Taqueria La Venganza - Taco Trio Time

I have stated in the past that Matt and I both grew up eating taco truck and taqueria tacos-food. Living in Northern California - especially the valley taco trucks are a staple. So when we think of Mexican food the idea usually comes back to simple tacos made with fresh ingredients served with limes. Do not get me wrong - I can chow down on some fancy or tricked out Mexican food but I am pretty harsh. Matt is too!

Matt ordered tacos, I was in a bad mood and was like 'I am not going to eat'. Matt went on and on about how good the tacos were and after leaving we went back and he bought me a plate. I took a photo too but mine was not as pretty as Matt's. Matt even picked up a bonus taco.

So this little stand is on the Harrison usually on either corner of 15th street. Everything is vegan. The menus and locations change so follow them via Facebook.  An hour in and food started selling out. So we went with tacos: carne asada, el pastor and carnitas. 3 tacos for $9 - decent price (especially by bay area vegan standards). Matt picked the asada as his fave, mine the carnitas. All the tacos were really good though. The grill taste was perfect and they were not greedy with the limes. It was legit taco truck food. We already want to go back. We hope this place grows, maybe get a truck or a small location and next time we want a torta!


*Tip: we realized afterwards there was a liqueur store across the street. We could have popped in for a Tecate or Mexican Coke - again next time.

Quicky Night Meal - Inspired By Taco Bell

Sometimes you want Taco Bell but you know you want just a bit more oomph to your meal. That is why I started making these Double Decker tacos at home. I think the DD taco lead to the Crunchwrap. Anyway you have a flour tortilla ontop of a crunchy corn tortilla. I  never had one so I am not sure how they were made.
My version uses refried vegan beans as glue to hold the tortillas together. The inside is stuffed with veggie crumbles, lettuce, Daiya shreds and hot sauce. These were so good that I made them two nights in a row. I think I might just make them again tonight!

Update On Jack N The Box Tacos Recipe

Remember a few years ago when I posted about Jack N The Box tacos during MOFO? Since that post vegan sliced cheeze has come out and I make the tacos using sliced over shreds. So here is a bit of an update.

I have tried a few vegan sliced cheeses and really like Go Veggie Brand vegan slices inCheddar or American. They both melt really good and have that classic school lunch taste. Everything about the tacos other than the cheeze have remained the same. I do not make them as often as I should because standing over a frying pan is a bit tedious but when I need salt or I want to show Matt some love I bust out a phat plate of these babies!

Fun With Food, Zines and Cats

Fried open faced tacos inspired by a recipe in the April 2015 Food Network Magazine (The Big Breakfast Issue). Tortillas are fried in Earth Balance, sprinkled with cumin, topped with refried beans and Daiya then covered to melt. Top it off with salsa, soy sour cream and hot sauce. Everything has to be served with Matt's Mamas red rice and lemons from the neighbor as you know!

Post gym stir fry with mixed veggies, extra firm tofu in a red curry paste + soy sauce mix I made up on the spot. Simple stir fry dishes are perfect on gym nights to help with a hungry stomach and a flash to prep. I also find them helpful to use up pantry items sitting around.

A soy iced coffee and Banana Curl Vegan Girl zine. The zine is a must have for those looking for easy and accessible vegan recipes (the best kind!) and a handy FAQ suitable for helping the new vegans & vegan curious out with ingredient replacements. You can also check out Banana Curl on her blog.

A few weeks back we walked into Pet's Mart on adoption day to make a Mar's Memorial Birthday donation. We came across a beast of a fluffy cat and decided to bring him home. We named him Mortis and so far Mady and him are doing well together. So if my zines and blogging have been lagging blame fluffy cats and naps - they go together!

[Vegan Mofo] 5 Ingredient Meals - Tacos!!!!

This week I bring you 5 recipes using 5 ingredients from the food section of Target!  My initial plan was to group food items together by recipe and get pictures but after people started looking at me funny in the store I just gave up and snapped photos in the wild. I may just try to do the grouping later on this week instead of a Friday night!

Processed food police you may just want to lock me up now. These meals for the most part are healthy, fast and super tasty. That being said most items are bagged and boxed. Don't shoot me, don't judge me, just eat and be happy!

We have been on a Taco kick lately, Tacos like 3 times a week or more! So here is a simple taco recipe that takes about 15 minutes to get done and plate!

5 ingredient stars: 1/2 bag of Beyond Beef Crumbles, 4-5 (depending on size) Mission tortillas, 1 can of Amy's refried beans, big pinch of chili powder, 1/2 cup of salsa (Herdez or Mi Casa are both good).


Use a bit of oil (oil is a 'not counted' ingredient) heated on medium in a frying pan. Add crumbles and chili powder, Cook for a few minutes. Warm up your black beans. Add salsa to crumbles, stir and place tortillas on top of the mixture to warm up/soften. Remove tortillias, spread a layer of beans on each tortliia and then spoon in crumble-salsa mixture and eat! Simple and fast.

