Taquito Time!

I really wanted to make a chorizo/papa frittata but is too hot to use the oven. I know it's November, but this is California so we don't know what that means. Good thing it isn't too hot to stand at the stove and fry up some greasy goodness. I messed up and put too much oil so these are greasier than they should be. If you are careful, yours will come out super tasty and you'll feel less guilty about eating them. I drained them the best I could. This was the first batch on their first pile of napkins. I put down fresh ones and let them drain some more.

I used the chorizo I made from Vegan Brunch to make "Taquitos with Chorizo and Potatoes" from Viva Vegan. There is a chorizo recipe in Terry's book too, but I used Isa's because I already had all the ingredients. I did my chopping/juicing/measuring while the potatoes cooked so I was ready to mix up the filling as soon as they were done. I warmed all my torts and kept them covered in a towel so they would stay soft. I added the filling, some FYH Monterey Jack and did my best to roll them well before dropping them into the pan of (too much) oil. I've never made taquitos before but my family always uses toothpicks to keep them closed. Terry doesn't do that and cooks the seam side first to seal it shut. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, but I had to give it a try. It worked! Only one taquito came undone. Next time I will just gently roll them over instead of trying to pick them up by one end with the tongs and flip them. I'm not the best fryer/flipper of things so it takes me way longer than other people. With time I'll get better and quicker, yay!

These came out great. I had only put about one and a half sausages because I was afraid it would be too much but next time I will add two. I also want to have beans, rice and guacamole to go with it- and I can since I know how to make all my own now after mofo. I had cooked beans on Monday but I didn't have time to do the rice or go to the store to get stuff for guac. I could do it now but there wouldn't be enough taquitos to justify it. Next time I'll do the beans, rice and chorizo ahead and just make the taquitos and guac the day I'm ready to eat it all. It's just too many dishes for one day, both the cooking and washing. It's worth the trouble though. I love home cooked food!

Are You Smuggling Seitan Sausages or Just Happy To See Me?

I really bombed the last few weeks of mofo so I am going to try to make up for them. I am still on a budget and trying to make the most of the cookbooks and ingredients I already have. You should do it even if you aren't on a budget since wasting food is terrible and sleeping on your cookbooks can really bum you out when you realize all the awesome stuff you could be making.

I have been in love with seitan since some time last year when I finally switched over to the "steam team" and had great results. Even though its really easy and you can do a bunch of other things while you wait for them to cook, I don't make seitan as often as I should. I have been wanting breakfast/brunch type foods so when I flipped through Vegan Brunch I knew it was time to get of the dime and make the "Chorizo Sausages."

These came out great. I love that they have the flavor of chorizo but without all of the grease. I halved the crushed red pepper and avoided the cayenne because I didn't want them to be too hot. I'm building my spice tolerance but since I was planning on serving these to my niece I wanted her to be able to enjoy them too. Whenever I make seitan, we call it "meat log" so I asked her if she wanted to try the "meat log". She loved it. I asked her if it was too spicy and she said it had a little kick to it but it was really good. She had a few little slices while I was prepping and we made some chorizo/cheese cracker sammiches too. I really wanted to make a frittata but it was just too warm this week so I am going to make the "Taquitos with Chorizo and Potatoes" from Viva Vegan instead. There's a chorizo recipe in that book too!