Рецепт Basically Raw Tacos
Ok, they're not completely raw because tortillas don't count, right? But hey, for a random attempt at something raw, it was pretty stinkin' good!
The weather here is hot hot hot! It doesn't happen very often in our ever so rainy and cold neck of the woods, so what do us Washingtonians do with all this sunshine? Soak it up baby... soak it up. We need all the vitamin D we can get, seriously. Everyone in Washington has a vitamin D deficiency; it's just the way it is.
That being said, my kitchen insistence has turned into a kitchen resistance. Well, not a terrible resistance, it's just a snitch unmotivating to spend time cooking in the kitchen when the sunshine is calling my name: 'Eeelllllleeeeennnnnnnn.... you know you want to come out here...' Yes, Sunshine, I do want to come out, but I'm so hungry! Mini doughnuts only go so far, Sunshine. I already have a muffin top, what I need is sustinance!
So in the hot hot weather, not only does cooking not sound good, eating hot food does not sound good so I decided to give the whole 'raw' revolution a try. I gather my inspiration from Noelle at An Opera Singer in the Kitchen. She always has some really interesting and creative raw creations. I think it's neat because I don't really 'get' raw 'cooking'. It's this mysterious thing that I really need to explore some more. I'll work on that.
The tacos though, it sounded like a fun alternative to actual heat cooking. I googled 'raw tacos' to see what I could come up with but I didn't really find anything to suit what I had in my 'mind's eye' so I decided to go out on my own. Oh yeah. Now, Honey is a really flexible eater. He doesn't appear to care that I don't eat meat and therefore don't cook anything of the like for his carnivore stomach. He always eats my food and asks for seconds. But raw tacos? Could I really pull it off? Let's find out!
Note: we are staying at my parent's house on the lake (water plus sunshine equals yay) so photograph wise I am working with new territory. I took about a hundred pictures of Honey's damn plate, carrying it all over the house, cursing as I went because every single light in the house, literally, every single light is yellow!!! No bueno when it comes to trying to photograph the delicious goodness. Apologies for the photographs that are seriously lacking. 'Um... why didn't you just go outside, Ellen?' That is a fantastical question that I do not have an answer to. Logical thinking though... good on you!
UPDATE!! I was so impressed by 'logical thinking' that I made some more tacos and went outside, so please enjoy!
Need:
- 1 1/2 cup sugar snap peas, ends cut of and then chopped
- 3/4 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 package three bean sprout mix (seriously my new favorite thing!)
- 1 1/4 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1 ripe avocado
- About 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 1 pkg handmade tortillas (or you could make your own tortillas)
- For the 'sauce'
- 3 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoon thai chili sauce (the sweet/spicy kind)
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- Salt and pepper
Do: (it's like, ridiculously easy...)
De-stem your sugar snap peas and chop. Wipe your shitakes clean and chop. Two notes: Note 1, chop your snap peas and shitakes into medium-ish pieces... if that helps. Note 2, do not wash mushrooms in water. Just use a rag and wipe anything off of them.
Put the chopped peas in a bowl and add the carrot, three bean sprout mix and sunflower seeds. Give it a light toss then add the shitakes... you can add the shitakes before tossing, it really doesn't matter, I was just going with my awesome pictures!
Make your dressing by combining the oil, chili sauce, vinegar and a scosh salt and pepper in a container with a lid. Shake the heck out of it then shake it some more.
Pour dressing over veg and toss to ensure proper covering. You want every morsel to have the chance to experience the delicousness...
Halve your avocado, remove the pit and run a knife through the meat first vertically, then horizontally, ending up with adorable little avocado cubes. To remove the meat, cubed and all, from the skin, simply use a spoon and scoop it out starting from the edge of the skin. Fantastical.
Serve:
Pop your tortillas (one or two) on a plate and lay three or four spinach leaves down. Top the spinach leaves with your veg/dressing mix and top that with avocado. You could make these individually or make a whole plate of them, lining them up all sweet like little beh behs waiting for their mamas.
That's it! Not only do they satisfy the 'I don't want to cook in this heat' urge, they are super tasty, light yet filling AND so fast you can make them, eat them and get back out in the sunshine quick style.
Enjoy!
And now back to:
lake trolling...
and pathetic look giving...
(pound puppy, don't look so sad)
and trashy magazine reading...
and beer drinking... Kokanee, eh.