Tag Archives: tacos

Chickpea Tacos

Posted on May 24, 2012 | 2 comments

So many friends have been asking for quick, kid-friendly meals.  I have no idea what kid-friendly means…I mean, feed them what you eat, then if you eat this, logic dictates kids friendly, right?  This one is just as delicious as the lentil taco recipe from earlier in the month; however, when you mash up the chickpeas…they actually take on the texture of shredded chicken (or what I remember shredded chicken to look like).  It will fool your friends and kiddos too.  If your kids have delicate palates, adjust the salt and spices accordingly.  Go ahead, play with your food.

Adapted from The Snarky Chickpea

Ingredients:

  • 6 taco shells or tortillas
  • 1/3 lb dried chickpeas (I think it made about 1.5 cups after cooking)-you could use 1.5 cans of chickpeas here if you like, just drain them before using and give a good rinse
  • 2 TB Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce/tamari
  • 1 1/2 TB lemon juice
  • 1 TB chili powder
  • 1 TB garlic powder
  • 1 TB onion powder
  • 1 TB red pepper flakes
  • 1 TB cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ancho chile powder
  • 1 tsp fresh black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • taco toppings: lettuce, onion, tomatoes, taco sauce, etc.

Method:

  1. Cook your chickpeas for about 90 minutes over a medium or medium-low heat (you could also use canned).
  2. In bowl, combine Braggs, lemon juice, and all spices. Mix well.
  3. In a saute’ pan, add chickpeas and pour the liquid spice mix over the chickpeas in the pan and mix well-mashing down the chickpeas so you have some whole and some smushed for texture.  The chickpeas will start to suck in the spice mix which is total noms.
  4. Heat through on low-medium, stirring well.
  5. Remove from heat and add to your shell of choice, top with your fave veggies, salsa, etc and shove in your pie hole.

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Posted in Dinner, Quick Cooking, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Tempeh, Poblano and Portobello Tacos with Honey Cumin Slaw

Posted on May 17, 2012 | 1 comment

My third taco recipe of May is a blend of two of my fave recipes: Poblano & Portobello Tacos and TLT Sandwiches.  Sundays are typically a very hectic day at my house cramming all the stuff we should have done on Saturday AND Sunday into just Sunday, so I wanted leftovers for Sunday that I could reheat and not have to spend time on din-din.

Enter, the Tempeh, Poblano & Portobello Taco for dinner guests on Saturday.  Most of this can be done in advance and kept warm in a 200 degree oven until company arrives.  This recipe looks long and drawn out, but it’s mostly done in stages so you don’t even notice it.

Components:

  • 3 packages portobello mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced then roasted
  • 4 poblano peppers, roasted, skinned and sliced into strips
  • 3 red bell peppers, roasted, skinned and sliced into strips
  • 2 boxes grape tomatoes, roasted
  • dairy or nondairy cheese
  • tortillas of your choice
  • dairy or nondairy sour cream
  • cubed avocado
  • lime wedges
  • store-bought salsa (I used Newman’s black bean and corn)
First things first…the prep for the roasted veggies is not difficult, they pretty much do the work for you…it’s magic, but takes time to get that roasty goodness, so plan accordingly.  Before you dive in, read below to prepare your dressing for the slaw and your marinade for your tempeh, get those two things started and then get your veggies goin’-you will want your tempeh to marinade for about 30 minutes before you bake it off.
Roasted peppers from a jar or the frozen food section are adequate, but who the hell wants to be knows as the adequate taco maker?  Not this chic.  Plan ahead and then deny the time it takes to make these the right way like every other reasonably awesome at home chef.  Easy peasy.  Preheat a grill or your oven to super hot (for the oven we’re talking like 450 and open up the windows just in case).  Preheat your oven to 450 and roast the mushrooms and tomatoes indoor while you soak up some vitamin D outside grilling your peppers.  Since it’s summer, grill them your peppers, then you won’t have to disable your smoke detectors to get the perfect charred pepper.  Take clean, dry peppers and drop them on the grill, wait for smoke and or charring and then turn until every side is burned but yet still moist-ish (yeah, it is a word now).  Transfer these little beauties to a bowl, cover in plastic wrap and then wait until they are cool to remove the charring.  After this is done, you will be left with succulent, sweet and smokey roasted peppers.  Resist eating them all before company arrives.  All that goodness and NO oil needed.
Take your washed and dried tomatoes and chopped mushrooms, place on baking sheets in the oven (use the ones with sides to contain the liquid or you will have a fire, and jerky instead of roasted veggies).  Spray with a little cooking oil, pop in preheated oven and wait.  The tomatoes are done when their skins are bursting.  The mushrooms are done with them are still glistening from moisture, not dry like rawhide.  Watch those, they will burn and then you have mushroom chips.  Gross?  Or maybe a new blog post..hmmm.

Tempeh “Meat”

  • 2 bricks tempeh (any flavor), steamed and sliced into strips

Marinade

  • 6 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 C tamari or soy sauce
  • 4 T balsamic vinegar
  • 4 T maple syrup or agave
  • 6 T chipotle en adobo
Toss all marinade ingredients into a food processor and whirl away.  Pour over the top of the tempeh strips that you have nestled into a 9×11 baking dish and let sit for 30 minutes or longer.  When your oven roasted veggies are done from above, reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees and slide the tempeh into the oven.  Bake until the marinade has become basically a syrup.  Watch it though, don’t let it burn.  It will look very dark.  Reduce oven even further to 200 degrees leave in tempeh, then toss back in the tomatoes and mushrooms to keep them warm until guests arrive.

