Pan de muerto

I adapted this recipe  for bakers in the US and it worked out really well for me.

Makes 24 mini or 3 large breads.

Ingredients

Wet:

3/4 C + 1 tb cinnamon tea plus plant milk (to make the tea, boil water with whole cinnamon sticks-use canela mexicana or ceylon cinnamon, not cassia-add star anise, blessing seeds, and whole allspice to taste)

1/2 C aquafaba

4 tb orange blossom water

2/3 C margarine and/or shortening

Dry:

1 packet of yeast

2 pinches of salt

1/2 C + 1 tb sugar (turbinado, Zulka, or grated pilonsillo)

4 3/4 C AP or bread flour

Ground ceylon or mexican cinnamon to taste

Extra shortening to coat pans and tops; cinnamon sugar for dusting

Instructions:

Bloom yeast in warm tea/milk mixture.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Using a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or hand mixer, cream butter and sugar, then add aquafaba.

Combine well, then add yeast mixture and orange blossom water.

Switch to a dough hook or spoon, then add dry mix 1 C at a time.  

When the dough ball comes together, machine or hand knead until you get windowpane.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and proof until doubled.

Punch down the dough, then form shapes as desired or use molds.  

Cover and proof for 1 hour.

Bake at 350º F for 50-60 minutes, depending on their size.  They should be crisp on the bottom and golden on top.  

Leave them in the pans on the stovetop to cool for 30 minutes.

Un-mold, bathe in butter, and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  

Notes:

You can use whichever flavors you prefer. I don't like cloves, so I use allspice.  Some people use ground spices instead of making the tea, but I like the cinnamon to be more subtle than the orange blossom water.  You could also use orange juice and zest of you don't like orange blossom water.  Sometimes sesame seeds or blessing seeds are used to top the finished bread.  

I used molds with details for half my dough.  They baked at the same time as the large shape and I lost the detail by covering them in cinnamon/sugar.

Make an extra test piece to check on doneness at 20 minutes. My breads passed the toothpick test at 20 minutes, but weren't done until 58 minutes total in the oven.  

Fideo

This is how I make it:

1 section of fideo nido (wrapped around itself, as opposed to fideo corto, which is cut)

1 vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 2 C of water (or 2 C vegetable broth)

1 small can of tomato sauce

Chik'n style seitan

Water

Canola or corn oil

Salt and pepper

(You can add a little garlic if you like-I don't usually, but sometimes I add a can of diced tomatoes)

First, you must fry the fideo. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of your soup pot (a tb or two) and keep the fideo moving. It burns quickly.  When the pasta is golden and toasted, add the tomato sauce and cover.  That sauce will spit at you like an angry cobra. Make sure to shake the pot by the handle (like when you make popcorn) to keep the sauce from burning. When it turns orange-y and smells yummy, add the broth, pepper, seitan, and garlic if you choose to add it. Add water up to an inch from the top of your pot and bring to a boil. Give it a good stir, then reduce to a simmer. When the fideo is tender, it's ready to season and serve. I like eating fideo with golden, dark yellow corn tortillas. 

I've had it with limes and/or mayonnaise added as condiments (no clue about the Reason why people use mayo, but it does taste good). This doesn't keep well because the noodles absorb the broth, but it still tastes good the next day, so I'm advising you to make small batches. And the best part is that it only costs a few dollars to make a pot that serves four people.

Rice and Beans

Rice:

2 C long grain rice

4 C water

1 6 partly can tomato sauce

Minced garlic to taste

2 tb canola oil

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a soup pot and toast the rice, stirring frequently. When the rice is toasted, add the garlic. Next, add water that has been mixed with tomato sauce and pepper. Cover and allow to simmer, reducing the flame to the lowest level. DO NOT TOUCH IT until the rice is tender--it should look like little Xs. Let it stand covered for 5 minutes, then add salt to taste. You can garnish it with green peas and cilantro sprigs. 

Rice is a fickle mistress and it takes practice to make this well. Be patient. It's worth it 

Beans:

For a Party-->

A massive can or large pot of cooked pinto beans

Canola oil

Jalapeños (whole, fresh-roasted or pickled)

(If you use fresh beans, make them with garlic and herbs. Bay leaf and epazote work best.  If you use canned beans, you may choose to rinse them to reduce the sodium, sugar, and unpleasant bloating stuff.)

