Cooking vegan food is pretty simple you just make food with stuf that doesn’t have any animals bits in it. Once you grasp that concept the rest gets pretty easy. What you have to then decide is what favors and textures you want to have in your food. Since most of us started off with meals that contained meat our frame of reference gets in the way.
The solution is to create meals that mimic our favorite meat dishes. Today I had a craving for Mexican food and one dish I think of when Mexican food comes up is enchiladas. What is an enchilada is an important thing to understand when you are going to make them:
An enchilada ( /ˌɛntʃɨˈlÉ‘ËdÉ™/, Spanish: [eɲtʃiˈlaða]) is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations.
(via Enchilada – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The next key is to find a good recipe and then make it your own:
Black bean and vegetable vegetarian enchiladas can be made in advance and frozen, so make plenty and set some aside for later. Try making your own enchilada sauce too for an even fresher taste.
(via Black Bean and Vegetable Enchiladas – Vegan Enchilada Recipe – Easy Vegetable Enchiladas – Vegetarian Mexican Enchiladas)
From this recipe I took a left turn and added some ingredients I thought would be a nice addition:
- Half a yam diced to really small bits
- 5 mushrooms chopped and sliced thin
- Chipoltle vegan sausage
I also cut the amount of carrots in half and used some vegan cheese of a cheddar flavor for topping. I made the sauce myself with this simple recipe:
Try this recipe for a quick and easy homemade enchilada sauce recipe and make your own home made enchilada sauce.
(via Enchilada Sauce Recipe – Quick and Easy Mexican Enchilada Sauce – Vegetarian Vegan Enchilada Sauce – Easy Mexican Recipe – Quick Mexican Food Recipe)
In addition I added a salad:
Black beans and mangoes combine with fresh bell pepper and fresh cilantro in this simple vegetarian, vegan, high-protein and gluten-free bean salad recipe.
(via Black Bean and Mango Salad Recipe – Easy Vegetarian Bean Salad Recipe – Black Bean Salad – Vegan Recipes)
I forgot the tortillas for the enchiladas at the store so Kate had to make a last second run for some more. While we waited for them to bake we ate the salad and had some wine.
I also made up some Mexican rice:
Mexican rice is a traditional Mexican food dish that is very easy to prepare. First, the rice is lightly toasted with garlic, onions and other spices, then slowly simmered with tomatoes.
(via Easy Mexican Rice Recipe – Vegetarian Mexican Rice Recipe – Vegan Mexican Food Recipe)
Kate was a big fan.
Of course you always find the better recipe to base your meal off of after you have made what you are eating:
Vegan Enchiladas! Recipe
(via Vegan Enchiladas! Recipe – Calorie Count)
I definitely suggest cooking the veggies before mixing with the sauce and then filling the tortillas. I also like this recipes method of drenching the tortillas in the sauce before filling them. This will make everything super moist and happy. We will be traveling to the east coast next week and will test out the updated methods there.
