flautas and taquitos

Is it a Flauta or a Taquito? 

The two Mexican food dishes can be mixed up at times since they are both rolled, fried, stuffed tortillas. The difference, and hence the names, are due to the type of tortilla used. Flautas are made using flour tortillas and Taquitos are made using corn tortillas. 

Making the filling and rolling them in the tortillas can be time consuming parts of this meal, but even then it is one of the simplest to make. I made a filling using textured vegetable protein, but seitan, beans or vegetables are outstanding choices, with refried beans being the simplest of the bunch. 

Make sure to first heat the tortillas in the microwave in a stack (wrapped in damp paper towels) or individually right on stove top to get them warm. Warm tortillas bend and don't break. Roll them in the filling and either pan-fry them in oil or bake them as I did. 

Serve these with guacamole, salsa and vegan sour cream. 

They are crispy and filling.

Cost Breakdown

tortillas: $3

TVP: $1

Daiya: $1 

broth, onion, garlic, spices, flour: $1.50

sour cream, avocado, salsa: $2

Total to make 16 with garnishes:

$8.50

FLAUTAS OR TAQUITOS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

tami's fajitas

Tester Teaser

I should really stop with the teasers, right? Nah.

Last night's dinner was totally awesome! I am such a fajita fan and whenever we find our way into a Mexican restaurant that doesn't happen to use chicken stock in their rice or lard in their refried beans, Fajitas is the dish I gravitate to. 

Great for me, but the kids are no Fajita fans. In fact, after being told what dinner was (as if there is no written menu on the fridge) - little facial twitches could be seen on my dear children's countenances. 

Everyone was in for a surprise; these little babies went faster than I could make them. For testing purposes, of course, I had to snag the last one. 

The seitan, from Tami's upcoming cookbook, Grills Gone Vegan, was perfect for this. The seitan was marinated in her Habanero Marinade, which tastes of habaneros and not the intense heat they are know for. After grilling with peppers and onions, topped with lettuce, avocado and a bit of Daiya, these were pure pockets of bliss.

7-layer mexican salad

Lunch time can be quite a fiasco at our home, especially if we don't plan the menu out properly. The kids want food they like and I want to make something that is unusual but still healthy. Clearly with all of the tumult we needed to come to a compromise. Lunch should be easy, quick and a no-brainer. Discussion should not even have to take place, and arguments should be as far removed as the moon.

To make everyone happy, including the cook, be that person child or adult, the kids and I wrote down 30 dishes they liked enough to agree to and I agreed were healthy and fast. We have put those meals on rotation during the week for lunch and it has worked beautifully. This can be an effective way to by-pass all the hastle of picking and choosing what to make for lunch for anyone, families or singles, homeschoolers or out of the home workers. It just makes sense. Since the breakfast repertoire of most folks tend to be varied between 5 to 10 kinds of dishes at the most, choosing between 30 lunch items is different enough to satisfy most people and consistent enough to make deciding lunch much simpler.

7-Layer Mexican Salad with Creamy Salsa Dressing. This one became a favorite after the girls had it at a sleepover on the U.S.S. Barry  (Girl Scout adventure). The key to this salad is to have the proper proportion of topping ingredients to lettuce. Too much lettuce ruins the entire experience. My salad has avocado, tomato, black beans, carrot, onion, vegan cheese, peppers. The dressing is about 2/3 vegenaise and 1/3 homemade salsa. You can use whatever topping you prefer, just make sure to keep the lettuce at bay: about one (toppings) to one (lettuce) ratio.

Cost Breakdown

avocado: $2

tomato: $2

beans: $2

carrot: $.50

lettuce: $2

cheese: $1

pepper: $1

salsa, vegenaise: $2

Total to make 6 servings:

$12.50

vegan hero

Who's your Vegan Hero?

Ones that pop to mind might be quite numerous - Marcus, Singer, Camp, Espinosa, Watson, Clark-Grogan, Robertson, Noyes, Messina, Moskowitz, DeGeneres, Newkirk, Baldwin, Barnard, Chavez, Harrelson, Harper, Hannah, Hynde, Kucinich, Lewis, Lyman, Mackey, Piraro, Pitt, Portman, Walker, Wynn, Weird Al, Mills, and the list goes on and on...

Today's lunch held the ideal of a hero plainly in sight by using all vegan ingredients. The cheese is Follow Your Heart sliced thin, the meatless cold cuts are Yves, Tofurkey and Smart Deli. There is avocado, veganaise, mustard, tomato, pickles, sprouts, lettuce, onion, bell pepper, olives, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar on this bad-boy. The bread should have been whole wheat, but Whole Foods was out and the kids needed lunch.

Really terrific looking and tasting. Remember, we eat with our eyes first and this sammich wouldn't have been the same had it been cut before the diners had a chance to see it.

Cost Breakdown

cold cuts: $5

FYH cheese: $3

veganaise, mustard, v&o: $1

veggies: $3

fruit: $2

bread: $2

Total to make 5 servings:

$16.00

quinoa-corn chowder

This recipe was from Viva Vegan! by Teri Hope Romero. It has been a little while since I've hit this cookbook, and the idea of quinoa in a chowder was appealing. Quinoa "grain" is not really a grain, since it is not a grass, but in fact is the seed of the plant that has been cultivated for over 4,000 years in South America. While the greens of the quinoa plant are also edible, the seeds are what is most available to us.

Quinoa also happens to be a complete protein.

While quinoa can be intimidating to cook the first few times, get yourself a bag and start cooking with it. The ratio of water to quinoa is easy:

1 part quinoa, 2 parts water, cook 20 minutes.
Make sure to rinse the quinoa well before cooking it.

If the quinoa is added to a stew or a soup, it is even simpler since I've yet to overcook quinoa, unlike rice, which is too easy to overcook.

The Quinoa-Corn 'Chowder' I made from Teri's book was very easy to make and delicious. To top it all off, she recommended I add avocado to it.

It's like she read my mind...

Cost Breakdown

garlic, onion, spices: $1

red quinoa: $.75

aji (pepper paste, homemade): $.50

potato, corn: $1.50

beans: $2

tomatoes: $1

non-dairy milk: $1

Total to make 6 servings:

$7.75

Aji Paste Recipe

gazpacho salad

Gazpacho Salad. Yup. And why not? The soup it refers to is a bunch of vegetables and fruit with liquid. Replace the liquid with the salad greens and presto - Gazpacho Salad.

Here is your inspiration to convert any soup into a salad. Pretty simple idea, right? I'd love to take credit, but I believe I saw the idea while cruising through a cookbook - a Robin Robertson one, to be exact. It is the avocado that caught my eye. Throw avocado anywhere in a recipe and I'll give it grave consideration. During the summer I have to weed through all the avocado recipes, since I probably add at least three onto each week's menu. Although very healthy for the kids, I encourage them to eat as many as they would like, I'm too old to handle too many, as much as I love them.

That certainly does not mean I never eat the fruit and here it is in this salad.

There are two key components to a good salad:

The Dressing

The Size of the Veggies

I'm sure we are all aware of how important the moisture on the lettuce is - whether it is just a squeeze of lemon or a favorite dressing like Ranch - but, is it really well-known how important the cut of the veggies is?

Dice or thinly slice cucumbers, peppers, onions, tomatoes (after seeding them) and they take on

a-whole-nother appeal for the diner. Big, clunky veggies are okay, but to really get someone to dig in, consider how you cut them.

My diced veggies and fruits were tossed with a little walnut oil (which has Omega-3) and lime juice. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic (minced) and cilantro and tossed them with chopped lettuce.

A bit of Summer in the middle of Winter.

Cost Breakdown

lettuce: $3

onion, pepper, cuke, tomato: $4

garlic, cilantro: $1

avocado: $2

walnut oil, lime: $1

Total for 4 large servings:

$11.00

incrediburger and radish guacamole

I am certain that one thing everyone gets in their CSA is radish. Radish grows quickly and easily and is therefore a natural addition to produce boxes. Lovely in salads and...and ...what else?

The sharp, horseradish-like flavor doesn't get utilized much. Or am I just not in the loop? Comment if you have other uses for this ubiquitous root veg.

