Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Taquito Party & how you can help Prop 2!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

Oh no! Where has the time gone? Plans for posts seem to be tossed by the wayside, as time slips through my fingers & next thing you know it's been far too long since I've updated. I could give you excuses (like I just spent 5 days exploring vegan-friendly Chicago), but I think I'll let the food do the talking.

I'm not one to fry food. A bit of a klutz in the kitchen, the last thing I need is hot oil sputtering & adding to the many culinary battle scars on my arms. The issue with my no-fry policy is Ryan loves fried foods, namely taquitos, which were a huge part of his San Diego area upbringing. His story about a dozen taquitos with a huge mound of guacamole for $5 has been told so many times, I can recite it word for word now. Luckily our friends Mark & Carmen are not afraid to fry & when Ryan's story had been told to them a few times, they decided to have a taquito party in honor of Carmen's birthday!

It's rare that others make food for us, so I was thrilled to be offered dinner, but another upside is Mark & Carmen are professionally trained chefs! Needless to say, we were in for a great treat. Joined by fellow vegans Alex & Kristen, all six of us brought ingredients to the table & came up with taquito filling combinations. Armed with corn tortillas & a range of options, we decided on black bean, kale, & yuca, as well as tvp chorizo & roasted corn.


As the filling were being crafted by Mark, Carmen set to work on the world's largest bowl of guacamole, much to Ryan's delight. With the fillings finished, a large pot of Spanish rice simmering, & the oil coming to temperature, Carmen piled each tortilla with our delectable concoctions & inserted a toothpick to insure no morsel could escape. Mark took his position of frymaster in front of the oil, & the first round was plunged in to the swirling liquid. Golden taquitos rose to the top of the pot & were quickly whisked on to a waiting towel lined baking sheet. Crispy taquito success!

We all ate piles flavorful taquitos topped with mounds of guacamole, much like those of Ryan's youth. Our plates were also filled with a side of vegetable laced Spanish rice, & amazing roasted tomato salsa, courtesy of Mark. Everyone was thrilled, including taquito loving Strummer, & the TVP chorizo & roasted corn decidedly the favorite of the night. For dessert, we had scoops of Double Rainbow Soy Cream in Vanilla Bean, Cinnamon Caramel, Dulce No Leche, & Mint Chocolate Chip with chocolate & caramel sauce. It was a gluttonous feast for all & we're already crafting up ideas for new fry parties!

By the way, there's less than 50 days left until the November elections & Prop 2 is still working hard to ensure better conditions for farm animals in California. The opposition has collected million of dollars, mainly donated by large factory farms, to stop this modest proposal, while the "Yes on Prop 2!" support has been coming from the people! We're being massively outspent, so we're taking to the streets to gain support from citizens, but need more funds to run television commercials & get the word out. What can you do to help? Donate a few dollars! Even a $5 donation is wonderful, anything you can do to help! I am trying to find 20 people to donate $20, a modest goal of $400 to help this deserving cause. Please consider making a donation, you don't have to be in California & just a few dollars can help to improve the lives of millions of animals!

33 comments:

julie hasson said...

Your taquitos look amazing melisser!! I can almost taste them with the guacamole. Yum!

Hope you had a great time in Chicago.

XO Julie

thedalyn said...

I never connected this to my upbringing, but, now that I think about it, I did eat a lot of taquitos growing up in SD and I still get a yen for them at times. Especially now! A taquito party is a fantastic idea.

Anonymous said...

these look awesome but i am wondering what yuca is...can i find it at my local supermacado?

Animal-Friendly said...

Taquitos- yummy! I also have a frying fear because I have suffered far too many burns due to splattering oil, but I gotta make me some taquitos!

You came to Chicago- yay! Hope you enjoyed it and didn't catch any of our awful weather.

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmmmmmm.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Glad to see you posting again, Melisser!! I've missed you!! :0)

Anonymous said...

I am both klutzy and a lover of taquitos! This post = would it be gross to say I feel drooly? YUM.

No More Sad Geraniums said...

That chorizo and roasted corn one does indeed look amazing. Sounds like an amazing night!

