Thursday, July 06, 2006

Tacos with a Twist!


or.... Ta-quin-os
perhaps???

I had some leftover quinoa, and leftover chili from this new recipe, and so I decided to pair them up in tacos. I also topped them with guacamole, grated jicama, and cilantro. We had a salad on the side, and what a delicious meal that was easy, easy, easy!!! Hmmm, will have to make that "ta-quin-os" a quick recipe or note in the new book!

Oh, for the kids, well the older girl loves tacos too, but without the chili (too spicy for her). She ate hers with heaping amounts of guacamole. I mix the quinoa in her guacamole so it doesn't scatter everywhere! She also had some seasoned mashed beans and grated vegan rella (she loves the stuff, I know, many of you may not!)

The baby had a little of the mashed avocado/quinoa, and also loves the grated veganrella. She likes beans pureed, but not whole or mashed, so I usually have hummus or some other bean dip on hand for her. Plus, she loves her bread, so instead of tacos I cut up some kamut bread and drizzled it with the Balsamic-Flax Oil combo that is in Vive le Vegan!. I've mentioned before that we have this at our table every meal. Not as a salad dressing, but to drizzle on our foods. Easy, tasty way to get the omega-3's in the diet!!

14 comments:

urban vegan said...

very inspiring, creative use of leftovers. the balsamic-flax oil is a great idea.

Eat Peace Please said...

Dreena, this looks amazing and I love the name "tacquino's". You should go with that for the book! These look fabulous and I can only imagine how easy (and ovenless) these are! Loaded with guac sounds great.

Harmonia said...

Sweet! I should have done this last night. Did "taco" salad instead...still good tho.

:)

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Tacquinos with chili - I'm in.

Eat Peace Please said...

Ok, I know why I like these and I have come back 3 times to look already! It's because there's no fake meat in these tacos (or real, by that matter) and they are so appealing with the quinoa grain and the bean chili veggie mix. I love this!

Dreena said...

Thanks Savanna, but you know I'm impressed with myself when I can transform leftovers too sometimes!! Other times I just stare at them in the fridge and think "ummmmm??" Seriously!

Thanks urban vegan... with the oil, in my Vive cookbook, I do the combo with a garlic clove, letting the garlic infuse the vinegar first. But lately I have simply combined the two. The flax oil I have been buying recently (Spectrum brand) is so clean tasting - no bitter aftertaste - that I don't find I need the garlic in it like I used to do, to help with the flavor.

Leslie, I was eating them and that name just popped in my head, and I thought that I should do something with it in the book. Good to know you and others like the name and concept too. Thanks!

Harmonia, taco salad sound fabu to me!!! Haven't had one in ages!

Jess, imagine the potluck we could have, hey??!

Leslie, you're a gem! So funny, I was scrolling down through the comments and see you again, like you just stopped me to say "oh, by the way"... so cool! As I've said a few times, I don't use a lot of fake meats. Sometimes ground round in chilis (not often though), and other than tofu and a tempeh burger that I buy (and veggie burgers), we don't eat the fake meats that much. Mostly because I have been disappointed by some of them, and also hubby doesn't like many of them at all. I might experiment a little more with seitan, because that's more 'real' to me... but even with something like this, I so enjoyed the hearty beans, and then the light quinoa - it was really good. I have a feeling you will be doing this soon...? I hope so, I'd love to see your take on tacos and what you put in them!!

Julie said...

oooh yum!

I was just thinking about how I need to make those tacos in TEV!

t. said...

Neat! And I think with those beans tastes overly delicious!

Dreena said...

Julie, you mention those tacos, and I have almost forgotten about them! It's been so long since I've made that recipe!! I also use my chili recipe from Vive in tacos... really, any chili can be transformed into tacos for me!!

Thanks, t! :)

Savanna, yeah, I think it's really a preference, what works for each person. I don't mind a little of the fake meats like ground round in chili for instance, but I don't bother with the fake ham/bacon/turkey slices, etc. For some, it really helps them make the shift to veganism, and other people really love the fake meats. I figure whatever works to encourage people to stop eating the real stuff!! Problem is, I think that some folks try the fake meats in an attempt to replace the animal products, but they are disappointed by taste/texture, and go back to eating meat. There's more to this diet than replacing animal products with meat analogues. :)

MeloMeals said...

lovely.. I adore the name...

KleoPatra said...

Balsamic flax oil. WOW!!! Now that's how you use it wisely. Lovely!

Dreena said...

Thank you Melody. :)

Kleo, it is THE easiest and most delicious way to eat flax oil for us. Our kids just devour it this way too. Seriously, they love having the flax oil poured over their food!!

Carrie™ said...

I posted about your peanut better cookies late last week. You have a new fan. If you've got time, pop over and see who it is.

Dreena said...

Carrie, that is hilarious!!! How do you come up with that? The sequence of photos is a hoot! I was wanting to give poor Simon a cookie myself!! That's the greatest, I have to make a mention of it in today's post. :) Thanks!