I received Beauty Heart Radishes in my box this week (they look very much like turnips, except whereas turnips have the purple on the top, they have it on the bottom) and knew I had to do something with them.

Since guacamole has onions in it, and raw onions have a sharp flavor, I replaced the onions with the radish. I didn't think I would need as mush radish as I wound up using, but the flavor with the creamy avocado was perfect. Radish, avocado, lime juice and salt and pepper.

I topped the Radish-Guacamole on my Incrediburger (which I keep in the freezer for lazy days) - the best burger ever, from American Vegan Kitchen (worth the price of the book in my opinion - the $$ I save not buying GMO-Boca is a double bonus) and baked up some sweet potato fries.

Cost Breakdown

burgers: $2

bread: $2

avocado: $2

radish: $1

sweet potatoes: $2

Total to make 5 burgers and a side:

$9.00

roasted garlic soup

Of all the foods on the planet, I believe I adore garlic the most. I love it in everything, but I have to make sure that my hubby eats some when I do otherwise he gets a little distant.

Garlic happens to be very healthful and so delicious - when properly utilized, that is.

I made a soup for today's lunch that had garlic in the soup itself (using the garlic from making garlic oil) and in the croutons as the garlic oil.

So, so good.

This is relatively a quick soup, but oh so elegant. I gave the soup some body with some cashew milk (only works if it is homemade) and added a few yellow chillies for flavor. To serve, I put some 'queso fresco' (that I had in the fridge, using the same basic recipe that I used for making Feta a few weeks back), some black beans, avocado and tomatoes from our garden, into a bowl, ladled the soup on and topped it with the garlic croutons.

Cost Breakdown:

homemade stock: $1

cashews: $1

garlic, olive oil: $2

queso freso (optional): $1

chili: $.50

black beans: $2

avocado: :1.50

tomato: $1

bread: $1

Total to feed 5 people:

$11.00

tex-mex veg burger

I have this thin cookbook of burgers: Meatless Burgers , and every one of the burgers we've tried from this book has not turned out quite right. The book has great burger ideas, but the execution leaves something to be desired. So I used their Tex-Mex Burger recipe as inspiration rather than cooked it as written.

It uses tofu and gluten as the base of the burger. I added roasted corn - fresh off the cob (CSA) - roasted peppers, grilled onions, garlic and chili powder. I baked the burgers first to make sure the gluten was cooked and then I briefly sauteed them in my cast iron skillet to add some color, flavor and texture. This was a great way to make veggie burgers that hold together well enough, do not need to be fried in lots of oil, but not have that dried-out texture that comes solely from baking.

   To accompany the burgers I made a Chili-Lime veganaise by adding some chili powder and lime juice to, you guessed it, veganaise. Toppings for the burger included cilantro, avocado, red onion slices and tomato.

Quick, easy, light lunch.

The kids are on vacation from cooking this week; they are planning their menus for the next ten weeks. The kids liked this one a lot - and not just because they didn't have to cook!

Cost Breakdown:

tofu: $2

gluten: $.50

onion, pepper, garlic, corn: $2

avocado, cilantro, lime, veganaise: $3.50

bread: $3

tomato: $2

Total to make 6 burgers:

$13.00

Tex-Mex VegBurger Recipe

california club

Usually, I insist that when the kids cook, they actually cook something.  Once every 10 weeks I ask each of them to come up with 10 meal ideas. That way they don't have to worry over it weekly. Once every 10 weeks or so I also allow to assemble a meal. Cat made this sandwich, one of her all time favorites, with tomato, Veganaise, Follow your Heart, Tofurkey, lettuce, and avocado. I add sprouts onto mine, as well. These little babies were hand raised by me. If you haven't grown sprouts, yet, you should.

Three easy steps:
In a wide mouth quart mason jar with a 'sprout lid'
1) Soak 2-4 T seeds for 8 hours in filtered water to cover.
2) Drain and flip upside down in the dish draining rack
3) In the morning and evening, rinse seeds with a little water.

Keep them upside down to drain always. They are ready when their tails are 1/4-1/2 inch, 3-5 days.When they are ready, put them in a big bowl of water. The seed shells will float to the top where you can skim them off. Drain very well and store them in the same jar they sprouted in.