Honey Cumin Slaw

  • 1/2 large green cabbage, shredded (could also use a bag of cole slaw mix)
  • 5-8 radishes, grated and patted dry
Combine both items in a large bowl.  Just before service, top with dressing below.  Serve on top of or along side tacos.

Dressing

  • 1/3 C fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 T vegetable, grapeseed or extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 T honey or agave
  • 1 tsp cumin

Easiest.  Dressing.  Ever.  Combine items in a Ball jar, give it a good shake and let it sit for 30 minutes before topping slaw above.  Serve immediately.

Finally, assemble tacos with your choice of tortilla (I prefer corn), roasted peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, tempeh, dairy or nondairy cheese, avocado, dairy or nondairy sour cream, salsa, slaw, squirt of lime and prepare for leftovers.

From this recipe, I was able to get dinner on Saturday night for four, TLT’s from the leftovers with the help of some bread from the freezer toasted for two for Sunday night dinner, two lunches of black bean/mango bowls on Monday, and finally…dinner on Monday night for two, roasted veggie quesadillas.  Not bad for a bunch of simple ingredients, a little prep work, and some help from the freezer.

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Posted in Dinner, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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A Tale of Two Lentil Taco Recipes

Posted on May 3, 2012 | 1 comment

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only (A Tale of Two Cities-Dickens-opening paragraph).

If I haven’t lost ya yet, now you have some trivia knowledge and two taco recipes coming right up!  See this is why we are friends!  Speaking of friends that tolerate me, my friend Angela asked me about these lentil tacos I keep talking about.  I went to direct her to my blog and realized, crap, I have never shared them on my blog.  Here you go Angela!  I have no pictures for you, but the recipe needs to get out into the universe.  We all know that pink slime, er beef is bad; love on a lentil instead.

Recipe One:  Lentil Tacos

Adapted from Isa Chandra.

2 teaspoons olive oil (you can do this oil free if you add a smidge of water to the onion when it starts getting sticky from sauteing it)

  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils (from about 1 cup dried)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce (preferably Cholula)

Spice mix:

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

First combine all of the ingredients for the spice mix and set aside. Also, keep a cup of water within reach, you’ll need to add splashes as you cook.  You can totally put in taco sauce or salsa for the hot sauce and chili powder for the ancho pepper in the spice mix to make it less of a shock.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee the onion and garlic in the oil with a pinch of salt for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Add spices and toss them for 30 seconds or so to toast.

Lower heat to medium, add lentils, a few splashes of water, tomato paste and hot sauce; use a spatula to mash them a bit as they cook, until they hold together. If your spatula isn’t strong enough to accomplish this, just use a fork. Do this for about 5 minutes, adding splashes of water as necessary if it appears dry. Depending on the type of lentil you land, it will take more or less time to cook.  Taste for salt and seasoning; you may want to add more spices or hot sauce. And that’s it, time to serve!

Lentil Tacos Take Two

Adapted from the recipe above based on what I had in my kitchen

  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon canola oil
  • 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2-1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 12 taco shells
  • shredded lettuce, chopped fresh tomato, vegan cheese, avocado, limes

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly. Stir in salsa.  Stuff in your shell of choice and serve with toppings as you have them available.

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Posted in Dinner, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Quick Cooking, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Last of Summer Squash, Summer Tacos

Posted on September 22, 2010 | 1 comment

Today, it reached 86 degrees in west Michigan.  Did I mention it’s SEPTEMBER!  So what better way to celebrate summer’s last hurrah?  Summer Squash Tacos.  This is a colorful way to get your family/friends to eat their veggies AND use up that plethora of summer squash you have sitting in the crisper waiting for a slow veg death.  Throw in some homemade corn tortillas (thanks for the idea Chef Mike and Andrea) and you have a substantial tasting low-fat and low-cal dish.  Easy on the add on’s and you can keep it healthy and light.  Make the tortillas, the taste of fresh corn tortillas will change your life.  I swear.

Corn Tortillas

  • 2 C Masa Harina
  • 1 1/2 C Hot water
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

Yeah, that’s it.  Three ingredients.  Combine the Masa Harina and salt with the hot water until it takes form, cover, toss in fridge for an hour.  After you let it set, form 2 inch balls with the corn dough, press with tortilla press or old school like I do, between 2 sheets of wax paper with a rolling pin, then toss on a dry fry pan 1 min first side, a few seconds on the second side and keep in a warm oven covered until you are done frying all of the tortillas.

Summer Tacos

  • 1 tsp oil
  • 2 C frozen or fresh corn kernels
  • 1 C chopped sweet onion
  • 1/4 C red pepper, diced
  • 1/4 C poblano pepper, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 3 small summer zucchini, diced
  • 1 C black beans (I used fresh made, frozen from a previous post)
  • 1 tsp epazote or oregano
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • salsa, light sour cream, reduced fat cheese, hot sauce, lime, pickled jalapenos

Heat the oil in a wok or large fry pan.  Toast corn if fresh, if using frozen corn, in pan with oil combine, onion, peppers, garlic and fry until tender crisp, add zucchini, beans, pepper, epazote, tomatoes and frozen corn cook until warm. To serve, top corn tortillas with veg mix and salsa, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce and jalapenos.

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