Heat oil in a large soup pot, then add the beans with some of their liquid.  When the start to simmer, use a smasher to crush about half of them. Add the jalapeños and simmer until they thicken. If you don't like them too spicy, remove the jalapeños. 

For Lunch With the Girls-->

2 tb coconut oil

2 regular (or one medium can) vegetarian retried beans (or smashed beans you made from scratch)

Daiya Mozzarella Shreds to taste (or your fave brand)

Water

Heat the coconut oil in a pot, then add the beans, breaking them down any large pieces. Add enough water to soften the beans into a smooth consistency. When the start to bubble, add the Daiya and stir to encourage melting. Remove from heat and serve. This reheats and freezes well. 

Platanos Machos Fritos (Fried Bananas)

1/2 to 1 platano per person

Canola or corn oil for frying

Salt

Side dishes

Platanos Machos look like a caveman style banana.  They have the same shape as Chiquita bananas, but are bigger, rougher, and thicker skinned.  Since they are starchier, they fry up very well.  Pick a platano this is still a little green, if it's too ripe it will stick to your pan.  

To peel your patano, I find it helps to cut off the ends, then score skin on the outer curve to peel.  Slice in rounds or angled cuts about a half a cm thick.  in a pan large enough to hold your sliced platanos with space between them, heat canola or corn oil.  You should use a few Tb, maybe the same amount you would use to fry potatoes.  

When the oil is hot, add your slices gently, the oil will splatter.  Fry until golden brown on each side, turn when they move easily if you jiggle the pan handle.  If you find that they are sticking, carefully use a spatula to lift and turn them over.  Season and serve with yummy sides.

Nopales

1 jar of nopales
1 8oz can of mushroom slices/pieces
1 8oz can of jalapeños, or fresh slices, to taste
1-2oz sun-dried tomato packed in oil, sliced
Fresh or dried herbs to taste
1/2 to 1 bag of veggie chicken strips
2 tb oil
Your favorite sides.

(This recipe doubles very well)

First, drain the nopales and rinse VERY VERY well under running water.  They tend to be starchy and salty, so wash 'em good.  I used Embasa Nopales here because I hate onions, but Doña Maria makes nice prepared nopales that are already seasoned.  I don't have a cactus or a grill, but making your own from scratch is easy with tweezers and a potato peeler.

Next, saute the mushrooms in oil until they're warmed through.  Add the nopales and stir to help reduce some of the residual liquid on your ingredients.  When the mixture is more dry, add the tomatoes, jalapeños, veggie chicken, and any dry herbs you may be using.

When the liquid cooks off a little, add any fresh herbs you may be using.  When the herbs are wilted and completely incorporated, you're done.

I used +gardein Teriyaki Chik Strips here and discarded the sauce.  Beyond Meat frozen strips also well in this dish.  Any protein you use will be good in this dish will taste good, but I like the strips because they make nice tacos.  

If you use dried herbs, use maybe a tsp or to to start, then taste before adding more.  Fresh work well in this, but know how strong each herb tastes in relation to the others you use.  Here, I used dried oregano and thyme, and fresh parsley and cilantro.

You may have noticed that I didn't list any salt or pepper among the ingredients.  Jarred nopales are very salty, even after being rinsed.  I used canned jalapeños and mushroom, drained but not rinsed, which adds more salt to the dish.  If sodium is an issue for your diet, used fresh ingredients whenever possible.  Mushrooms can be sauteed the day before, they keep well overnight.

Some good sides for this dish are corn tortillas, tortilla chips, beans, rice, israeli couscous, polenta slices, avocado slices, or Johnny Cakes made out of masa harina.  Let me know how you serve nopales, I'd like to hear it.

IC Friendly Pozole

Pozole is a lot like menudo as it has hominy cooked in a spicy broth.  From what I've been told, the difference types of soup is the meat you make it with,  Menudo has tripe while pozole has pork and chicken.  Pozole can be red, made with red chiles, or green, made with tomatillo and green/yellow chiles.  If you want to make this recipe green, use yellow bell peppers that you've roasted, seeded, and peeled.



