Scones, Greens, and Falafel!

Apricot Oatbran Scones

This post is mostly just food porn – enjoy! These lovely scones are a tester recipe for Ripe From Around Here. I can’t even tell you how much I liked these – I hope the picture does them justice! I also tested this shiitake and dandelion greens saute, even though I am not a huge bitter greens fan this was tasty:

Shiitake and Dandelion Greens Saute

As a treat for eating my greens, I made a baked potato with Tofutti sour cream and chives!

Baked Potato

As it starts to get warmer here in So. Cal I’ve been craving falafel and tabouleh because this is one of my favorite summertime meals. I’m always on the quest to find a great falafel recipe and this time I tried the one in Vegan With A Vengeance – tasty indeed!

Falafel!

The tabouleh has parsley, mint, millet, red spring onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of salt & pepper. It tastes even better a day later!

Tabouleh

Oh and the hummus recipe is also from VWAV – I made it super garlicy and threw in some green spring onions too and it turned out spicy – delicious!

Til next time…

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Baja Style Tofu Tacos!

So I’m not sure of it’s a Cali thing but on a hot, sunny day all I want is some cervezas and Baja Style Fish Tacos! I have been missing these immensely so I decided to take matters into my own hands! First, get your hands on some good mexican beer – I prefer Pacifico Clara – light, crisp, and delicious. Side note: if you wanna know if your alcohol is vegan check out Barnivore.  Take a pound of extra firm tofu (I use Wildwood brand)  and press it for about half an hour, pat it dry and cut roughly into “fish stick” sized pieces. Marinate it in 1 1/2 cups of beer for about another half an hour. In the meantime, mix together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of cornmeal, 1 tsp. of cumin and oregano, 1/2 tsp. of onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne or some other type of chili powder, or cheat and use your favorite cajun style spice mix, and salt & pepper to taste. Once your tofu has sat in the beer for awhile go ahead and pour that beer into the dry mixture. Mix well until it has a thick pancake like consistency. You might need to add a little more beer to get the right consistency (if you still have any left at this point). Coat your tofu pieces in the batter and in a cast iron skillet or deep frying pan add enough of your favorite oil ( I use canola) to completely submerge the tofu pieces and fry them until golden brown. They should look like this:

Beer Battered Tofu

I used shredded cabbage and carrots, avocado, and I made some “cheater” sauces. I took a cup of Tofutti Sour Cream   and added about a cup of chopped cilantro and 1 tbs. of lime juice. Then I took another cup of the sour cream and added 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (seeded and finely minced) and a bit of the sauce until it was just the right amount of spicy. Assemble your tacos on corn tortillas, add some limes and your favorite hot sauce and you’re set!

Baja Style Tacos

If I may say so myself, these tacos turned out fantasic! Just like the fish tacos I remember but cruelty-free!

Beer Battered Tofu Tacos

So get your cervezas ready amigos and have yourself a feast!