Hooray for the Vegan Mofo Swap!

Oh VeganMofo, it’s so sad to see you go but it’s been a wonderful month of vegan food. For the last day of VeganMofo I’ve decided to highlight one of the most fun parts of Mofo’ing this year – the PPK Mofo Swap. Where long-time members of the PPK forums swap vegan goodies from around the country and globe. It just so happens that my swapping partner lives in my hometown of Fresno, CA which was extremely exciting since I’ve never lived in Fresno as a vegan – only visited.

When I opened my box I nearly fell to the floor, she left no stone unturned! 98% of the things she packed in my Mofo care-package, as I’d like to call it, I’d never seen before let alone tried. She gave it a “college student” theme and packed tons of great snacks, quick & easy meals, comforting treats and most importantly wine!

Here’s the skinny on what was in my glorious box of VeganMofo happiness:

· Muncheros Japanese Peanuts w/Chili, Garbanzo Beans with Chili and Lemon and Chili Mango
· Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
· Carmel Valley Roasting Company Casa Munras Coffee
· Trader Joes Seriously Seedy & Nutty Wafers (cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds)
· Rice Dream Chocolate Chai
· Trail Mix
· Berries and Cherries Crunch Mix
· Amy’s Organic Split Pea Soup
· Hazelnut Cream Filled Wafers
· Kashi Fiery Fiesta Pilaf and Moroccan Curry Pilaf
· A bag chock full of vegan candies
· Cacao Nibs
· Sun maid Raisins (straight from the source)
· A bag full of great vegan lotions and Alba pineapple quench lip balm (yep, this one is vegan!)
· Walnut Oil and last but not least……
· A lovely bottle of Red Burgundy Wine :)

Whew! My swapping partner truly went above and beyond! And I hope she loves her package of vegan vittles as much as I’m enjoying mine. Happy VeganMofo Everyone!

Fool Your Friends Tacos

As a native California girl my idea of comfort food is anything Mexican. I could literally eat refried beans (minus the lard of course) and Mexican rice for the rest of my life and not get bored with it. The first recipe that I ever veganized was tacos and in fact it was this very taco recipe. This recipe is also featured in my book Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. Enjoy!

Fool Your Friends Tacos

I like to just enjoy what I call “the essence” of the taco and top only with tomatoes and taco sauce. If you like other toppings feel free to pile them on!

1 cup vegetable stock
1½ teaspoons hickory liquid smoke
1 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix (recipe here)

12 taco shells or corn tortillas
½ medium tomato, chopped
Taco sauce of your choice (I like Ortega)

Bring the stock and liquid smoke to a boil in a small pot. Remove it from the heat, add the TVP, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 1 minute. Add red and yellow bell peppers and sauté for an additional minute.

Add the rehydrated TVP, Taco Seasoning, and water. Cook until all the water has been absorbed and Taco Seasoning has been evenly distributed.

Lightly toast the taco shells or soften the corn tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds. Fill with the TVP mixture and then top with tomatoes and taco sauce.

Photography by Lori Maffei

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

I swore by one particular brand of store-bought taco seasoning mix until one day I turned it over, looked at the ingredients, and realized that it was laden with MSG. Needless to say my heart was broken. In the middle of a major taco craving, I took whatever I thought might go into a taco seasoning mix and threw it together. Thank God it turned out right the first time or I would’ve eaten just the taco shell that night.

Taco Seasoning Mix from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food
Makes 1/3 cup

3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.

The Return of the Papa Chorizo Frittata!

If you follow me on twitter then you know of my adventures in the kitchen last night whipping up a little vegan brunch for dinner. Last year during VeganMofo while playing around with my new found love, Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausage (which I use a chorizo), I created my favorite brunch recipe of all time - The Papa Chorizo Frittata.

I used to make this at least once a month and would sometimes devour the entire frittata within 24 hours. However over the last year I've been working hard on my book, Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food, which means there hasn't been much time to repeat recipes that are tried and true. But last night the Papa Chorizo Frittata came roaring back with a vengeance. This time I used a medium-large Yukon gold potato instead of 2 red potatoes and I used 2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes instead of 2 tablespoons of fresh.

You can find the recipe here. Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food Cookbook Giveaway - And The Winner Is....

Thank you all for your submissions to the Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food Cookbook Giveaway! Reading through each of them made me hungrier and hungrier by the minute. Vegan Mac and Cheeze as well as anything with potatoes in it seemed to take the lead as all time favorite vegan comfort foods and has inspired my meal planning for next week - Mac and Cheeze with Daiya and Au Gratin Potatoes (look out for the reviews and recipes to come soon).

But without further ado the winner is G.I.! Congratulations G.I. I will be contacting you shortly to get your signed copy of Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food to you today.

Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food is currently available at most major and independent bookstores as well as online retailers like amazon.com, bn.com, borders.com and cosmosveganshoppe.com Get your copy today!