Tacos

I live in Southern California, the best place to find Mexican food, this side of, well, Mexico! So it goes without saying that tacos have been a family tradition since before I can remember! But who says tacos have to include some nasty animal by product! All you need is a few tasty plant based ingredients to make a whole meal, that takes less than 30min to prepare! I would be lying if I said I didn't get lazy and make these more than once a week as a lunchtime snack, or with a little rice for dinner! For those of you with soy allergies, I find refried black beans are a delicious alternative to the tempeh here! And if you dont want to be a fatty like me, go ahead and just heat your tortillas up instead of frying them!

TACOS, VEGAN STYLE!

Ingredients:
(makes about 6 tacos, feel free to double it!!)

6 yellow corn tortillas ( I personally love mission's)
1/4 + 3tblsp cup corn oil (for frying)
1/2 tsp salt
1-package tempeh, cubed into bite size pieces
2 tsp chili powder
2-3 jalapenos, chopped into tiny pieces
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (can never get enough garlic!)
4-5 leaves romaine lettuce
5-6 small tomatoes (cherry works best!)
1/2 red onion sliced into small pieces
One avocado, sliced
*toffuti's soy sour cream, your favorite salsa, and chopped fresh cilantro all make great additional toppings! Experiment!

In a medium pan (big enough to hold one tortilla at a time with room for flipping) pour 3 tblsp of the corn oil, heat up on medium high. Meanwhile cut up your romaine into taco sized strips, and quarter your tomatoes, and slice the onion and avocado. When a little tortilla strip bubbles in the oil your pan is ready for frying.

Place cubes of tempeh,chili powder, jalapenos, and garlic into oil and fry on all sides (will take about 5-7 minutes) until golden brown. (Makes sure garlic and spices get fully incorporated into tempeh) . Turn off heat, cover and set aside. (soy free peeps, skip this step entirely)

Prepare a plate with papertowels on it to wipe off excess oil. In a separate pan heat up 1/4 more of corn oil. Carefully place one tortilla at a time into the oil, flipping after about 20 seconds (or when the outside of the shell seems to begin to brown a little, and it has puffed up) and sprinkling with just a dash of salt on each side after it has been in the oil. Place on paper towels after both sides of tortilla have fried.

Fill corn tortillas with tempeh (or warmed refried beans for soy free), lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado and any other toppings you like! Voila! Super simple, super fast vegan meal for a weeknight!

Enjoy!