1 jar of roasted bell peppers (about 3-4 peppers)
1 large can of hominy (the really big one that looks like it's about a gallon)
Thyme (I used about 4 heaping tb dried)
Oregano (if you use fresh, start slow, you can always add more)
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
2 boxes of sliced mushrooms
(optional ) 1 C of your favorite chik'n substitute, sliced (unflavored wheat gluten/seitan works well.  I used +gardein Crispy Mandarin Orange Chik'n without sauce, but it has soy)
1/2 - 1/4 C maseca (masa harina)
Canola or corn oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Water or IC Friendly broth for cooking




Traditional IC Friendly garnishes include shredded cabbage, avocado, radish slices, oregano, and thyme. *

You're gonna need a big soup/stock pot for this quantity of pozole, but I guarantee it's worth it.  Everybody will want some too and it will last until the end of the next day.  **

The first thing I do when I cook with hominy is drain and rinse it.  Just dump it in a colander, run the faucet, and leave it to drain while you cook.  Then, put your mushrooms in a dry pan to sweat.  Cook them until they're soft.  They don't need to dry out, the juices will add flavor to your broth.

Add the bell peppers to your pot with a 1/2 C of water and bring to a boil.  Put the peppers with the water into your blender (or you can use a boat motor), keep the pulp or strain if you like, then back into the pot with 2 quarts of water.  Add your garlic, herbs, salt, pepper if you can tolerate it, and bring back to a boil.  Taste your broth to see if it needs more herbs or salt.  Add the mushrooms, chik'n, and hominy and cover with more water, about two inches over the hominy.   Boil for about 15-30 minutes, stir so it doesn't stick.  It;s ready for the roux when the hominy is tender, but still toothy (al dente).

While the soup boils, make your masa roux.  For masa roux, I like to use 1 part oil to 2 parts maseca. Heat oil in a saucepan, then sprinkle or sift in the maseca.  When it's cooked through, ladle some broth from your pot (about a cup) and add water to thin.  Work out any lumps and stir while you bring to a boil.  If your hominy isn't soft when the roux comes together, set the roux to warm and stir about every minute so that it doesn't burn or stick.

When, the hominy is soft add the masa roux and stir so that it mixes evenly.  Bring back to a boil, stir well, and serve with hot corn tortillas.  What you see in the picture is pozole topped with shredded cabbage and avocado slices.

*If any of the ingredients in this recipe are bothersome for you, substitute them for something else.  For example, parsley instead of oregano or diced zucchini instead of mushrooms.  

**to make a more manageable quantity, use these proportions:

1roasted, peelers bell pepper

1small can of hominy

1 tb thyme and 1 tb oregano

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 C to 1 C sliced mushrooms

(Optional)1/2 C chik'n, sliced

1 to 2 tb maseca

1 to 2 tb canola or corn oil

Salt and pepper to taste

The hominy and herbs will be cheaper at the Mexican market, and they may have better corn tortillas.  My favorite are dark yellow, grainy, thick, and smell like fragrant masa.  They steam very well.  I've seen hominy that has been frozen in supermarkets before, but I've never used it before.  If you have massive leftovers, freeze them in a zipper bag for no longer than a month. The Middle Eastern store may have large jars of roasted peppers at a good price.

Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo Style Seitan

I lifted this recipe from Aaron Sanchez; he demoed this on Melting Pot some years ago.  My recipe, however, is vegan, cholesterol free, and lower in fat.

You need: 

14 oz of washed and trimmed brussels sprouts

1 package of +UptonsNaturals Chorizo Style Seitan

2.5 oz of +Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Chile powder (optional, for heat)

! tb canola oil

1/2 C water

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a saute pan or wok with canola oil and sprinkle with a dash of salt.  Add your brussels sprouts.  If you washed them right before cooking, make sure you dry them off well; moisture will cause oil splatters.  Cook the sprouts well and try to get black roasty spots on all sides.  Salt well and add the water to steam.  When the sprouts turn bright green, reduce the flame, add seitan, black pepper, chile powder, and stir well.  Bring the heat back up to cook the seitan, then stir in shredded cheese until it melts.  Take off the flame just before the cheese looks gooey.

I serve these with beans and corn tortillas.  This recipe made 5 meals with about 230 Kcal each, including the beans.  These will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days and freezes well for no longer than a month.  

Enmoladas (Enchiladas with Mole)

It's Christmas time so I got a craving for mole.  The mole you see in the picture is Mole Poblano (from Puebla) and is the familiar (Doña Maria in the jar) sauce with chile, spices, and chocolate.  You could also use red, green (pipian) or black mole to cover your enmoladas.

20 medium to large corn tortillas
1 large jar of mole (2 small jars or about 4-6 cups of prepared mole)
Dried Ancho chile powder to taste
White cheese shreds
Veggies for filling
Canola or corn oil
Salt and pepper

First, cook your veggies.  I used zucchini sticks, bell peppers, and portobello slices that i cooked in a saute pan with salt and pepper.  You could also use just cheese, potato, squash, seitan, tofu, or whatever protein you like.  while the filling is cooling, steam your tortillas.  You can cook them on a burner one or two at a time, but steaming them in the micro is easier.

I fried my filled tortillas before baking to bring out the flavor in the tortillas.  You can just fill, roll, and place in your baking dish if you want to reduce the amount of fat in your finished dish, but you'll need cooking spray for the baking dish.  When you can handle both tortillas and filling with your bare hands, start rolling them into little taquitos.  Use toothpicks to keep them from unrolling and fry them until golden brown in a hot frying pan with sufficient oil to cover half of each taquito.

When they're cool enough to handle, take out the toothpicks and place in a baking dish.  Cover the top with shredded cheese, I used +Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack, and tent with foil.  Bake in a 350º oven for 15-20 minutes, just enough to melt the cheese and allow the mole to soak into the tortillas.  Usually I serve these with rice.

Note for IC Diet:  pipian is IC friendly. Please check the label for irritating ingredients or make it from scratch in a food processor. Fillings can include veggies on he safe list, like red bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, potato, etc.  Daiya cheese shreds are a good non-irritating  non-dairy cheese.

Guacamole with Jalapeno

2-4 ripe avocados

1-2 jalapeños for hot, 1/4-1 jalapeño for mild to medium

Vegenaise

Salt

Pepper

Oil

Read this if you need help shopping for avocados How to pick good avocados. I used a small food processor for this sauce, but a blender works too. Cut each avocado in half, remove pit, and scoop flesh into your processor. Add chiles, stem removed, cut into big chunks, seeds removed if you prefer less heat. Use gloves or coat your hands in oil if the chile bothers your skin. Do not touch anything else until you wash your hands well with hot soapy water. Blend until smooth and taste for heat. You can add more chile after you taste the sauce, so start slow with the heat. 

When you get to the heat level you want, add oil (I like limonolio) and a bit of Vegenaise (about 1 tb per avocado). Keep tasting and blending until you have the taste you like. Add salt and pepper last to avoid overseasoning, you may not even need salt. Serve chilled. Keeps in the fridge for a few days if covered in cling film to keep air off the surface of the sauce. Leave the pits in the sauce to help keep from browning. 

Tofu in Green Sauce

! box of firm tofu, drained overnight and cut into cubes
2 boxes of sliced mushrooms
1 can of green sauce, enchilada or made from scratch
Oil
1-2 cans of sliced black olives
Daiya cheddar cheese shreds
Salt and pepper

Cook the mushrooms in a dry pan until they dry out a little. Add tofu squares and oil to crisp up to tofu. Stir often to get even cooking and to prevent burning. Add the green sauce, stir, and bring to a boil.  Add olives and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the sauce is thickened, Season, then add cheese shreds. When the cheese is gooey, it's ready to serve. Plate with rice and beans, chips, corn tortillas, or use as tamale filling. 

IC Friendly Enchiladas

1 package of corn tortillas
2-4 zucchini, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 box of sliced mushrooms
1 bag of shredded green cabbage (about 3 C)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cans sliced black olives
1 bag of Daiya Mozzarella Shreds
Dried parsley
1 pint plain unsweetened almond milk
whole wheat pastry flour
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

First the filling!!  Sweat the mushrooms, then add the zucchini.  When they're almost dry, add a Tb or 2 of olive oil.  Add the bell pepper and garlic.  Add cabbage, beans, olives, parsley, salt and pepper, and remove from heat.  

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Coat a large casserole dish with olive oil.  

Now the roux!!  In a sauce pot, warm 1-2 Tb olive oil  and add 1/4-1/2 C pastry flour to make a roux.  When it's ready, add the pint of almond milk.  Carefully bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and add half the cheese shreds to make cheese sauce, then remove from heat.

