VeganMoFo: Quinoa Black Bean & Chorizo Enchiladas

Gotta make do with what you have! I still had 1/2 a tube of soy chorizo that I needed to use so I made some quinoa, heated up a can of black beans that I sauteed with onions and garlic first, then added the chorizo to it. Corn tortillas and tomato sauce completed my enchiladas. The topping looks like cheese but it's actually vegan mayo that was mixed with lemon juice, chili powder and a bit of tomato sauce. It really gives the enchiladas more flavor (not to mention fat!).


I was so eager to show you the insides so I cut into them too soon. They fell apart. But you can see what's in there. I ate this bit and it was delicious!

VeganMoFo: A Stew in the Fall.

What better food to eat in proper fall weather than a stew? I'm soooo glad that our hot, humid summer has finally turned into mildly sunny, breezy, chilly weather! This is still Southern CA so it's not that cold but just enough nip in the air to make you want comfort food. Last year's Veganmofo on this same day the 5th of October, I made a soychorizo corn stew. Well, I decided to make it again and it was even better than I remembered! I didn't have any green pepper or eggplant so I subbed carrots and zucchini. Any squash or veggies will do really...


I put homemade roasted garlic croutons on top (crouton recipe from Veganomicon). This is a really tasty stew with a bit of spiciness from the chorizo. I had a little taster bowl for lunch and it was so warm and comforting. I'll be having more when I get home from work today.

VeganMoFo: Corn Stew with Soy Chorizo, Eggplant and Potato

More fun with soy chorizo! I got a recipe for 'Guiso de Maiz' from johnp over at the PPK forums and I really wanted to try it out. I didn't have several of the ingredients that were in his recipe so I improvised a bit to come up with this. The chorizo was a very important factor for flavoring and spicing up this stew. I didn't use a whole lot but the little I did use added the perfect amount of flavor and heat. The rest of the vegetables made this stew hearty and filling, ideal on a cool, rainy evening like last night. You can serve this with fresh bread or hot tortillas on the side slathered with Earth Balance margarine or you can do like me and put hot roasted garlic croutons on top. That was such a good idea and so tasty!

Corn Stew with Soy Chorizo, Eggplant and Potato

2 TB olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 soy chorizo tube (I used 1/2 to cut down on spicyness. You may use a full tube if desired.)
1 small japanese eggplant, cubed or 1 cup regular eggplant, cubed
1 medium baking potato, peeled and cubed
1 15 oz. can stewed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp sugar
juice from 1/2 of a small lime
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Saute and let the onions and peppers get soft. Add the soy chorizo: cut one end off the casing and squeeze only half the tube of "meat" into the pot. Fry it for a few minutes and then add the eggplant. Cook for a few more minutes. Before using the stewed tomatoes, empty them into a bowl and break up the tomatoes with your fingers. Then add the tomatoes, potatoes and vegetable broth to the pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add the frozen corn, sugar and lime juice. You may add a little water if stew is too thick. Bring back to a boil then turn heat down and simmer partially covered for another 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stew will thicken as it sits.

Vegan MoFo: Soy Chorizo & Potato Quesadillas and Caesar Salad, the right way

One would think a vegan can't have quesadillas because of dairy cheese. Who needs cheese when you've got a whole lotta other stuff that you can put in them? You can use absolutely any combination of ingredients that you have hanging around in your fridge. Things like soy chorizo, soy cream cheese, spinach, garlic, red onions and potatoes. Not bad I say!


This is what Soy Chorizo looks like...a lot like the real thing, no?


This is what the filling looks like.


All grilled up. Ridiculously tasty! Spicy "soyrizo", sweet red onion, tender potatoes, gooey cream cheese with a crunchy tortilla crust...Recipe at the end of this post.

I have a big jar of Veganomicon's caesar dressing in the fridge so I whipped up homemade roasted garlic croutons this time to go on a side caesar salad. What a delicious recipe! I'm glad I made the croutons this time as they are 100 times better than the store bought! And you're lucky that you can get this recipe online here.




Soy Chorizo and Potato Quesadillas
(makes about 3-4 quesadillas)

1/2 red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tb olive oil
1 soy chorizo link
1 cooked potato, peeled and cubed (I poked a raw potato with holes and cooked it in the microwave. It was easy to peel after it was cooked.)
2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
flour tortillas (soft taco size)
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
margarine

For filling:
Heat oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions get soft. Add soy chorizo: to do so, cut off one end of the casing and squeeze the "meat" mixture out into the pan. Stir around and cook for a few minutes. Add cubed potatoes and stir around again to coat the potatoes with the chorizo mixture. Then add the spinach and keep cooking until it wilts. Set mixture aside.

Preheat a skillet on medium heat. Take a tortilla and spread margarine on one side. Flip it over and spread cream cheese on other side. Put about 1/2 cup filling on top of cream cheese only on one side. Fold the other side of the tortilla over to press and close together. Place the quesadilla in a hot skillet and use a spatula to press it down while cooking. Grill both sides until golden brown and hot.