dos mexicanos per favor muchacho le vegan

well no i know the title makes no sense and is quite possibly in two languages BUT it does sound cool though right...? that isn't rhetorical, the answer is yes. Anyway last night i was feeling unusually chipper despite having a cold, so i was buzzing around the house doing stuff, then decided to make MEXICAN for dinner! Actually i made 2 vegan dinners.. the other being a lentil dhal which i froze for later consumption - quite possibly for tonights dinner... hmm

anyway back to what i was saying. some jerk sent me a link to a cool food blog called bread and honey which i immediately love, and the lady on the blog was talking about burritos burritos burritos omg she loooves burritos. So of course i started to love burritos a bit too. She also described how to make great mexican rice, which i have never been able to make well before! So i wanted to make that too! Here's what i did.... (again please bear in mind i make most recipes up or change the ones i follow, so measurements for spices and stuff could be a bit off, i am like a magician in the kitchen going POOF with spices and POOF with fire, its quite a show)

Mexican Rice - Vegan Styyyle (serves 4)

- 1 brown onion, finely diced

- half a small green capsicum, finely diced

- half a small red capsicum, finely diced

- 1 tomato, diced finely

- oil

- handful of sweet paprika or even smokey would be good... (just not HOT paprika)
- a few tablespoons cumin (crushed with mortar and pestle)

- Water or stock
- Rice of choice (i chose brown rice as its the best for you)

* Cook the onion in oil, then once it is translucent add the capsicum, tomato and spices.

* Make sure it is all coated well in the spices, and then add the rice (you can judge how much you need) and stir around for a bit

* Add enough water or stock to cover the rice and then boil using the absorbtion method. (As soon as the liquid starts disappearing, add more water, keep doing this until it's done!)

It made enough for both of us, as well as heaps of leftovers for our lunches today. (I just finished eating my leftovers!!) Here is a photo, although it is not great. It tastes better than it looks :)

Mexican Beans a la Vegan

- oil
- 1 small-medium brown onion
- 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
- handful of green beans, chopped into small bits (optional)
- 1 stalk of celery chopped teeny tiny
- 1 carrot chopped teeny tiny
- 1 (truss) tomato, diced
- half a small red capsicum, diced
- 1 can red kidney beans
- Vegie/Beef stock
- 1-2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- about 1-2 Tbsp crushed cumin
- about 1-2 Tbsp crushed coriander
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- some cayenne pepper
- some hot paprika

* Cook the onion in the oil, garlic and spices. Add the carrot, celery, green beans and capsicum. Cook until they begon to soften, and add the bay leaf.

* Add the kidney beans and tomato, stir and cook for a few mins.

* Add the tomato paste and enough stock so it becomes saucy, and slowly simmer for a while until you are satisfied with the taste and texture of the vegies and beans.


Again - the photo does it no justice..



So we just put the beans on wholemeal wraps and topped them with our favourite salad stuffs. I put cheese on, but josh didn't so his was vegan-a-licious. SO YUMMMY

If i defrost the dhal tonight, i will take some good shots, and hopefully i can remember how i made it :s der brain.