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| Photo by Chitokan from Pexels |
It is always time for tacos and not just
on Tuesdays.
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Photo by Ben Maxwell
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As a kid, we grew up enjoying tacos at least once a
week, sometimes twice a week if we were lucky.
I remember my Mother making her special tacos that were kind of messy
but oh, so delicious.
She would combine
browned ground beef with a little chorizo and add grated cheese, garlic and
chile powder, then fill the corn tortilla and fried until golden brown and
crispy.
She would fill up a platter with
these tasty morsels and my brothers and sister, and I would finish off the
entire
platter. . . More Please.
We learned to cook in our kitchens with family
mentors who shared their cooking tips and special techniques. Nothing was as tasty as Mom’s cooking, but plant-based
food was never on the menu. It was not
until I started cooking for my own family that I learned about dishes that were
prepared using a variety of vegetables without animal protein.
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| Photo by Pixabay |
These tacos looked so appetizing and easy to
assemble, that I dashed off to the market that day to pick up all the fresh
ingredients for that nights’ dinner.
There were yams to peel, cube and roast, poblano chiles and fresh corn
to grill, red onions to dice and combine with black beans, cotija cheese, olive
oil, splash of red wine vinegar, lime juice, fresh cilantro and seasonings to
combine.
When my husband opened in the
door, his first question was “What are we having for dinner and is it time to
eat?
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Photo by Jack Sparrow
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I heated up the griddle and piled up grated cheese,
(may substitute to make it vegetarian), then added the fresh corn
tortilla over top until the cheese underneath was golden brown.
I plated the cheesy tortilla and added the
vegetable mixture, topped it with fresh salsa and hit it with an extra squeeze
of lime and devoured it.
How can this
vegetarian version of a taco be so full of flavor and not contain any meat?
So often I will try out a new dish that I have
never made before that usually turns out to be one of our new favorites. At the end of the meal, my husband gets to
name the new dish for future reference.
If the new dish is a keeper, he asks for it to be added to the “A”
rotation, which usually means he requests the dish on a regular basis. He takes great pride in being the “official food
taster” and usually comes up with a creative name for my culinary
experiments. This new favorite was
inspired by The Border Grill and now it resides in our kitchen to share with
our family and friends. The name of our new favorite is:
G’s
Garden Tacos. (The
“G” stands for Grilled)
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| Photo by Pixabay |
Who knew plant-based food could be so
delicious? We haven’t omitted our
favorite meat dishes altogether, but we have increased our plant-based meals
significantly to our regular menu and find that we have more energy after a
meal and reduced our food budget. Embracing a plant-based diet makes sense not
just because it’s delicious but because it’s sustainable.
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| Friends of the Pacific Electric Trail |
- Victoria Jones Friend of the Pacific Electric Trail
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