Let me get one thing out of the way: I do cook. Like, really cook. Not “cook,” but cook. With recipes, fresh ingredients, prepping, chopping, etc. I usually cook at least twice a week. This month, though, has been crazy. You’ve probably gotten the impression so far that I’m an oft-traveling little freebird—not so. I’ve traveled more this year than any other, and more in the month of August than I usually do in a full year. See, Nine Inch Nails are on tour. I had to go to Lollapalooza in Chicago, because when else could I ever see NIN and Rage Against the Machine on one ticket?! And the week-long road trip last week was too good to pass up. November may be similar – three more NIN shows are all possible, plus Nick and I are going on a cruise the first week of the month – but right now, I’m settling back into the groove of being at home for multiple weeks at a time, which is especially important since I have only nine weeks left to train for my first marathon in October.
I explain all that because when I show you what I “cooked” last night, you may laugh at me.
I just needed a quick dinner for me and Nick. Awhile back he and I ate at an all vegetarian/vegan restaurant in town called Eden Alley. He had tacos, with “meat” made of tempeh and TVP, and he really liked them. So I’ve been telling him for weeks I was going to make him something similar at home. Thus:
See, I’ve got no beef with fake meat (har har). I would personally take a slab of tofu or tempeh over a fake meat product any day, but sometimes they really are just the best fit for a dish, especially veganized omni dishes. It’s an easy and convenient 1-to-1 substitute for meat. And it gets my boyfriend to eat vegan with me!
I’ve had great luck with LightLife products, so I fully expected this taco “meat” to be delicious, and it was. It was moist, it crumbled all on its own, and it tasted great.
Nick eats like a horse (a very sexy horse, mind you), so I knew I’d need to stretch the meal out a little further. I donated most of the meat to my anti-bean boyfriend, and for myself, made a 50/50 mix of “meat” and black beans. I am a bean FREAK.
A few spoonfuls of a delicious locally made salsa completed this quick supper.
But hey, at least I home-baked the fresh corn tortillas!
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Before I stopped eating soy, Litelife was my favorite! I always used it for vegan shepard's pie, taco salad, and sloppy joe's. Alas, tempeh is hard to come by on my side of Portland, so I've had to give up some of my favorites. Though I did start making my own refried black beans in the crock pot that suffices for taco salad.
ReplyDeleteFYI: if you guys ever get married and plan to have children many studies are pointing about soy as a major culprit in lowered sperm levels. Read: infertility!