My guilty food pleasure of all time is Taco Bell. I love it. I know how bad it is for me. I know that there is nothing healthy about it. But I don't care I love it, and it has been over two months since I had Taco Bell, and it would be nice to say I don't miss it... but that would be a lie. So I have been trying to come up with replacements for the craving. This did not compare, but only because it wasn't made of rehydrated beans and dry meat. So here it is...

The first recipe will be a simple guacamole... its the classic recipe but here it is anyway



2 diced avocados
1 diced tomato ( or 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
Juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

mix it all together, and your good to go.

On to the spicy black bean dip:




This recipe actually comes from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Allison Segersten and Tom Malterre.

1. Start by sauteing 1 small diced onion, 1 small jalapeno, 3 cloves of crushed garlic in a table spoon of heated olive oil. on medium heat until onions are soft.

2. Add 2 cans rinsed and drained black beans, 1 tbsp cumin and 1 tbsp of chili powder, saute another minute or so.

3. Scrape all of this into a food processor making sure to scrape all the spices with it. Process until smooth.



4. Add 1 to 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 tsp sea salt.. or to taste. Then process again.

5. Remove from processor and serve in dish, first mixing in 1-2 diced tomatoes.




Thats it... pretty easy. Serve it with corn tortilla chips. Ok onto the Tacos.

So I started by making a Lime jalapeno cabbage slaw...


I used about a cup of a pre-shredded cabbage blend. It was just cheaper and easier.
Then I added about 1 tbsp of my homemade mayo (here's the link to the recipe) I added 1/2 of a finely chopped jalapeno, and squeeze a half a lime into it and add some salt and pepper to taste. I know the yellow lemon squeezer thing in the picture seems like a useless tool, but it is becoming my favorite tool. It gets the most seedless juice for my lime. Anyway that is it.

Then I made a mango and pinto bean salsa.....


1. Mix together 1 small onion diced, 1-2 cups of diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, 1 small diced jalapeno, juice a half a lime, 1 mango diced, 2 cloves diced garlic, and 1 cup drained and rinced pinto beans.

I let it sit in the fridge while I prepared the rest. I used the left overs in another dinner by just mixing it with left over brown rice, and pre-cooked chicken on a day I was in a hurry. It was done in 5 minutes... a handy tool on a diet like this.

Ok so lets finish off the tacos....

1. I cooked some cod in a little olive oil seasoning with salt and pepper.

2. I heated some soft corn tortillas in a little canola oil. Until each side was slightly crisp. Then I folded the tortillas into the taco shape to cool.

3. So then just assembly... fish, then slaw, then mango salsa, then topped with 3 slices of avocado.



And that is it... not taco bell... but better and healthier. A couple things to know...
the lime is vital to the guacamole to help it last longer... maybe 24 hours longer but still.

The taco shells are delicious... but don't reheat well so make them as you need them

and the Avocado on the top of the tacos adds a creaminess that allowed me not to miss the cheese and sour cream as much.

That's all for now. Have a great night!

I was watching the food network the other day and someone made quinoa cakes, but it wasn't a cooking show so I didn't get a recipe, so I made my own recipe.
Here's what you'll need:
1 cup Cooked quinoa ( I cooked mine in chicken stock for flavor)
1 or 2 chopped green onions
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup packed chopped spinach
1 egg
1/3 cup carol's sorghum blend (see cupcake recipe)
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 tbsp olive oil (not for the pan)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of salt
1/4 black pepper



Steps:
1. Heat frying pan with a tbsp or so of canola or olive oil
2. Mix all ingredients together until they are binded enough together to form a small 3 inch patty.
3. Cook each patty on medium heat a couple minutes on each side until light brown and crisp. (The thinner the patty the crispier it gets, and the shorter the cooking time.



To top them:
You really could top them with anything from tofu, to veggies, to chicken, or to shrimp I went with what I had in my fridge, that and I can't have shrimp. So started with a slice of cucumber, topped that with a little cod, added a slice of avocado, topped it with lemon Dijon aioli I will post the recipe below), then a little dill.

A couple other ideas that may work... I had some mango salsa and Jalapeno slaw in my fridge (but there is a different recipe with them I am posting). You could use peppers and shredded carrot. You could try goat cheese, tomatoes, and salmon... really anything. You can add cilantro, parsley, dill, or chives or whatever too.

My lemon Dijon Aioli Recipe

I used my homemade mayo... (leisurely lunch blog)
I added about 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tbsp of Dijon mustard. 1/2 tsp paprika, 1tsp rice substitute Parmesan cheese. And that was it... it was pretty good.

That's it for today's blogs... back to school work!

