Breakfast Tostado

The other day I received my copy of Vegetarian Times and on the cover was a yummy looking dish called Black Bean with Kiwi Salsa Tostado.  

When I looked at the recipe there were no instructions on making one's own shell.  The recipe called for a pre-made one.  So I went in search of instructions on how to make them.  The last time I had attempted making tostados from scratch, the shell came out either burnt or limp.

I found one blog entry which suggested baking them after coating the surfaces with oil at 400 degrees.  They came out very nicely and offered the inspiration for this recipe. My husband, my greatest fan when it comes to eating my food, raved so much and basically pestered me to post this recipe. So I did them over today so that I could record the steps as I made them.  Yesterday I had leftover beans, which I didn't have today so that's why I made them optional.  If you use a very thin layer, there is a slightly different, richer taste.  I think I prefer using them, but either way, they are quite tasty.

Serves two.

2 corn tortillas
Olive oil
1 tsp butter
2 eggs, scrambled
Re-fried beans (optional)
1 tbs salsa
2 tbs chopped parsley or cilantro
2 tsp finely diced red onion
2 tsp sour cream
2 tsp grated Manchego cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the tortillas on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil on one side, and then using a brush cover the surface with the oil. Turn the tortillas over and do the same on the other side. Bake.

Mix the eggs in a small dish and melt the butter in the skillet. Cook the eggs, scramble style, and then cover and keep warm. When the tortillas have bubbles on the surface, check the underside. If they are golden brown, flip them over and bake a little while longer until both sides are brown and slightly crispy.

Assemble the tostadas: If using, put a thin layer of the beans on the tortilla. Divide the eggs between the tortillas and top with parsley or cilantro, diced onions, salsa, and sour cream. Sprinkle the cheese on the top and serve.

Hurt Finger PIzza

Several of you know that last week, while trying to make pizza from scratch, I cut my finger badly on the blade of my mandolin slicer. I decided that I wanted to make pizza again and this time I was unwilling to wait for it to rise.  Besides I have been trying to find fool proof recipe for flat bread pizza so I thought this would be a good opportunity to experiment.  I looked through various cookbooks to find a flat bread without yeast and found one that just had flour, salt, and water.  Since my finger is still in the bandage, not to mention sensitive to touching things, I was somewhat unable knead the dough.  What to do?  Ah, the Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook to the rescue!  The resulting dough was very sticky but it seemed to work out pretty well.

I cooked the toppings for the pizza because I didn't want too much moisture from the tomatoes on the crust.  Besides, I have read that cooking tomatoes reduced the natural acids in them and helps with digestion.  I also don't like raw-ish veggies on pizza.  I sliced up one plum tomato and one regular tomato because that's what I had, one yellow onion, diced one large clove of garlic, and segmented one slice of roasted red pepper and cooked them in a little oil until the onion was translucent and then spooned it out onto the crust. I added some fresh basil leaves and slices of fresh mozzarella to the top.  You can use anything you want for the toppings.  I usually use what I have left over in the fridge.

Anyway, here is the recipe for the crust:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees.

Put all the ingredients into the mixer and fit it with the dough hook.  Mix until the dough is coming away from the bowl.  You may need to add a little more flour.

Coat a pizza stone with olive oil and also two rubber scrapers.  Turn the dough out from the bowl onto the stone and spread it to a thin circle leaving at least 1/2 inch of a boarder on the stone.  You may need to put more oil on the scrapers as the dough is very sticky.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the flat bread is somewhat brown on the edges.  Remove the stone with the dough and add your pizza toppings and put back in until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.  Let cool after removing for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Tasty Eating

I made a Tempeh Reuben from a recipe I found in two places the other night and served it with a side salad and a glass of red wine.  One step, draining the sauerkraut, was suggested in the other recipe, and I found it really helped with this one.  As usual my husband and I dined in the kitchen with the candles lit.  It was a delightful meal and the sandwich was really delicious.  My husband took one bite and was very surprised that he was finding it tasting so good.

When I first started this type of eating lifestyle, my husband balked and just shook his head and said "well, just make it taste good".  I think I have met that challenge.  Vegetarian cooking is not bland, it does not taste bad, and it is not restrictive.  Rather it is opening up a whole new world of ingredients I have never used before and endless possibilities with which to explore.

Give it a try.  I did not use vegan cheese or mayo with this, but I had all the other ingredients and it took very little time to make.  The results were delicious.  You don't have to go hog wild either and go totally vegan first time out.  Replace one meal with a vegetarian entree once a week to start.  Before long you just may find you are feeling better about it.