Happy National Taco Day!

Just because I'm vegan, doesn't mean I can't ROCK THE TACOS!

I plan to read far and wide, through all the Vegan Mofo posts, in search of some of your favorite taco fillings during this whole month of vegan food - so be on the lookout!

Here are a few of mine:


Seitan "Fake Steak" and Green Pepper Tacos (see my review here) served with home made Flour Tortillas


Gallo Pinto (Rice and Bean) Tacos!
Recipe from Viva Vegan, one of my favorite cookbooks.


Home Style Refried Bean Tacos!
Recipe (again) from Viva Vegan


Spicy hummus, taco crumbles, Daiya and XTRA jalapeños!


I'm embarrassed that I have no vegetables whatsoever on this one, but...
The Old Standby: Taco flavored TVP crumbles, Daiya and Tofutti (totally fake, but totally good)


Here, I at least added lettuce and tomato!
Spicy canned vegan refried beans, lettuce, tomato and Daiya - Sprinkled with chili spices


Big, Fat, Taco Salad - from Appetite for Reduction (one of my favorites)  If you have never made Guacamame before, what are you waiting for?!


Sweet & Savory Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos!
Recipe Test from Terry Hope Romero's upcoming book: Vegan Eats World - which is going to be AWESOME and you should all get it!



No cheese of sour cream on my tacos!  It's GUACAMOLE all the way...

Quick & Simple Basic Guacamole
2 avocados
4 scallions or 1/2 a red onion, minced
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño, minced (seeded or not, your choice)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
*combine and mash



Seitan Chorizo Crumble Tacos - from 500 Vegan Recipes.  These crumbles are great, especially if you are pressed for time and can't make a full batch of seitan chorizo sausages.


And, last but not least: a WTF TACO
We have all been guilty of making one of these, I'm sure.  This was actually cubed up Seitan O'Greatness, sautéed with baby spinach and some Teese... not one of my better creations, but still satisfying.

If you've made it to the bottom of this monstrous post, please feel free share with me YOUR favorite taco creations ^_^

Brunchin' It: Potato & Chorizo Home Fries & Tofu Scramble

After working six days in a row, having this weekend off is like a little slice of paradise! What better way to start off a lazy day, than a super huge, yummy breakfast:

Scrambled Tofu with some of my friend, Kathy's, homemade salsa:

Scrambled tofu is on the breakfast menu quite a bit in our house.  I usually use this Basic Scrambled Tofu recipe as a base, and then flavor accordingly, depending on my mood.    I've listed measurements for the spices below, but in all reality, I do the spices and seasonings "to taste".

Basic Breakfast Tofu Scramble

1 (16 ounce) package firm tofu

cooking spray

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon Dijon or yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon salt

fresh ground white pepper

1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon soy creamer , plain, unsweetened (can use almond or soy milk too)  

**The cream or milk adds a nice smooth finish, and allows the spices to coat the tofu evenly.  Especially the turmeric, which gives the scramble a nice, even yellow color

• Spray non-stick frying generously with cooking spray, and heat over medium.
• Drain the package of tofu and crumble into the pan. Cook for 3-4 mins, until tofu begins to release some of its water.
• Add the remaining ingredients (except the creamer) and mix well to combine evenly.
• Cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring regularly.
• When tofu releases most of its water, and begins to firm up, add creamer and mix well.
• Cook another 1-2 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate, then remove from heat.
• Serve with toast

Most of the time I'll leave the scramble plain, but this week, I had some yummy chorizo sausages from Viva Vegan (chipotle version!) on hand.  I knew I was going to mix the diced chorizo with some potato and onion, so I went with a bit of Mexican spice in the scramble this time.  

So, we have: Tofu Scramble base, plus some cumin, coriander, a bit more nutritional yeast, and a half cup of Kathy's home made fresh salsa (diced tomato, red, yellow and orange pepper, jalapeño and half of a habnero, red onion and lime)!

