Taco Tuesday

When it comes to meat, there are many substitutes for vegans. Tofu, seiten (a wheat gluten meat substitute, not the ruler of the underworld), veggie burgers...I could go on. I do eat veggie burgers on occasion, but don't miss having meat in my diet. It's a non-issue for me. However, when cooking for others in my life, a little meat substitute every now and again is a must have.

Tonight I made vegan tacos with tofu crumbles as a substitute for meat. The tofu crumbles were plain, with not too much flavor by itself, so I added some organic 100% tomato paste, cumin and other taco-y seasonings, and some water as it was cooking so as not to dry everything out.

It's a simple fix for us vegans who share dinners with meat eaters. As long as you get the "meat" right, I promise that most meat-eaters will love them. After I got the tofu crumbles just right, I chopped the usual suspects for the taco toppings:

• fresh tomato
• jalapeno
• avocado
• red onion

Throw it all on a taco shell (check the ingredients for unnecessary additives and preservatives!), and you're good to go. Of course, you could also use lime, vegan sour cream, peppers, or your other favorite taco veggies, too. To complete the plate, I made some organic black beans as a side dish, and gave my non-vegan dinner partner some non-vegan sour cream to boot. Dinner was done in under 30 minutes, and it was delish!