Cost Breakdown:
sprouts: $.50
bread: $3
avocado and veganaise: $3
tomato, lettuce: $1.50
Tofurkey and Follow your Heart: $5
Total to make 5 sandwiches:
$13.00

chili bean dip and homemade baked tortilla chips

Mikel will do just fine on his own when he moves out - as long as he has beans and pasta, because that is what he likes to cook - Mexican and Italian. Today he cooked up some chili infused bean dip and made some tortilla chips.

Please note the 'chips' are homemade, the tortillas themselves were homemade by Whole Foods. It really is a snap to bake some tortillas to wind up with chips. Needless to say, he did a great job and he was done in a jiffy.

 I am not one to look at a 'gifted pot for the lid' - he cooked and I did not have to. 

Cost Breakdown:

tortillas: $3

beans: $2

2 avocados: $3 (sale at WF)

tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices: $1

Total to feed 4 people:

$9.00

raw kale salad with sun-dried tomato + chili-crusted cheese

Kale salad was the first food I remember eating raw (Excluding the obvious raw fruits and vegetables. You know what I mean.) I was fortunate enough to be friends with a few ladies in California who were interested in raw preparation and invited a chef to show us how to cook live food. The first thing she made was this salad and David and I were hooked. In fact, he ate too much the first time I made it!

Lesson to those wishing to make this :)

To prepare kale raw, you need to massage the kale with the dressing; this breaks down the cell walls of the kale, not just making it more palatable but ensuring that your body can get to those powerhouse nutrients. 

The cheese (dip or spread) I made using nuts and sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, grape tomatoes, and then I rolled it in chili flakes. The cheese might be spicy (and of course you do not have to roll it in hot chili) but the kale and the crackers cool things down. The cracker is sun tomatoes, peppers, flax seeds, ground and dehydrated. I will make a whole batch and they keep really well in a tightly sealed jar.

Cost Breakdown:

2 bunch kale -$4

shiitake -  $2

onion, garlic, tomato: $2

crackers: $2

avocado and lemon - $2.50

  sun-tomato and almonds- $3

Total to feed a family of 8:

$15.50

Raw Kale Salad Recipe

Raw Sun-Dried Tomato Dip or Spread

Raw Flax Crackers Recipe

polenta rancheros

It seems fitting to make our brunch from a brunch cookbook: 
Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Based on her description - replacing soft eggs with soft polenta - had my attention. I simply love any recipe that replaces eggs in traditional dishes - chickens being one of the worst treated animals on factory farms.  

When Kate tasted it, she practically swooned! It is a truly delicious meal! The soft, creamy polenta, with the spicy beans and the cooling guacamole is superb. Nicely thought out recipe. Next time we make this - and we will - I will grind the spices before adding the onions and garlic; broken pieces of coriander seeds are a little distracting in the rancheros.

Cost Breakdown:
tomato, can: $2
2 beans: $4

polenta: $.50
avocado: $3
onions, garlic, fresh tomato: $2
vegetable broth, homemade: $.50
sour cream: $.50
Total tofeed a family of 5:
$12.50

sweet potato sandwich

We went on a hike today. Lunch was sweet potato sandwich with lemon-tahini spread. I baked the sweet potatoes the night before with the Lima Bean Bake and cooled it overnight in the fridge. It worked very well because the potato had time to firm up and was tender and melt-y but held together. The spread I made with tahini, yogurt, Meyer lemon (why not?) and sugar and salt. At home on the sandwich were tomatoes, onions, avocado and sunflower sprouts - the most decadent sprouts in my opinion.  

The kids found this sandwich a little too sweet. The first one I made I made the mistake of not seasoning properly. Because the sweet potatoes are so sweet, seasoning each layer was crucial! For the girls I made the sandwich the same way but without the sweet potato and called it California Sandwich with Lemon-Tahini Spread.

Cost Breakdown:

bread: $2

sweet potato: $2

avocado: $2

onion, tahini, yogurt, sugar: $1

tomato: $2

Total for 5 sandwiches:

$9.00

Sweet Potato Sandwich

California Sandwich