Taco Cabana Vegan Items

I just received this e-mail back from Taco Cabana:


TACO CABANA® Vegan Diet Items 


Items which do not contain animal protein or fat 
 (According to ingredient suppliers and food sources) 
 
Black Beans 
Burrito & Quesadilla Flour Tortillas only 
Corn Tortillas – includes Shells and Chips* 
Crispy Cabana Shell* 
Fresh Produce 
Guacamole 
Rice 
Salsa Bar (except Salsa Ranch) 
 
 
Menu Suggestions: 
 
Black Bean Burrito 
Black Bean Taco on Corn Tortilla(instead of flour tortilla) 
Cabana Bowl with Crispy Cabana Shell, Black Beans, Salad Blend, Pico de Gallo 
Chips and Salsa 
 
The flour tortilla products in our restaurants are produced with 100%
vegetable shortening, and all products are fried in 100% vegetable 
oil.  All salsas are made fresh daily in each restaurant using fresh 
produce and no preservatives. 
 
* Taco Cabana uses a common fryer. 


05/2011 ks

Spinach Artichoke Dip on a Soap Box

Since my four month old is allergic (maybe) to milk, I'm back to being vegan. But I will say, even if I was still vegetarian from the pregnancy, I would make this spinach artichoke dip, instead of one with real cheese...5 more pounds of baby weight to go, and no guilt! Plus, something about breast feeding makes me feel sorry for cows, who have their youngins snatched away, and are pumped dry every day for entities that are not even their babies. Plus, if you have ever used a breast pump...OK, this is not turning out the way I intended it. Let me post the recipe. :)

This is from Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C. Simpson

12 ounces silken tofu
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup nooch (nutritional yeast)
1 tsp sea salt
2 garlic cloves
Fresh ground blk pepper
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan (walnuts, nooch and Spike)
10 ounce, frozen, chopped spinach-thawed and with water pressed out
14 ounce jarred artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

tortilla chips or whatever for dippin'

Preheat to 375
Lightly grease 2 quart casserole dish
Puree tofu, garlic, onion powder, nooch, salt and oil
Transfer tofu mix to medium bowl and stir in pepper, Parm, spinach and artichokes. Transfer all this to prepared, oiled, casserole dish and bake for 20 min. or till it's bubbling. Scarf down dip.

Crushed red pepper might also be good in this recipe, but it was great w/o it.

*This book also has great recipe for Classic White Cake, but my kiddo is frustrated with my one-handed typing and needs some attention.

Magic Pie (Chocolate Tofu Pie)

Just made this...I think it's gonna be good!


Prep time: 15 min | cooking time: n/a | makes 8-10 servings

Equipment:
Blender
Saucepan/stovetop
Spoon


Ingredients
16 oz. Silken tofu
1 Vegan Graham Cracker Crust (Keebler is vegan)
1 pkg (12 oz) Vegan Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli)
1 tsp. Vanilla (I always put in just a little extra vanilla)

Directions
Mix the tofu and vanilla in the blender. Put most of the chocolate chips (save some, about 1/4 cup) into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until melted. Add melted chocolate to the blender and mix until smooth. Stir in remaining chocolate chips, then pour entire mixture into pie crust and refrigerate for about 3 hours. Enjoy!

It came from this website.

*Being pregnant has given me intense dessert cravings!

Rice & Chick Pea Casserole

Ok, so since getting pregnant I have favored a lot of take out food. Mostly take-out Coconut Thai Curry, but that can get kinda rough on the pocketbook. So, yesterday, I made a bag of chick peas and had to figure out something new to make with them, other than mixing them with taco seasoning. This was the recipe that came out of trying to be frugal, while using what I had in the pantry.


Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup organic long grain brown rice

2-3 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread (vegan)

Some cooked chickpeas (around a half a cup or so)

1 tablespoon chia powder

2 bouillon cubes (Garden Veggie by Edward and Sons)

Topping:

I small piece of whole wheat bread

handful of almonds


Preparation:

Cook the rice. (I used my inexpensive rice cooker/veggie steamer.) Put the rice into a medium sized casserole dish. While the rice is still hot, mix in the Earth Balance and the two bouillon cubes. The cubes should just mush in to the rice and butter. Next, add your chick peas. Honestly, I didn't measure this part; I just added until I thought it looked about right. Add the chia powder. (Chia is packed with good stuff, like omega 3s; I added it for thickener and nutrition). I'm sure I could have put in another tablespoon; we couldn't even taste it. Finally, into a chopper or food processor add the bread. Chop the bread until it has the constancy of bread crumbs, add in the almonds and chop them, too. Pour this topping over the casserole; use a spoon edge to kinda mix in the topping just ever so slightly.

Bake at 350 for around 30 minutes. Enjoy!

*for more info. on Chia check out this site Navitas Naturals .

Brownies!

I just made brownies, healthy brownies, and they are delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 dash cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray or oil an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. Mix applesauce, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (and cinnamon if using) together.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the applesauce mixture. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips (and walnuts if using).
4. Spread in prepared pan and bake 25-30 min, until center is firm and not sticky.

*I did not have any walnuts, so I omitted them. The chocolate chips really add something to the brownie. They took about 30 minutes to bake.

Kale Salad

OK, we all know Kale is loaded with everything good, but it is sometimes hard to figure out what to do with the stuff. Here is a recipe, from Whole Food's website, that is really easy and tangy delicious. It a raw recipe, so all you have to do is chop, add the marinade, mix and eat.
I used one bunch of Kale and doubled the marinade, because I'm not sure what Whole Foods considers a bunch. Plus, I'm a fan of dressings. I like food to be appropriately coated, and with this recipe everything that coats it is healthy. Basically, I love this recipe.

Here goes:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
Salt to taste
2 bunches kale, stems and tough ribs removed, leaves very finely chopped

pine nuts (optional)

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, chili powder and salt. Add kale, toss to combine and serve.

*So you can decide if the above recipe is enough dressing/marinade or if you want to double it.

Anyway, the Kale cooking adventure has begun!

Daiya Quesadillas

Daiya melts and is actually a yummy soy-free cheese alternative. It's pretty amazing. We like the Italian Blend; it's not as buttery as the Cheddar. I usually order it from Vegan Essentials

So, anyway, last night we had Daiya Spinach Quesadillas. This time we used corn tortillas, and it seemed to bring out the flavor more than the flour. Plus, corn tortillas are healthier, so it's a win-win.

Basically, I think everyone should at least try Daiya. Be adventurous!