Testa Fiesta!

My friend Anna had a birthday party last weekend that was "taco night" themed, so I had a wonderful excuse to whip up some tester recipes for Terry Hope Romero's upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook!! All of the recipes I have tried so far for this cookbook testing have been so flavorful and delicious, and they incorporate a lot of new ingredients for me to try....very exciting!

For my main dish contribution to the feast, I made the Chimichurri Baked Tofu, which uses the Chimichurri Sauce recipe, both Terry test recipes. This was awesome! I had never had anything with chimichurri....kinda like a Latina pesto....and the flavors just explode in your mouth and it is wonderfully spicy and savory and great! We put these in tacos/burritos/our tummies and were all very, very pleased! One guest at the fiesta said this was the best tofu she's ever had! Whoa!
(unfortunately, this didn't photograph as well as it tasted. wah.) For a condiment addition to the spread, I made the Pickled Red Onions test recipe! I love ALL things pickled and I love onions, so this was perfect for me! It is a quick pickling process, where the onions really just marinate overnight in a lime-infused brine....a cheater pickled onion is just as good as a regular pickled onion, folks! Since the recipe made a giant batch, I am still using these up by throwing them in/on just about everything I eat! so gooooood.

While the birthday cake was not a test recipe, it was still incredible! I made the Decadent Almond Cake from Hannah Kaminsky's My Sweet Vegan. The cake is a very moist and richly-flavored almond cake, made with almond meal and other tasties, with a ganache frosting. Since Anna is a big carob fan, I made the ganache with carob instead of the chocolate for which the recipe called. It paired so well with the sweetness of the almond cake! If you have not made this cake from MSV before, you must do so next time you have a cake to make! Everyone will love you. a lot.