Things To Stuff In A Tortilla (and some other random things)

Check out the new blog layout! I was doing some other "administrative" tasks and decided I wanted to make a little change. I hope it is still easy to read and navigate - comments are welcome.

I also re-did the recipe index. It was quite hard to navigate and required lots of scrolling. Some funky things also happened with the HTML and it would have been a pain in the ass to try to fix manually, so I just started fresh and created a new index. I hope this one is easier to manage.

And finally, I also updated the J's Recommended Reads post, it was out-of-date and also needed a bit of editing.

Needless to say, lots of work has been going on behind the scenes here at Veg*n Cooking.

It has been quite a week or so too with the arrival of Butters. Things are slowly moving along, but the "peace" between the cats is tentative. And Butters is a kitten - all he wants to do is play and whenever the other cats come to try to sniff him, he bats at them and changes the whole mood entirely. He is kind of a punk though - he has a tendency to bite, which we are hoping we can discourage him from doing (it hurts, the little shit!) and he bothers the other kitties when they try to go to the bathroom and that is frustrating too. But he's also really sweet. He likes t have his belly and chin rubbed, he lets you hold him and get in his face, and he is really soft.

Admittedly, he has been far more interested in Gabby and Nermal than Brett or I and I am just having to deal with that at the moment and try not to smother him in love like I want to. :-)

When Butters was found, he was starving in a dumpster - on his vet forms they called him "Orange Dumpster Kitty" at first. When I read that on the papers the first day we had him, it made me tear up a little bit - it is pretty sad, BUT he was lucky. In the little over a week he has been here, he has put on weight, his coat looks shiner and thicker, his coloring is brighter, and he is active and playing. Hopefully things stay on the up and up and the little guy is okay. He was found during an unreasonably cold time here in Missouri - it is hard to believe her survived. But he made friends at the vets office, they sent him with food, bowls, a bed, toys, medicine, all sorts of stuff. It is amazing what a cute kitten can do to a person. :-) He is gaining weight incredibly quickly. I had taken to calling him "Butter Bean", but I might have to start calling him "Butter Ball". :-)

Check out some recent pictures.


I love the tongue!


Brett did buy this giant stuffed elephant (we call him Packie) for me, but both Nermal and Butters have claimed him and I don't have the heart to take him from them. I mean, see?


So cute when he isn't biting you...


Gabby doesn't realize that Butters is sleeping with her. :-)



Though this picture is blurry, it is my favorite we have of Gabby - it captures her essence - curious and super sweet.

Alright, enough with the kitties and onto the food!

What follows are three simple meals - 30 minutes or less, that are tasty when stuffed into a tortilla or taco shell. We really like our tortillas and taco shells...


Option #1
2 tbsp safflower oil
2 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 red New Mexican chiles, chopped
1/4 cup sweet corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup black beans
salt

Heat oil in a large skilled and add the potatoes and cover, stirring often, for about ten minutes or until they begin to soften a little bit.

Add the onion, chiles, and corn. Cook for an additional ten minutes.

Add the garlic and beans and cook for an additional five to ten minutes.

Stuff ingredients in a warmed tortilla and serve with super hot salsa!

If you eat cheese, Manchego is a good addition to this option.


Option #2
2 tbsp safflower oil
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup sweet corn
1/2 cup black beans
chipotle chile powder
New Mexican oregano
cumin
salt

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the sweet potato and cook for about ten to fifteen minutes until the begin to caramelize and soften.

Add the corn and black beans and season to taste. Cook until heated through.

Again, you just need to stuff your ingredients into a warmed tortilla and serve.

If you eat cheese, Cotija is a good pairing with this option.


Option #3 (Vegetarian)
2 tbsp safflower oil
2 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
5-6 baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt
2 eggs, scrambled

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the potatoes, mushrooms, and onions and cook for about fifteen minutes or until potatoes begin to brown and soften. Stir often.

Add the garlic and season with salt to taste. Cook for an additional five to ten minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Layer potato mixture in a warmed tortilla and top with some scrambled egg. Enjoy!

If you eat cheese/dairy - shredded Mexican cheese blend and/or sour cream are a nice addition to this option.

And now for something completely different...


Doesn't that just look so darn appetizing? Well, it might not look good, but it sure tastes good.

J's Pink Egg Salad
1 egg, hardboiled and chopped
2 tbsp yellow onion, chopped
1/2 small carrot, peeled and microplaned (hence the pink color)
2 tbsp hot pepper relish (instead of the cucumber kind, I like spicy, that's just how I roll)
2-3 tbsp mayo or Veganaise
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
a few dashes of cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and adjust ingredients to your liking.

I serve this on toasted Jewish rye bread with lots of baby spinach.

And finally, here are a couple of other things I've made as of late...


Banana cake! I had some bananas on the counter I've been using for smoothies get a little too ripe on me, so what to do? Make banana bread! Brett and I prefer it to be more "cakelike" than "breadlike", so I just used my Banana Bread recipe but put it in an 8x8 pan and cooked it for an hour instead of an hour and fifteen minutes or more.

I also used all whole wheat pastry flour instead of just part.


When Brett was at the store the other day, they were out of his beloved cookies. I have been in a bit of a baking mood so I decided I would make him some. I just used my Super Yummy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and subbed in a mixture of M&M's and Reese's Pieces for the chocolate chips. He hasn't missed his store bought cookies after all...

AND - I was able to get at least something semi-wholesome into his cookies but using whole wheat pastry flour. :-)

'Til next time.