Guest Post: Vegan Mijas

Greetings, Daaahlings!

I’m Julia – a pal (and fellow veganish-sister-in-arms) of Ensley’s. I work as a vegetarian/gluten free chef in the Queen City (aka Charlotte, NC), whipping up ridiculous amounts of nosh of the Ethical Variety for some lovely fams in our area. I upkeep a food blog as well – NoFacePlate.Com – come say hi!

Since Ms. E is going to be a busy little bee over the next couple of months, I’ll be stopping by to fill your ears and eyes with tasty vegan meals and snacks – and while I usually go waaaay off the deep end on NFP materially and process-wise, I’ll keep the stuff I show you here a bit more simple – maybe even workable for a quick work week  dinner!

Speaking of dinner.

Vegan Mijas

Mijas are one of those beautiful food ideas that are built on the back of the “What the heck do I do with all these leftovers?!” dilemma. Day-old tortillas form the base of this dish, almost becoming pasta-like during the cooking process. What you add can vary greatly with delicious results, and trust me, I’ve tried it all –

Leftover veggies from the Fajita-themed cookout you had over the weekend

Soy sausage or that AWESOME soy chorizo from ye olde Trader Joe’s

Roasted peppers – Red, Green, Poblano, Jalapeno

Kale

Spinach

Whole Cashews

Sun dried tomatoes, Cilantro, and Scallions

…and on and on. But the batch I made the other day for brunch was awesome, so I’ll share that permutation with ya.

Per person, you’ll need:

3 corn tortillas, preferably a little stale

1 tablespoon corn oil

1/3 block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

½ tsp sesame oil

½ tsp olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp turmeric

¼ onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ avocado

1/3 can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

Handful fresh green beans

Optional:

½ cup of your favorite (preferably homemade) salsa

Cashew Sour Cream (recipe below, yum!)

Cilantro

Hot Sauce

Diced onion

Let’s do this.

Dice your tofu into 1 cm cubes and toss with the yeast, sesame and olive oils, garlic powder, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Slice your tortillas into strips about 1 cm thick. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or wok until hot – add your onion, garlic, green beans and mushrooms, and cook 4-5 minutes. Add tortilla strips and cook until they start to crisp a bit – about 5 more minutes.

Add your tofu and turn the heat to high. Saute for 6-7 minutes over high heat, stirring constantly, until the tofu starts to brown just a bit. Add your black beans, stir until they’re heated through, and pile that delicious mess on a plate.

Garnishes are kind of key here, so don’t be afraid to use them all – first sour cream, then salsa, cilantro, diced onion, sliced avocado on top (and, well, maybe a little more cilantro), then hot sauce that sucker ‘till your heart’s content.

Cashew sour cream is something I always keep in my fridge - yummier than Tofutti (and let's not forget cheaper!) it's high protein, easy to make, and very flavorful.

1 cup raw cashews, either pieced or whole
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
Dash mustard, yellow
Water as needed for helping the blender do its thang

Soak your cashews in hot water for about an hour. Drain, reserving some cashew water.

Put all the ingredients and about 1/3 cup of the cashew water in a blender and start it whirring. Add water as needed until a sour-cream-like consistency is reached, then keep going a bit - you want this super smooth. Pour the sauce into a squirt bottle or other container and chill it - should keep up to a week in your fridge.

Delicious and nutritious. Seeya next week!