Tortilla time!!  Lay about 6 tortillas on the bottom of the casserole dish.  Top with about half of the cheese sauce, then add 3/4 of the filling.  Stack 6 more tortillas on top for the top, add the rest of the cheese sauce and filling.  Add the remaining cheese shreds over the casserole, and moisten the exposed tortilla edges with water.

Bake for 30 minutes, serves 6-10, slice when hot, serve when cooled for 5-15 minutes.  

You can make the filling and roll each tortilla up to bake, but making them casserole style increases the proportion of veggies to starch.  Also, add any filling you like:  corn, squash, more beans, no beans, puree red bell peppers to make sauce, used cheddar, whatever makes you hungry.

What I Did With a Package of Corn Tortillas

There are so many things you can do with corn tortillas:  tortilla soup, nachos, chilaquiles, enchiladas, but my favorite of course is tacos.  Being a veg, I don't get to hit the taco truck very often (unless you want to help me chase the Kogi truck) so I make mine at home.  The rad thing about tacos is that you can make them however you want.  I usually stick to the basics when I make tacos and just put whatever I'm eating into a warm corn tortilla.

This week, I wanted tacos dorados, or golden delicious fried crunchy tacos.  To reduce the calories, you can bake your tacos on a cookie sheet lined with foil or silpat and a little cooking spray.  Your filling can be anything you want.  I use mushrooms, potatoes, refried beans, greens, Daiya, Soyrizo, tofu, +gardein Tofurkey, Yves, +Lightlife or whatever you have around the house. These guys are mushroom tacos. If you choose to fry your tacos, make sure your filling is relatively dry so the oil won't splatter out of the pan.














I sweated 2 boxes of sliced button and baby bella mushrooms until they dried out a little and seasoned them with salt, pepper, dried parsley, dried cilantro, powdered chile de arbol, and powdered chile new mexico.  If you don't like heat, pick something mild like paprika or pasilla.  I let the mushrooms cool a bit while I steamed my tortillas in the micro.  This is how you can tell my mom is not Mexican.  Yes, I wrapped the tortillas in cling film and zapped them until they were soft and fluffy, about 30 seconds per pair of tortillas. Be careful taking them out of the microwave if you do this--steam burns suck.  2 boxes of mushrooms makes about 18 tacos.

Lay out your tortillas and top sparingly with the filling, fold, and fry in a good amount of oil that is already hot and has a sprinkle of salt in it to help with splatter.  The first side takes a while to cook (like grilled cheese) so check before you flip.  The tortilla may start to curl and shrink when the tacos are close to golden, but they will continue to cook after you take them out of the oil.  Be careful with the hot oil and use a fork/spatula combo if you don't have tongs.  I burn myself making tacos all the time.















Okay now these guys!!  Taquitos!!  These are great for appetizers and pretty easy to make.  Again with the micro steamed tortillas.  I laid them out and added a single slice of Tofurkey for the filling.  You can use a strip of tofu, or zucchini, or anything that will let the tortilla roll around it in crunchy goodness.  If you use sliced veggie meat, pull the slice a little bit outside the edge of the tortilla and keep some tension on it  If the slice hangs out past the tortilla, it may burn.  Fold if you need to.  Pin each roll by inserting a toothpick diagonally through the length of each taquito.  That will keep them from unrolling in the pan.

I topped mine with avocado sauce.  Some people like fresh or store bought salsa, taco sauce, sour cream, or regular guacamole.  I make my avocado sauce with ripe avocados.  Slice in half, retain the pits, dice in the skin and scoop out into a bowl.  Add a lot of lime juice, salt and pepper, then mash the chunks with a fork and whip the sauce until it's smooth.  I also like to add olive oil and or Vegenaise.  Sometimes I add garlic or chopped serranos, add whatever tastes good.  Keep the pits in the sauce and cover with cling film so that the sauce stays green

Okay, go eat now.


WARM CORN TORTILLA I suggest you get the really thick ones made by hand using yellow corn. They're fragrant and have a lovely texture, but if you can't, the tortillas at your local grocery store will work fine.  If you don't normally eat corn tortillas, FYI the ones at the ends usually fall apart.

RIPE AVOCADOS are hard to find.  Just because they're soft or have a sticker that says ripe, does not mean they are ready or suitable for your purposes.  Often the soft avocados will have dents in them from the weight of being stacked.  These are likely to be black inside.  If the avocados are soft, but seem to have air between the flesh and skin, those are bad too.  Rock hard avocados are hit and miss sometimes.  They may go bad by the time they soften and the ripening could take days.  A good avocado will have a tiny bit of give with just the slightest pressure and will be mostly firm with a continuous curve-no dents or creases.

