Vegan MoFo Day 8 & 9

Day 8

Coconut "Bacon"- recipe from VeganBrew.  I first tasted coconut "bacon" at Cafe Gratitude in Santa Cruz in their I AM EXTRAORDINARY  which is a vegan version of a BLT sandwich with avocado.   So I wanted to make some myself.  The recipe from VeganBrew is super easy to make and I only had to buy the flaked coconut from Whole Food.  I had the other ingredients on hand.  I made these for kicks and i will be adding them to my salad, and sandwiches throughout the week. 

If you'd like to try the sandwich from Cafe Gratitude they have a few locations in California including two in Los Angeles. 

soy sauce, coconut flakes, smoke seasoning, maple syrup, and black pepper

All mixed up an marinating for 15 minutes

Cooked up and crispy

Potato, Green chard,  & Mushroom Enchiladas

I also made some enchiladas. I learned how to make these from my mum a long time ago but have since modified it to make them faster and healthier.  I no longer fry the tortilla or sauce or individually dip the tortillas in the sauce.  And of course I used vegan cheese and vegan bouillon.

For Sauce
3-4 Chile California (washed)*
1-2 Chile Ancho (washed)*
2-3 Chile del Arbol (washed)*
1 cube of vegan bouillon
2 cups warm water
1/4 of an onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon Mexican Oregano
salt to taste

*Soften dried chilies by boiling them in a some water for 5 minutes.  Discard this water.

Add softened chillies and remaining ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed.  Sieve this sauce to remove seed.

You can also add a few different ingredients to change up the flavor and add more complexity to the palate of this sauce if you have the time.  For instance you can added toasted sesame seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds,  roasted garlic or even increase the number of chiles del Arbol you use (these are the spiciest of all the chilies listed).

Filling: I filled these with fingerling potatoes, mushrooms and green chard all sautéed in a little bit of grape seed oil.  I chose fingerling potatoes because they are already tiny and chopping is minimal.

Fill your tortillas, top with sauce and cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes to melt cheese and warm through.

tortillas being filled

drenched in sauce

cheese and my special sauce :)

fresh out of the oven

 

I also made some pinto beans which I smashed without oil so technically they are not refried and some guacamole.  

Lunch at Cherry Bean, Old Town Salinas

I wanted some coffee and I also wanted to try out this burrito made by Sweet Earth made locally in Pacific Grove so I actually went out for lunch.  Filled with scrambled tofu and seitan this burrito is awesome.  It also won best of show by VegNews at the Natural Food Expo 2012. 

burrito and iced soy cappuccino 

 Deep Fried Avocado Tacos for Taco Tuesday

Batter for avocado
Beer (I used Lagunitas Day Time  a fractional IPA)
Flour
Panko Bread Crumbs seasoned with dried garlic and salt.
Enough oil for frying in a small deep pan.


I used about 4 tablespoons of flour and enough beer to make a batter that was not too runny.  If it's like pancake batter add more flour.  Dip avocado slices in batter and roll in bread crumbs.  Fry in oil.  These will fry up very fast so be prepared with a plate lined with napkins to soak up any excess oil.

I topped these tacos with shredded cabbage, diced onion & tomato and a chipotle mayo sauce.  

The best thing aside from getting to eat these tacos twenty minutes after I walked into the house was that I got to drink the left over beer! Yay for me!