I have now 10 meals, restaurants, and desserts that have been photographed and are ready to be blogged about. I am going to post two blogs today in hopes to make up for it. Really it is just me needing a break from school work.

I recently, as in this week, joined a food co-op group in spokane called Bountiful Baskets. It is 15 bucks a week and I got a large laundry basket worth of produce. The deal is the more people that join the cheaper the produce options. The catch is, you have a very short window to pick up your produce at one of two pre-selected by you locations, and they ask if at all possible that members help put baskets together at 5am ish. My sister-in-law told me about it and she helps put them together, but as I live 30 minutes from spokane, and don't really do 5am, she also picks it up for me, and this time she got me extra bananas.



Pictured above you see lettuce, kale, potatoes, cauliflower, corn on the cob, celery, apples, oranges, pears, cantaloupe, and bananas (minus 2 I ate) all in all a really great deal. It is sort of a you get what you get and you don't get upset type thing, but it does inspire my new money and time saving plan. This is to make my menu on Saturdays for the week based around my basket. It will vary since the produce varies.

On a side note, my garden is starting to sprout! Oh so exciting, all the fresh herbs + my bountiful basket= less $ and trips to the grocery store! Hip hip hooray!

The blog entries I have photos ready for are beginning to stack up. I am at seven meals I still need to blog about. Alas, such is life during a college student's midterms. Anyway tonight I made a completely vegan strawberry shortcake topped with coconut milk whip cream. This was inspired by the lovely strawberries pictured above.


I started by slicing up a pound of washed strawberries. I then added a tablespoon of lemon juice and a table spoon of brown rice syrup. You could add honey or sugar instead if you want. This gives them a sweetness and a glaze. Then set them aside.









Next I made my coconut whip cream. Here is what you will need:









1 can of full fat coconut milk (this is the can that has the thick layer on top)
1/4 c. to 1/3 c. of powdered sugar (I made my own using the recipe from the cupcake blog only I used a finer cane sugar)
3 tbsp Tapioca or coconut flour
1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp of almond extract

ok so here are the steps:
1. Chill the coconut milk in an airtight container for at least 24 hours. It came to about 1 1/4 c. of the coconut fat and 1/4 c. of the milk.
2. With a mixer mix the coconut milk until it is thick and fluffy (too much milk and not enough fat wont work for this)
3. 1 tbsp at a time of the powdered sugar and the tapioca flour.
This is done to taste and to the desired consistency for your whip cream.
4. Add the vanilla and almond extracts
5. Once the consistency you want, put in an airtight container and refrigerator.

Ok so this is a pretty easy recipe and sort of a hard at the same time. It comes from Carol Fenster's 1000 Gluten Free Recipes

Grease a cookie sheet or muffin pan (I used spectrum shortening) or use parchment paper, then dust with rice flour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees making sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.

So here are the ingredients:
3/4 c. Carol's Sorghum Blend(see cupcake blog)
3/4 c. Potato starch
1/2 c. Sugar (or organic cane juice) plus 1tbsp for sprinkling
1tbsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Xanthum gum
1 tsp Guar gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. Earth balance butter
1 c. Buttermilk (see cupcake blog for dairy free recipe)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
White rice flour for dusting and rolling
(recipe calls for milk to brush the tops... I skipped that)

Ok so here's what you do... and what I learned:
1. In a food processor combine flour, starch, gums, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Pulse it.
2. Add in the butter and the buttermilk and the vanilla then blend until dough forms a ball. Scrape the sides if necessary.
3. The dough is going to be soft.
4. Ok from here you have a couple options. I think the one I didn't choose would be the easiest... this would be the muffin pan. The dough is soft and can be hard to work with. However here is how I did it the other way.

I dusted a clean counter space with rice flour, I spooned the dough onto the counter, then patted the dough with more rice flour. Making sure dough is a 1 inch thickness. I used a 2 inch metal ramekin cup dipped in rice flour. I pushed it straight down with out twisting and put the circle on my greased and floured cookie sheet. I continued this until I had to re-roll the dough. This made about 16 cakes. If you have the larger circle cutters, you could certainly use those and make them bigger. I kind of liked the smaller size.


I sprinkled the tops with the left over sugar and baked for 15 minutes.

Let them cool for 5 minute or so. To assemble the finished project slice the short cake in half. Add a spoonful of strawberries, then a dollop of the whip cream, then the top of the shortcake, then another dollop of whip cream.













So there you have it. It tasted pretty good. The shortcake had a good consistency. The whip cream turned out light and fluffy and the strawberries were beautiful. Hopefully it comes across in the picture, my camera battery died as I was taking pics. Hopefully I can get the other blogs posted soon. Have a good night. I need some quirky sign off... not very inspired.