Chorizo Spinach Sopes!

This Vegan Latina tester gig gets better with every recipe I make!! Today's test recipe from Terry Hope Romero's Vegan Latina tester forum is the Chorizo Spinach Sopes! They are plump, bowl-shaped cousins of corn tortillas filled with lots of Latina goodies...I managed to knock out a few other tester recipes to make this one! score! The filling consists of layers of: spinach sauteed with garlic and lime, Seitan Chorizo Sausages (a test recipe), shredded cabbage, red onions, Classic Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (another tester, for which I used some local tomatillos!), and some Vegan Chipotle Mayo (I had some of this leftover from the tortas a few days ago). Absolutely perfect! So many different flavors layered together in this amazing little shell and it all just works magically with each other! I think next time I will add some avocado, just to make it just that more perfect!! Ole!

Local Latina!

Tonight's dinner was yet another masterpiece from the Vegan Latina tester forum! With my kitchen bursting at the seams with fresh, local produce, I had my eye (and mouth) on two of the test recipes: the Eggplant Torta Sandwich and Calciabatas (aka Fresh Squash Saute)! Feast your eyes on this crazyness!

First up, the Eggplant Torta Sandwich! Terry was NOT messing around when she created this monster of a sandwich!! It is crusty French bread stuffed with refried beans, chopped jalapenos, tomatoes, marinated and roasted eggplant, shredded lettuce, avocado, and homemade chipotle mayo. whoa!! I was so lucky to have some local eggplant, my mom's homegrown tomatoes, and local French bread at home!I served these sandwiches with a side of Calciabatas, another VL test recipe. Also known as Fresh Squash Saute, this tasty veggie dish was a saute of summer squash, onions, garlic, winter squash, tomatoes, and spices! It all kind of sauteed and stewed together to make something really flavorful yet simple...a perfect side dish, really! For this, I got to use more local veggies: local patty pan squash and some more of my momma's tomatoes! (p.s. I am so proud of my mom's new-found green thumb! yay!)

I just love incorporating the best produce possible into Terry's awesome tester recipes! What a lucky gal I am!

BTW...this is my first blog post from my new laptop! woot graduation present!

So Corny: Empanadas Humitas!

Last night's dinner, yet again, featured fabulous Vegan Latina tester recipes from the talented Terry Hope Romero! Since I am still craving that corn like crazy, it was the star of last night's dinner again!

These are the Empanadas Humitas, aka Creamy Corn Empanadas, and, as the name suggests, they basically consist of a creamy corn filling inside a flaky, tender pastry crust. I cannot tell which part I love more, the filling or the crust, but for now I will just say I love them both equally! Awesome in a little of the So Good, So Green Dipping Sauce I mentioned a few days ago (another VL tester recipe, of course.)!
And an inside shot...so naughty...I served them up with Tofu Chicharrones, which is Terry's veganized version of the traditional pork chicharrones, which is kind of like fried fat back from pork (ew. i know. but trust me the cruelty-free version is the bomb.)....these are so smoky and chewy and wonderful! They tofu is frozen, thawed, and pressed, which gives these little bits of yum a nice mouthfeel. I ate this plain for dinner, but I want to make lots of this in the future to put in tacos and such.
The other side dish I made was the Braised Brazilian Shredded Kale tester recipe. Fresh kale is braised with onions and liquid smoke for great flavors, and comes out with an amazing texture from the fine shredding technique. This would be an awesome side dish to any Latina-themed meal, but it went especially well with this little VL feast!

Corn Porn: Tempeh Tostadas! Mexican Corn!

Fresh, local sweet corn is one of my favorite things about summer!! Corn is so perfect because it is so tasty, so versatile, and so easy to prepare! Of course, looking for local and/or organic corn is ideal for both health and environmental sustainability, but that is easy to find here in Missouri!
I am trying to do a lot of recipe testing for Terry's Vegan Latina cookbook this week, and corn is a huge staple in Latina cooking, so this seasonal delight is showing up on my plate often! No complaints here!

