies thriving on plant-based diets https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/an-experimental-meatfree-diet-maintained-haematological-characteristics-in-sprintracing-sled-dogs/49358B7C6F05A5AC042D01E322EB3A0C The genomic adaptation of a dog to a nutritional omnivore https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11837?ca_referer=staging.money.com%2Fbest-auto-insurance%2F Soy is digestible source of protein for dogs https://academic.oup.com/jas/article-abstract/79/8/2162/4683177?login=false Vegan diets palatability on par with meat-based foods https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253292 THE MAIN EVENT {RECIPE} 1 Cup Chana Dahl, Dried (cracked chickpeas) 1 300g Tofu, extra firm 4 each Fresh Corn on the Cob or 4+ Cups frozen corn 1 Large white onion, finely chopped. 3 Pac Choi (baby bok choy) chopped. Handful baby corn, each cut in half 2 teaspoons Oil ( I used rice bran oil) 1 can (size) coconut cream 1 can (size) of coconut milk, unsweetened 2 Tablespoons vegan mayo 2 limes, juice and save rind 3 Thai chili peppers, diced (preferably red for garnish) 1 bay leaf Handful of fresh mint (garnish) Handful fresh coriander/cilantro leaves (garnish) Handful fresh basil, picked (garnish) 1 teaspoon sesame oil (garnish) Fresh Curry Paste: 3 TBS Ginger, chopped. 4 garlic cloves, toasted. 2 Chilies, dried, toasted and rehydrated. 1 Lime, zested 1 Tablespoon Lemongrass, fresh chopped 1 teaspoon Turmeric 1 teaspoon Palm sugar or sugar 1 teaspoon White peppercorns, toasted. 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds, toasted. 1 teaspoon, Coriander seeds, toasted. 1 Salt, flakes to taste Chana Dahl: Soak the Chana Dahl (cracked chickpea lentils) overnight to help soften if possible. Cook in medium pot, with water to cover, for 30 – 45 minutes until soft and edible. Rinse, strain and save when complete. Discard the cooking liquid. Corn: Remove the corn kernels from the cob. Boil both kernels and cob with 1 litre of water, strain and save the broth and kernels, discard the cobs. Curry Paste: In a cast iron pan toast all the dried spices, chilies (rehydrate in hot water for 5 minutes after) and toast the garlic (with skin on). In mortar and pestle add dry spices and chilies and pulverize first. Add the garlic, chopped lemongrass, lemon rind, turmeric and sugar with a pinch of salt. Pound into a paste and save. Set aside ¾ teaspoon to make the tofu glaze. In a larger pot, add 1 teaspoon oil, the curry paste and heat pot on medium high heat to slowly fry the paste for 2 minutes to cook out some of the rawness and activate the flavours. Add small can of coconut cream and fry another 2 minutes stirring while it cooks to avoid burn spots. Once cooked add chopped onion, Pac choi and baby corn and sauté for 2 minutes. Add corn with broth and cooked Chana Dahl and bring to a low boil. Add lime juice and coconut milk and continue cooking bringing to a light simmer to retain the flavours. TOFU: Preheat oven to 200c / 400f fan/convection. Heat a cast iron skillet with 1 teaspoon of oil on medium high heat. Drain and lightly squeeze tofu to remove excess water, pat dry with paper towel. Sear both sides for 2 minutes to form a crispy crust. Mix together 2 tablespoons of vegan mayo with ¾ teaspoon of the curry paste to form the glaze. Apply evenly to top of tofu. Roast in same pan for 15 minutes. Serve tofu with curry, whie rice and garnish with fresh herbs and extra chopped limes and Sliced chilies$

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$I Left The Corporate Kitchens for YouTube and A Van Our adventures begin... After years of running corporate kitchens and building plant-based brands, we left it all behind to launch our boldest adventure yet — life on the road with a custom van, a downsized kitchen, and a brand-new YouTube chapter. In this video you’ll see the first glimpse of our Austin home base, the stripped-down kitchen where the next recipes will be born, and why we chose to trade the corporate grind for creativity, travel, and connection. It’s part kitchen tour, part van life reveal, and part story about letting go, simplifying, and discovering how to cook big, crave-worthy flavors anywhere. Come with us as our boldest adventure begins. https://dereksarno.com/ Thank you to Drifter Vans and the whole crew for the awesome build of our van. Below is the link for more info and in full transparency if you purchase a van through this link well get a small commission and would be very grateful for the support. https://bixel1.net/v1/t/c/f13c5142-a19a-395f-01aa-05af601cc9a0/gm%3A401e441f-59e0-4045-9e55-417744538dd5/dsarno108%40gmail.com/?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.driftervans.com%2Ffb-homeonwheels%3Fpartner%3DVanLifeMom%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3Dpartners%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Dpartners%26amp%3Butm_source%3DPartners= Thank you to Corbin at Refracted Film, LLC for some of the footage of the van reveal. Much more to come.. D & F$

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