Anonymous said...

You have the most awesome party ideas!

P.S. I moved my blog to wordpress. Come on over :)

Anonymous said...

I'd better not show Chaz this post, he'd start bugging me for taquitos too! although I am now craving myself, thanks to you. grrrrrrrrrrrr...

Model Citizen aka Bonnie Rue said...

I am imagining me attempting the taquitos (note: I have not had the best luck frying things) and I can just see them coming upwrapped. The filling making a huge mess in the oil and my confidence level hitting the floor.
any secrets for keeping this hypothetical situation from becoming a reality?

Liz said...

Yeah! Fry parties are great because it's such a shame to use all that oil for just a few people. My favorite fry party included homemade corndogs, fried mushrooms, and fried "cheese curds". Yum! Taquitos should be next on my list.

jessy said...

a crispy taquito success, indeed! i'm so jealous! mmmmmm! i'm not too good with frying stuff either. i always get burned and my kitchen = icky for days 'cause i make such a mess!

hooray for the biggest bowl 'o guac, ever! that. sounds. awesome.

w00t!

Maria Rose said...

I love to make taquitos too, but to avoid the excess oil I just warm the tortillas in a small (very small) amount of oil to make them pliable, fill them, secure 'em with a toothpick and bake 'em until they are crisp.

Bianca said...

Wow! I want a taquito now. Since I went veg years ago, the only taquitos I've had where the frozen kind in a box at Wild Oats. Good, but not good like homemade. I'm not afraid to fry, so I just may have to give that a shot.

Laura said...

those look absolutely genius! i had never even thought of making my own taquitos...thanks for the inspiration! party on!

urban vegan said...

Yes, yes, yes Prop 2.

And yes, yes, yes-- taquitos, please.

Anonymous said...

My mouth is freaking watering here! Taquitos!! And the world's biggest bowl of guac? Damn, I'm jealous!

And I hope Prop 2 goes through!

Anonymous said...

Welcome back from Chicago! I've never been, but it sounds like a pretty cool place.

Theresa said...

Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog :)

I have always been afraid of deep frying. I've done it twice, both in high school cooking class. The first time was just in a pot like you've done, and all the smoke from the oil made my eyes so red and watery and I had to spend the rest of the day looking like I was stoned off my face. The second time was with one of those fancy-schmancy electrical fryers with a lid and a basket and all kinds of safety features. I would love to have one of those, though if I did I would probably gain about 75 kilos.

Thanks for reminding me the election is so close! Note to self: donate $$ and apply for an absentee ballot.

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

Those are great photos. I can almost taste the taquitos! And Prop 2 is a great cause.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Yummmmmmy taquitos! What a great party idea!

I hope Prop 2 is passed!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! I wish I was at that party!

Anonymous said...

I'm not so good with frying either. We gotta try those taquitos though. I'm happy to donate! I hope you reach goal and Prop 2 passes!

Sheree' said...

OMGoodness! Those taquitos are making my mouth water! Droooooool!

VeganView said...

Thanks for checking out my blog! I absolutely love yours! And yes, freshly picked produce is the best!

allularpunk said...

i'm fry phobic for the same reasons! and my boyfriend is sad because of it. luckily, he got a frydaddy for christmas so whenever he wants something fried, he can do it up right himself :)

Laura said...

yes, food parties are the best...especially when you can introduce people to yummy vegan food. i always have an alterior motive for veganism :)

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Thank you for the nice comment you left on my "happy vegan ghosts" post! :)

That taquito party sounds like it was a lot of fun, and the taquitos look SO good!

Kiki said...

Wow, looks delicious! Your my vegan blogger hero :)

I just started a vegan treats blog, this is the URL:

http://vegantreatz.blogspot.com/

Can't wait to see what else you cook up!

whoXcares said...

like your blog...amazing!!!

pat

Vegan_Noodle said...

It's been far too long since I've had a taquito.... looks like quite the party!

And so glad you are working hard to support Prop 2. I wish I could do more than give money here from Texas.... maybe someday we'll have a similar proposition!

Anonymous said...

I heart taquitos... These looks delicious!