courico tacos

This recipe came straight out of Vegan Brunch. I know I'm not the first to cook and blog about this dish, but seeing all the rave reviews, I put it on my menu.

Let me tell you, the raves aren't exaggerated - this is highly delicious. I defy any meat-eater to by-pass this fare. It is spicy and smoky thanks to the chipotle peppers, sweet owing to the tomatoes, pungent because of the hint of vinegar and the soy curls are a great choice in this. In fact, I am sold - it is soy curls from now on. The difference between Soy Curls and TVP is that TVP is defatted soy beans and Soy Curls uses the entire bean. I like that idea much better. I am totally into whole foods, and this is in line with that philosophy.

Cost Breakdown:

soy curls: $2

tomato: $2

onion, garlic, chipotle: $1

pineapple salsa: $2

shells: $2

Total to make 8 tacos:

$9.00

pizza night

We had Pizza Night here!

The kids have been asking and since there was en easy pizza crust recipe (besides the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza) in American Vegan Kitchen, my fate was sealed. I rolled the crust thin, baked the pizzas in a super hot oven in a cast iron pan (I don't have a pizza stone), and topped the kids' pizzas with Yves 'pepperoni' and David's and mine with grilled vegetables.  The adult version also has a reduced balsamic vinegar drizzle, adding sweetness and extra flavor. Making it is very easy, just reduce a half cup of balsamic vinegar to half its original volume on medium-high heat. This will eliminate the acidic quality of the vinegar and concentrate its sweetness. BTW, to get the 'pepperoni' to be crisp, pan-fry them in a little olive oil before adding to the pizza.

Cost Breakdown:

crust: $2

Yves: $3

Daiya and Follow Your Heart: $7

vegetables: $3

vinegar: $.50

Total to make 5, 9-inch pizzas:

$15.50

Stuffed-Crust with Yves Pepperoni

Grilled Vegetable with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction