[Vegan MOFO] WWGFD Wednesday - Basic Breakfast Diner Style

Diners, Drive - Ins and Dives is one of my favorite shows. I really like when they show an interesting take on a classic. I like the idea of diner food for breakfast. Growing up on special occasions my family would go have breakfast at the restaurant inside the bowling alley! I remember my mom would order us cups of hot chocolate and we would drink them up right away instead of waiting.

Weekend breakfast time was a a weekly thing in our house. My mom would make pancakes or pop open a can of biscuits and serve them with gravy (or pb&j) or my dad would make waffles with the waffle iron. When I would go to my aunt's house she would make fried potatoes, lots of margarine and salt. When I fist moved out making fried potatoes was my go to meal, cheap, comforting and easy to make. These fried potatoes are what diner dreams are made of.

After taking Mar to the vet I came home and needed a plate of comfort food for dinner. I cooked us up fried potatoes with red bell peppers, scrambled tofu and sour dough toast. I served it curried ketchup bought at the store and the meal made my belly happy.
While the picture looks bland - fear not it is good. I used a nice amount of Earth Balance coconut oil spread and Himalayan pink sea salt on the potatoes in my non-stick pan with red bell pepper slices. I like my potatoes crunchy, I actually pick off any burnt pieces stuck on the pan and eat them!  The scramble is just the basic tofu scramble...Comforting - what diner food is supposed to be!

Beer Battered Tofu Tacos & Moco Loco

I was inspired by a Dean boy to beer batter something...Well, I modified the recipe, no fish (duh), extra seasoning and I made the meal a taco meal! Beer battered tacos with Sriracha slaw (Matt is warming up to the slaw!)...

 

I wish the beer batter stuck a bit more, but it was really tasty, fluffy and puffy batter! So puffy that some of my tofu looked like Twinkies at one point! Served with red rice and fresh off the tree lemons! 

  

By now you know I watch a lot of cooking shows. I always get inspired by non-vegan food to recreate it and make it vegan and easy. Moco Loco was one such dish that screamed to be made vegan. 

I made these black bean burgers with a slight spice modification, served it over organic basmati with a packet of vegan golden gravy mix...If I had planned a week or so in advanced I would have maybe bought and added a Vegg Egg on top to make it a true Hawaiian classic...Matt called  this meal interesting, I thought it was good and was way easy to put together after the gym!

[Vegan MOFO Day 5] Fast Food Friday: Jack In The Box Tacos

2 tacos for 99 cents? It seems like a dream come true for some. Actually I think some people were dreaming when they said Jack In The Box Tacos were vegan (Google search it). We know fast food is cheap and uses soy to replace some of the meat, actually JITB came under fire for it, but JITB tacos are not vegan....UNTIL NOW!!!!

Behold Jack In The Box 2 for 99 cent tacos - veganized! The are easy to make, cheap and in Matt opinion taste like the real deal. I vaguely remember the tacos - maybe even think I remember them.

[What You Need]
-one can of vegan refried beans (I used Amy's refried black beans)
-one package of corn tortillas
-shredded lettuce
-shredded vegan cheddar cheeze 
-hot sauce
-sea salt
-vegetable oil for frying

Heat up about a 1/2 inch of oil in the frying pan on medium  high heat. Get a tortilla, spread on a layer of beans (keeping it centralized - so it does not seep out of the edges). Add a tiny pinch of salt over the beans and gently fold in half. Do this till you have the number of tacos you want. Fry each taco for about 1-2 minutes per side, till they are crispy. Once removed from oil, place on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a bit more salt. Add a bit of lettuce and cheeze to each taco. Serve with hot sauce and if you are inclined some french fries like I did above!

My mom turned me onto this recipe! Matt was like "you can't make those tacos at home - no way" after his plate of tacos and fries he was very happy and content! My mom and I debated using a ground soy product with the beans - but honestly you do not need it! If you are using black beans - the dark look and bold flavor will be there. My mom said the salt is necessary and Matt said the taco sauce is a must...I think it all works out together!