One More Mexican Dish: Menudo

People like to eat menudo as a hangover cure, or because it's a Sunday tradition, or because it's just really good. Hominy has a ton of fiber and all the dried herbs and spices are good for your immune system, not to mention the vitamins in the citrus juice and fresh cilantro. My dad told me that the broth is red from the milder spices and that you serve the soup with dried chile so the eater can choose their own heat level. I like my soup spicy so I use combinations of New Mexico, Ancho, chile de arbol, and chile California, but make sure to season your soup to your taste. 

Menudo with mushrooms:

In a separate sauce pan, make a masa roux. Fry a cup of masa harina in a generous amount of oil while stirring constantly. The roux will help keep your spices mixed well in the broth. 

In a large soup pot, sweat sliced button and baby bella mushrooms, then fry in oil. 

Add salt, pepper, dried cilantro, oregano, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, chile powder to taste, lots of paprika, and annatto and stir. 

Add a large can (read gallon) of hominy that has been rinsed well. 

Add the roux.

Add bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water, or veggie stock and bring to a boil. 

I like to serve the menudo with corn tortillas, lime halves, chopped cilantro and red pepper flakes. You could also use lemon, chopped onion and dried oregano. 

Serves everybody. 

This recipe reduces well. You could make a pot for just you and another person by reducing the amount of hominem, roux, and spices. 

If you want to make this IC Friendly, make a broth by warming the spices you can tolerate (sweet smoked paprika works well) in a pot of water, then blending (use a boat motor if you have one) in peeled roasted red peppers. Use limonolio with the canola oil, add kafir lime leaf to the broth, or serve your bowl with lime zest to add the bright citrus flavor one usually gets with menudo. Also, flat leaf parsley can be substituted (sparingly) for cilantro. 

Because I still make Mexican food even though I eat vegan

Two recipes featuring +GOVeggieFoods vegan parmesan:

Summertime

It's summer so when I hear that bell ringing or horn honking I go running to the door looking for the elote man.  The really good vendors will have steamed corn, chicharones de harina (like pork skin, but made out of flour, ask what's in them, aceite o manteca), raspados (sno-cones), and any number of goodies.  The elote man is probably not gonna carry vegan versions of his toppings, so I will buy a few ears of corn and prepare them at home for later eating.

Cover steamed or grilled ears of corn with lemon or lime juice, then Vegenaise, followed by +GOVeggieFoods parmesan, then salt and chile powder or Tapatio or Valentina.  You will need a soft drink and lots of napkins.

Sunday Breakfast

Sometimes after a long Saturday night you need a big bowl of menudo to detoxify yourself.  And there are other times when you want something comforting and maybe you haven't been grocery shopping yet.  This is when you need a big plate of chilaquiles.  Everybody has their own recipe and ingredients may vary depending on what you keep in your fridge, but here's one of my favorites.

For a panful of chilaquiles serving 2-4, depending on your appetites, takes about 6 corn tortillas, preferably stale or left to dry out for an hour.  Slice or tear into pieces then fry in oil until golden and crispy.  Season with salt and toss in 1-2 chopped chiles de arbol.  Add chopped garlic, if you like it, and stir until the chiles and garlic are ust warmed.  They burn quickly so watch your heat and stir often.  Add black pepper and +GOVeggieFoods vegan parmesan, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a jar, and stir until softened.  You can add a few tablespoons of water or vegetable broth to get it going.

Vegan Tacos--Diabetic Friendly

I found these amazing tortillas at +Whole Foods Market  Arroyo.  I went to La Gloria's website and these are not listed in their products category, but call your local market to see if they carry them.  The tortillas take great, have 10 grams total carbs per tortilla and 5 grams of fiber, and they don't make my stomach upset.  The +gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers are a nice size and have about 170 kcal for two pieces.  If you want to cut more carbs and fat you could use a different meat substitute, but I have found these to hit my metabolism very lightly.  I used Valentina hot sauce and a splash of Follow Your Heart Vegan Creamy Garlic Dressing, but you could use whichever toppings you like. So, 370 kcal plus your toppings is not bad for traditionally unhealthy meal.