Chipotle Sofritas & Tofu Tacos

After doing a walk through of the local Earth Day celebration as we chatted up some people/friends and I held a snake we headed out to Chipotle to try the new sofritas tofu concoction on the menu. I used to love me some Chipotle but I always felt shy (and I am not a shy person!) about asking them to wipe down the line and change their gloves due to contamination issues. I put my anxiety behind me and we ordered some food!

I got a salad bowl (minus the dressing of course! it is not vegan FYI) and had the corn salsa and fresh tomato salsa all up in the mix!

Matt got a burrito bowl with a flour tortilla on the side! He asked for extra tomato salsa and brown rice.

Verdict: it is good! The taste of the sofritas is something like a cross between a tofu scramble and soyrizo. Nice kick and texture. I hope this option stays around. A few years ago Chipotle tried out another vegan meat sub and it was very limited in release and did not stay long. I did not get to try it, but even if I could - it was Gardein so chances are I was allergic.
I know some people are complaining about not getting guacamole for free now on the veg burrito, this whole argument is dumb and kinda makes me mad. People stop being cheap, or simply do not eat out at places if you only can complain. If you are getting the tofu you are getting the good stuff, not some unknown GMO block  but Hodo tofu from Oakland. I heard on the news that the development for the sofritas took awhile to perfect and I hope it does stay around - another option.

 

Inspired by Chipotle I made  crumbled tofu tacos on Monday night for dinner. One block of the high protein extra firm stuff, crumbled and sauteed with a diced red bell pepper and one packet of taco seasoning prepared as directed from the package. I added salsa from the neighbor's garden, hand smashed guacamole and a side of rice! Not the same but a nice meal that was easy to make and not to pricey!

Power Greens & Tempeh Tacos

Power Greens & Tempeh Mix

1 package of tempeh

1 bag of Power To The Greens Trader Joe's salad blend (kale, spinach, chard)

1 package of taco seasoning mix

a squeeze of lime juice

1/4 cup water

oil

Crumble the tempeh into bite side chunks. Brown the tempeh in a bit of oil for a few minutes in a frying pan, add greens (I got most of the bag in my frying pan), sprinkle on taco seasoning, add water and stir. Don't worry if the seasoning packet asks for more water - the greens will let off water so no worries. Turn the heat to a low-medium, cover pan and cook for 10 minutes. Remove lid, the greens should be cooked down now, add a squeeze of lime juice, stir. Serve with salsa (we used green) and in your fave tortilla or taco shell. Easy and fast, healthy & cheap!

Eats Of The Week

Almond milk cappuccino from Timeless Roasters in Oakland.

 

Salad for lunch at Golden Lotus - random lunch since it was not our first option in Oakland. 

 

Dosa at Udupi  in Berkeley for dinner, I loved the coconut chutney but the service needed improvement.

Avo-Toast (Crazy Sexy Kitchen  - gift from a friend) with red pepper flakes on Judy's Breadstick bread - omg so good!

Taco night Tuesday, tempeh tacos from the I love Cooking With Trader  Joe's Vegetarian cookbook (my fave cookbook lately!). I topped them with avocado and Daiya shreds. Served with red rice and chili and lime spiked jicama.

What have you been eating?

Comfort Food Easy Style

Hey guys, I have been awfully sick since Monday night. I woke up with a sore throat and it just got worse from there. This week besides feeling all ouchy I made a bunch of comfort food. Recipes need tweaking when I can actually taste again but feel free to use your imagination for inspiration!

 

You're A Jerk Tacos: Tofu dry rubbed with a hand blended jerk seasoning, baked, topped with: spicy sauteed kale, carrot and sweet potatoes a thick queso like adaption of Isa's Red Hot Tahini. I served it with lime rice on the side!

Mac & Cheeze Veggie Dog Casserole: I made a tangy cheeze sauce with Daiya, mustard, nutritional yeast and spices added the macaroni and a few cut up veggie dogs to the mix. This went into a parchement lined baking pan, topped with hot sauce and bread crumbs, baked and served with butter'milk'  drop biscuits and sassy spiced kale and carrot saute!

Zaterian's Jambalaya: A box meal doctored up with tomato sauce, hot sauce, frozen corn and veggie kielbasa. Easy and comforting...



Back to bed! Seriously....Sleep is my friend lately!

Citrus Stir Fry & White People Tacos

I was hungry for a stir fry the other night and since Matt was not feeling well (due to dehydration) I thought a veggie packed stir fry was in order.

I used Gardein mandarin crispy chick'n (one of the few products in the line I am not allergic to) and a bag of frozen stir fry veggies. The Gardein was $3.99 at Target, which it is usually cheaper, but still beats out the grocery store by about $2. The stir fry veggies were less than $2 a bag. I like buying frozen, because I get a nice mix and the price is cheaper than buying a bunch of produce that the store may not even have. Since the sauce packet the chick'n comes with is not substantial enough I whipped up some more sauce with Braggs, rice vinegar, Sriracha and a fresh squeezed orange. I plated it on organic rice with some toasted sesame seeds (I kinda went crazy with them!) and a easy meal was born. About $7 for two beats take out prices any day!

White People Tacos - what the heck!? So last night after the gym I decided to make tacos. I had chickpeas at home, taco shells, guacamole and salsa...I had to stop by the store to pick up some produce and ran into a bunch of pretty organic kale while buying some lemons (I need to ask my neighbor for more - but she has been so generous I feel bad/greedy). I picked up some lacinato kale and headed home.

I sauteed kale, 1 can of drained and rinsed chickpeas with a bit of olive oil. I squeezed the juice of one super juicy lemon on top, added a big pinch of Mexican spice blend, a pinch of onion powder and a squirt of Sriracha. After tossing,  I let it cook down for about 10 minutes. I stuffed each crispy taco shell with the kale-chickpea mix, guacamole and salsa. Served along with red rice it was totally good.
What makes it White People Tacos? Well, when I asked Matt what he thought he said "they were good, something white people would really like". Matt was not trying to be insulting, he really liked them (I did too!). It was just a departure from my 'trying to be a taco truck' style of cooking! This is a gluten free taco - for those that usually see my tacos loaded with seitan and wheat tortillas.  Everything was cheap/on sale and another good meal for two under or around $10.

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!

BBQ Tempeh Tacos With Sriracha Slaw

 

We like tacos, we like BBQ and I was craving the texture of tempeh (am I the only one who finds comfort in the texture of food?) so the BBQ tempeh taco with Sriracha slaw was born! Served with red rice and lemon and you are good to go. 

I just pan fried the tempeh (cut into long fingers) in olive oil till browned. Added some BBQ sauce to coat, turned the heat down low, covered the pan and steamed the slices in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. The slaw is pretty basic: broccoli slaw mix, a dollop of  Vegenaise, a hefty squirt of Sriracha and a drizzle of lemon juice. Everything was served up in warm corn tortillas.

Taco Time: Soyrizo & Potatoes

I finally got Matt to try Soyrizo! He did not want to (he did not like chorizo growing up), then I made him tacos with it last week, he liked it a lot so they appeared in this weeks menu as well! Simple and cheap, I place a few chopped potatoes in a pan with olive oil, cover and heat on medium-low for 15 minutes till the potatoes are about fork tender. I then add the Soyrizo, stir them and give them another 10 minutes to cook.

I first had chorizo in 7th grade in home economics. It was not a staple in my house or something I saw a lot of so I did not really have lots of experience with it. I do love Soyrizo though, in scrambled tofu, in chili or with fried potatoes! It is tasty! A lot of meat-eaters grab Soyrizo over chorizo, because the health factor and no one wants to eat really crappy-scary processed parts!

When I worked at the mall years ago a taco stand would make me a potato and salsa burrito in the morning. It is something I still love to eat. I grew up with fried potatoes and I cannot eat a baked potato without hot sauce so they just go well together! I am hungry now!!!

[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! 

Black Keys & Sacramento

Last Saturday we got to see the Black Keys play with the Arctic Monkeys in Sacramento at the Power House Pavilion. I bought the tickets like 6 months ago to celebrate Matt's birthday this week (he saw them like 7 years ago!). It was a huge concert and the show they put on was really great!

We got up to Sacramento late. We had a late lunch at Pita Kitchen Plus - my new favorite place! Really good sandwiches and vegan baklava! The mint lemonade is so yummy - I described it as a mouth orgasm! We did a bit of shopping at Whole Foods, hit up Never Felt Better and while we were waiting for food for a light dinner ( I had two $2 tacos - pictured above and a bite of Matt's Reuben)  to be prepped at Sugar Plum Vegan* I bought a zine and some local music at Phono Select.

A really fun day in Sacramento and I can't wait to go back and have more baklava! 

*New owners, same problems. Food running out and service that is slow and not really organized.

Taco Time

Easy Tacos
1 package of Smart Ground - Mexican Style
1 can of pinto beans drained
1 package of Simply Organic South West Taco Seasoning (prepared)
2 tablespoons of diced green chilies drained
1 cup of grated vegan cheddar cheeze
1 package of corn tortilla shell via Trader Joe's
a bit of canola oil for frying
fresh salsa
hot sauce

Fry SG crumbles in a heated oil skillet for a few minutes, add beans and mix, then pour prepared taco seasoning, over ingredients, mix and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add chilies, stir and cook a few more minutes as you heat the taco shells in the oven. Top each taco with salsa, cheeze and hot sauce. Get crazy - add your own touches. This will make enough tacos to share with some friends! Tacos + beer = a time for hand time with the homies!