I am pained to admit that despite my earlier expectation that I had an easy week before me because I was so productive over spring break, this week has been exceptionally busy. Thursday and Friday were REALLY hairy. The duties I had that day weren't especially onerous--I had to help entertain a visiting writer on Thursday, and on Friday I spent a couple of hours being interviewed for a documentary on memoirs that turn out to be fabricated, focusing on one specific memoir that is particularly suspect.... I won't share details, because it's not my project. Anyway, it was exhausting to sit there with a spotlight shining directly into my face for two hours (it reduces unflattering shadows, I'm told) but at least the guy making the documentary was really interesting and took me to dinner afterwards, so I felt well compensated for time. But the upshot of dealing with these claims on my time was that a lot of things I thought I'd accomplish handily didn't get done, and they have to get done by tomorrow night.
In other news, for lunch today I made the taco recipe I posted earlier, but used (as promised) some veggie protein weirdness in place of the premium ground Angus beef I typically use. The vegetarian version was OK, I guess, it just wasn't totally yummy, you know? It occurred to me that one problem might be the particular meat substitute I used (Smart Ground, I think it was called), that no doubt some are better than others.... Anyone have experience with vegetarian ground beef substitutes, and want to recommend one as superior to others?
Hi Holly,
Stumbled upon your site recently; lots of interesting stuff here! Hope you don't mind the intrusion.
I make great tacos (no brag, just fact!), and your recipe hits on much of it. I would argue however that 1 clove of garlic is a joke. Gotta have at least 5! And a big fat sweet onion is essential. Along with the can of diced green chiles, I dice up at least 1 jalepeno pepper, toss in crushed red peppercorns, a few dashes of ground cumin, some chile powder, and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. I also add a small can of diced tomatoes. Despite being a vegitarian for a year (many years ago), can't say I'm aware of any good substitute for premium lean ground beef, aside from good refried beans (keeping in mind that "traditional" refried beans are made with lard, so badness for vegans).
If you have a male friend eating with you, toss in some extra heat to help keep him healthy. Probably kills other kinds of cancer too, so enjoy some extra heat yourself!
Interesting aside: I don't remember where I read it, but the advice from a medical study on garlic was that you should let the garlic sit for at least 10 minutes after you crush the cloves to let the full health effects of the garlic kick in -- almost like there's some magic chemical catalytic reaction that takes place once they are crushed...
Anyway, I always start with the garlic, and let it sit while I'm doing the rest before I start to sautee the onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil (the best).
This same "base" works really well for enchiladas too. I fry (in corn/canola oil) the corn tortillas, spoon in this taco meat/stuff (prepared with a small can of red enchilada sauce -- La Victoria, Hatch, they all taste pretty much the same to me I suppose), some grated colby jack cheese, roll em and lay them in a casserole dish, pour over all of them another can of green enchilada sauce, sprinkle a little more cheese on top, and pop in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F. Que Bueno! Of course it goes without saying that you serve tacos (and enchiladas) with sour cream, fresh ripe avocado, fresh cilantro (I sometimes add it to the meat while I'm cooking it), fresh crisp lettuce, a little cheese, a spoonful of sweet white corn (Western Family brand is the bomb!) and some good salsa and/or hot sauce (I like the La Victoria hot sauce -- not the stuff made with vinegar, but that's just me). It's not a real taco unless the tortilla is just crammed full of taco goodness running down your fingers/hands as you shove it into your 45 degree tilted maw! Don't forget to set the table with plenty of napkins.
:o)
Rich--thanks very much for stopping by, and for taking the time to give such solid cooking advice! I'll be sure to let my garlic sit for a while before I saute it in the future--wonder if it makes any difference in the taste as well?
Hey Holly,
I'm probably not the only one interested in this documentary. I'm going to take a wild guess that you're talking about the James Frey thing. I would love to hear your take on that issue.
That does sound fascinating. I have had a recent brush with the media, in connection with my political activities, and I know how nerve racking that is. I would like to look great on the tube, but I don't.
As to cooking: I try to avoid canned ingredients, but I get fresh tomatoes year round. Good quality canned ones beat bad fresh ones, of course. And I think if beef is too lean you get a dry product. The best meat substitute I've ever encountered is a recipe using taro that a friend of mine made, but it's his trade secret. And I don't suppose taro root is in many mainland groceries.
My Mexican treat is my homemade gorditas and slow-cooked beef, pork or chicken. To this I add homemade salsa and guacamole (avos from my tree), and grated cheddar or jack. Beans if I have some around, but not canned ones.
Oh, and I do find a difference in sauces. The Las Palmas red enchilada sauce tastes exactly like the sauce my mother used to make, once I add chicken broth and extra garlic to it. She made enchiladas Santa Barbara style, with canned black olives, hard boiled eggs, onions, and cheddar cheese. My husband insists I make them at least once a month.