And now for the potatoes!  

I got some refined coconut oil, and was interested in trying it out.  I saw the gals on Spork Fed Foods making home fried sweet and white potatoes fried on coconut oil.  I usually use olive oil myself, but I thought this might be a nice change.  I put a bit of the coconut oil in my cast iron pan, and fried up my chorizo pieces until they were crispy, then set aside. I added another couple of tsps back to the hot pan, and tossed in about 5 red potatoes, scrubbed and diced, with their skin on and one.  Then I seasoned to taste:  italian seasoning, a bit of garlic powder, a bit more of onion powder, some cumin and coriander, cajun seasoning and paprika.  Toss potatoes with then salt and pepper to taste. 

Needless to say we were full.  And, skipped lunch... ^_^

Quesadilla Time!

So today I had to work.  The New England Patriots were playing in the AFC championship game, and I was at work for the entire duration.  As a consolation prize, my boss bought us lunch!  But my only choice was the pizza/burger snack bar next to our bookstore.  It was Sunday, and the students have not moved back to campus yet, so pickings were slim.  They do have a black bean and veggie quesadilla, which I could order with OUT cheese and sour cream.  But, I have been told, that even loaded with cheese, it is still one of the blandest things on the planet....

So, I ordered one to-go, knowing I had my lovely Smokey Mountain Cheese sitting at home in my fridge, as well as a freshly baked batch of chorizo sausages from Viva Vegan.  This was going to be good!

So, when I got home, I scraped the flavorless black beans, peppers and onions into a bowl.  I think they just need to add a bit of salt and some cumin or chili powder...  But either way, I was going to fix all that!

I added about 1/3 cup of the smokey mountain cheese, mixed it well, and zapped it in the microwave for a minute or two.  Then I chopped up about 2/3 of a link of chorizo (I had nibbled a bit of the end earlier, just to see if it tasted good)! I sautéed the bite size pieces over medium heat in a pan with a bit of cooking spray until crispy, then tossed it into the cheesy vegetable mixture.  I then RE-stuffed the tortillas, and placed them in my nonstick pan to get some brown action on them!

The result:  packed with smokey, spicy flavor, melt on your mouth Mexican quesadilla goodness!!  (If only I had guacamole...)

This MORE than made up for the fact that I missed the game... Now I can't wait for the SUPERBOWL, and the awesome game day grub I'm gonna make! GO PATS!! ^_^

Taco Time

So, any excuse to bust out my new tortilla press, and I am ALL over it!!  I found a bag of Masa corn flour in the grocery store a while back, and decided to attempt home made corn tortillas.

The only problem was that, at this time, I did NOT own a tortillas press.  We (L, and myself) decided we could hand roll them... (heh, heh). WELL.. we did hand roll them, which was a giant pain in the asparagus, BUT they tasted so flippin AMAZING that I vowed to pick up a press next time I saw one...

Fast forward a month or two... Thank you, Kathy, (my Chili Cookoff friend)! I now have a $9.99 Tortilla press, and can make beautiful shaped tortillas like the ones in the pic below:

SO, last Saturday was lunch with an old friend, and instead of meeting up at Garden Grill (our usual) I decided to make us a Mexican Lunch at home.  I went a bit overboard, as usual, and made enough food for an army. Thankfully L joined us for lunch too, so my spread did not look SO ridiculously abundant for two.

Menu
Salsa de Arbol from the El Paso Veg Snob's blog
While browsing all the new and exciting Vegan Mofo posts, one can get slightly overwhelmed.  I saw this salsa post and was intrigued by the used of dried Arbol chilies (I have a big bag of them in my pantry and they are nice and spicy)! The directions stated 4-9 dried chilies. Not wanting to use the mere minimum, but not sure if my guests would be up for NINE chilies, I split the difference so-to-speak and went for five.  Good stuff! A nice, simple, tasty and fresh salsa with just the hint of spicy kick.

Cashew Crema from Viva Vegan!
I don't know why I haven't tried this sooner, what a complete and utter FOOL I've been.  I occasionally buy Tofutti sour cream, and have dabbled in making my own vegan sour cream varieties, too.  But I tell you Terry's Cashew Crema blows them ALL out of the water!!  It's so thick, rich and tangy, absolutely perfect for topping any part of a Mexican feast!  My omni better-half is a die hard sour cream fanatic.  SO much that, when I order a dish out in a restaurant that comes with sour cream, I have them leave it OFF my plate and give it to her.  Needless to say, sometimes the dairy free sour cream options are less than impressive to someone who is looking for the actual "cream" that is sour cream.  Tofutti works okay... but I like home made stuff, and so far my attempts at tofu based non-dairy sour creams have not quite lived up to her expectations...

THIS ONE DOES!  It is GORGEOUS!! ^_^

I mean, just LOOK at how lovely and thick it is.

I was fortunate enough to see Terry do a cooking demo at the Worcester VegFest, and the beloved Cashew Crema was featured on top of her CHIPOTLE, SEITAN, AND POTATO TACOS, which we all got to taste (my favorite part)!

CILANTRO LIME RICE:  I'm a big fan of serving rice alongside of my Mexican meals.  I wanted something simple, yet flavorful, so instead of my usual recipe for Mexican Rice, which is a bit involved, I decided to try something new. 

Viva Vegan strikes again with CILANTRO LIME RICE! Terry's tip: "This rice works well with rice cookers".  *SOLD* One less pan on the stove! I doubled the recipe, and used basmati rice because I love it so.  Threw everthing into my rice cooker and hit the start button.

I came out perfect! The lime zest and juice really add a great fresh flavor to the rice.  Stir in some chopped scallion and cilantro at the end, and you are good to go!

Home-Style Refried Beans - Viva Vegan

If you're as big a Mexican food fan as I am, you've probably spiced up a can or two of refried beans in your lifetime.  Don't get me wrong, in a pinch, a good can o'refried beans makes one mean burrito, BUT taking the time to make, season, simmer and mash them from scratch really, REALLY makes a difference.  My all-purpose, standby recipe for giving some kick to canned pintos can be found here.  But I'm a sucker for trying new recipes...

Not very photogenic, but delicious indeed...

Enter VIVA VEGAN by Terry Hope Romero.  Perhaps, one of my most greatly anticipated cookbooks.  I am proud to say this was the first book that I purchased in E-Book form for my NOOK Color.

But, before I was able to actually buy Viva Vegan, I found the recipe for the coveted refried beans here online.

Home-Style Refried Beans
2 tbsp corn, peanut or olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced small
1 to 2 jalapeno or Serrano chilies, seeded and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground chili powder such as ancho or a blend
2 (15 ounce) cans pinto, black or pink beans, drained and rinsed, or 3 - 4 cups cooked beans
1 bay leaf
2 cups water
Salt and fresh pepper

1. In a large heave cast-iron skilled, combine the oil and garlic and cook over medium heat. Allow the garlic to sizzle for 30 seconds, then add the onion and jalapeno. Using a wooden spoon to stir occasionally, fry until the onions turn translucent, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the cumin, oregano, and chili powder, and fry for another 30 seconds.

2. Stir in the beans, bay leaf, and water, and increase heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium again and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, or until more than half the liquid has been absorbed, but about an inch of liquid remains.

3. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Use a potato masher to mash the beans smooth, then stir to form a thick, moist paste, anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes. If refried beans appear to dry out, add a little water a few tablespoons at a time, until your desired consistency is reached.

I really like the authenticity of this recipe, and I REALLY like how fresh the beans taste.  Like, you can really taste the bean itself, as well as all the yummy onion, garlic and chili.  (hooray for chili, and please use the full two (2) that Terry's recipe calls for, don't be shy)!

