Vegan Mofo Day 11: Portland 6

There was a Chevy's Restaurant right beside our hotel, and being a slave to my love of Mexican and Tex-Mex food, of course we had dinner there one night! Chevy's is a chain restaurant, and I've eaten there before, in San Francisco and somewhere else that I can't recall at the moment. Every single time I eat way too much because their portions are obscenely large and I have no self-control. But it's so good!

While you wait for your order they serve you fresh salsa and chips. The salsa is delicious, and I think must be made with roasted tomatoes, judging by the colour and the slightly sweet undertones. And the thin, white corn tortilla chips come warm and lightly salted. I love them!

Chevy's makes their own Smokin' Hot Habanero Hot Sauce. It's no Secret Aardvark, but it is good.

I had the veggie burrito - which as far as I can tell is one of the only veganizable items on the menu - with no sour cream or cheese and with black beans. It was tasty and gigantic and I ate just over half and left with a bit of a tummy ache. I need to learn to ask for a doggy bag when my food comes and package up half right away. Maybe next time...

This Week in My Kitchen: Nachos, Burritos, Tostadas & Roasted Veggies with Couscous

So I haven't been very inventive in the kitchen this week. Instead, I've been falling back on old favourites, many of which are mexican-inspired.

Nachos
A couple of years ago I visited Toronto, and my friend Melanie took me to Sneaky Dee's, a pub on College Street with an unusual and amazing selection of vegan options. We had the vegan nachos, and they were seriously fantastic! Ever since, I've been trying to recreate the experience at home (minus the unsmiling wait staff, gross bathrooms and graffiti on the walls). Here's my latest attempt, which I have to say, was pretty damn good. I think the Tofutti Sour Supreme, something I generally don't have because it's not exactly health food, is what pushed them over the edge.

 tortilla chips, refried black beans, Ziggy's salsa from the deli @ Superstore, pickled

jalapenos, sliced black olives, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, Tofutti Sour Supreme, green onions

Burritos

One of my favourite quick and easy meals is a burrito. The fillings vary according to what I happen to have in the fridge, but this one has refried black beans, sliced avocado, pickled jalapenos and Ziggy's salsa from the deli at Superstore (my favourite store bought salsa) on a whole grain tortilla.

Tostadas
I found some tostadas (toasted corn tortillas) on sale at the supermarket the other day, and dinner was set! For each serving I topped two small tostadas with a warm mixture of rice (leftover from Indian take out), black beans and cubed smoked tofu. Then I added a salad of baby spinach, sliced orange bell peppers and baby carrots, salsa, sliced black olives and pickled jalapenos. It was super filling and yummy, and a great way to get Kirk to eat salad.

Roasted Veggies with Couscous
Exactly how it sounds. I roasted a quartered acorn squash with baby carrots, fennel and broccoli and served it with couscous mixed with chopped spinach, onions and smoked tofu. This meal would have been fantastic with quinoa, but I was out and had to use couscous instead.