Dinner last night was pretty corn-happy:

Fresh organic corn! Turned into..

A Vegan Latina tester recipe: Mexican Side-Street Corn! Fresh corn is roasted and smothered in all sorts of spices and lime juice! whoa!

Another VL tester recipe: Tempeh Asado! The vegan version of the traditional (and cruel.) carne asada. Tempeh marinated in awesome spices and lime juice, then pan-grilled. It was soooo flavorful!! Tempeh is so wonderful for soaking up flavors and holding on tightly to them until they meet your tongue! The Tempeh Asado is perfect for tacos, burritos, or any Mexican-themed meal...

So I put mine in tostadas for dinner last night! I needed to use up the rest of my tostadas, so Tempeh Asado Tostadas were a great opportunity to reduce my waste. The corny flavor and crunch texture of the tostadas went perfectly with the chewy, savory, tangy tempeh...and some fixings like avocado, red onion, tomato, and local salsa, of course!

And I had some leftover Latina tester So Good, So Green Dipping Sauce which made the feast complete! BTW I moved to Kansas City last week (from Columbia...not too far away)! This was one of my first meals in my new apartment! yay! That made this meal all the more special!

And if you are in KC or thereabouts, holla at me and we can make/eat/demolish some food together or ride bikes or just cause some old-fashioned vegan mayhem in the city! yay!

Latina Tester Salad and Sauce!

Awesome in-season produce was the motivation for tonight's tasty dinner! The local tomatoes are in full swing, so I used the opportunity to put them in a tester recipe for Terry's upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook. I made the Ensalada Chilena recipe, which is actually the national salad of Chile btw, and it is made up of crisp, sweet vidalia onions, ripe tomatoes, and a tangy vinaigrette dressing. This was awesome and the perfect way to show off those local 'maters!

To accompany the salad, I made Pinto Bean Tostadas (just something I threw together, not a test recipe). They had homemade refried pinto beans layered with shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro, chopped jalapenos, green olives, locally-made salsa, and some tester Pickled Red Onions. But they just weren't complete without a special sauce....These just screamed for another Vegan Latina test recipe: the So Good, So Green Dipping Sauce! Truth be told, the tostadas were just an excuse to make this sauce...I have been eying the recipe in the tester forums for months! This dipping sauce is packed with herbs, garlic, and lime, and has the perfect balance of creamy and chunky textures! This sauce is just sooooo flavorful! Went very well with the tostadas, of course!
I could dip about anything into this.....put tostadas, tamales, tacos, empanadas, or just a plain old finger in this sauce and it would still be so rockin!

Swiss Chard Frittata

The more dishes I make from Isa's Vegan Brunch, the more I think that this cookbook is genius! I am not ashamed to say the breakfast/brunch is my favorite meal of the day, so VB and I are a perfect match!

This weekend, I had a bunch of locally-grown swiss chard, and it was obvious how I needed to use it: the Vegan Brunch Swiss Chard Frittata!! This is really easy to prepare and can be made using common vegan cupboard ingredients, and not to mention it is crazy delicious...perfect for a savory breakfast (at morning or at night)!
I served mine with some garlicky homefries, and it was great!! Now I am looking forward to many frittata adventures in the future! God bless you, Isa!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

My lovely friend, Jordan, had her golden birthday yesterday! What better way to celebrate than with cupcakes?! I had never made the Cookies and Cream Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, so I baked these up as her b-day cake/present. If you haven't eaten or made these before, they are the Basic Chocolate Cupcake with crushed sandwich cookies in the batter, topped with the Fluffy Buttercream Icing that has more crushed cookies in the frosting, garnished with yet another sandwich cookie! Heavenly. I used Newman O's for the cookie part, btw. Amazingly good, and surprisingly not too rich or sweet or anything! My only regret is that I hadn't made/eaten them before!