The first time I made this recipe, I was fortunate enough to have JUST soaked and simmered a luscious pot of pinto beans from scratch:



In here, we have a pound of soaked beans, covered with fresh water 1-2 inches above the tops of the beans.  I then added to that, a white onion, halved, a bay leaf, 1 tsp each of whole cumin and coriander seeds, and finally, sprigs of fresh thyme and oregano, courtesy of the Farmer's Market.  Bring liquid to a boil, partially cover and reduce heat and then simmer beans for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until tender.  If any foam develops, skim surface as needed.

Once your delicious pot of beans is cooks, use Terry's recipe to spice them up, simmer, and MASH!  Use for burritos, nachos, tostadas or just serve warm over rice.

Asian Fusion Night

Kathy and I have done it again! LEFT: Spicy Coconut Red Thai Curry served over Jasmine Rice (not pictured) RIGHT: Vegetable Tofu Lettuce Wraps with spicy hoisin OR sweet peanut sauce.

SPICY COCONUT RED THAI CURRY

This dish comes together so quickly and tasted amazing.  I originally got the idea from my Aunt Jean, who makes this curry for her fabulous parties, mainly because it's so quick and easy, and tastes like you've slaved over it for hours.  The key ingredient is authentic Thai curry paste, which can be found at most Asian markets.

When I was in Baltimore a couple weeks ago, I took a walk, and found the most wonderful Asian grocery.  I came home with this:



quite a haul, indeed

The thai curry paste I used in this dish is the very top can, next to the panko, called Panang Curry by the brand Maesri.  Close up of the can here:

When buying Thai curry pastes, be sure to check ingredient list on the back, as some types do contain fish sauce.  I've found that the Panang (above), Red and Yellow curry pastes are vegan, whereas the Green usually have fish sauce in them.  I will keep on the lookout for a vegan "Green" curry, as those are SUPER spicy which I like!

INGREDIENTS:

What makes my Aunt Jean's recipe so wonderfully versatile is that you can use just about anything you like!  The vegetables I used in this particular one were: 1/2 a yellow pepper, 1/2 a red pepper. 1/2 red onion, 2 carrots, 1 can bamboo shoots, chopped, and the white parts of 2 scallions, all sliced.



Now, for the protein, I used 2 loaves of homemade, Steamed White Seitan from VIVA VEGAN that I had in the freezer.  If you don't have this amazing book, the recipe for the home made seitan can be found here.   Ideally, I probably would have omitted the cumin in the seitan recipe, as this seitan is meant for Latin-style dishes.  But, it's what I had on hand, the cumin wasn't too strong, and the Panang red curry sauce is a strong enough flavor to cover it.  (And, by using it  I've discovered that the steamed white seitan freezes EXTREMELY well)! Now if seitan isn't your thing, this dish works wonderfully with a package of extra firm tofu, cubed and browned with a bit of the curry paste added in for flavor.

For this recipe, I sliced the defrosted seitan into bite size pieces, and sauteed them in some canola oil and shallot until brown.  Then, I stirred in about 1 TBSP of the panang curry paste, and sauteed a few minutes more.  I then removed the seitan from the pan and set aside while I cooked the vegetables.

In the same pan, I sauted the veggies in a bit of canola oil for about 5 minutes. At this point, my Aunt would add fish sauce to hers, but I used about a tbsp of Braggs liquid aminos instead.  I find that really works well to replace the fish sauce called for in many Thai dishes. Then I added the curry paste, mixed it through the vegetables, and sauteed for another minute or two. I used about 1/2 a can (I had used about 1/4 can to sautee the seitan)  Cut back on the paste if you don't like too much heat, but I like it spicy. Finally, I added about half a can of light coconut milk (Trader Joe's 14 1/2 oz can). Simmer for 5- 10 minutes, then top with chopped scallions and basil. Serve it over Jasmine rice ^_^