VGS Cooking Club: The Tacos (Dec 2023)

[G-type | 2,482]

6 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

Is anyone here from a state that borders mexico? 
 

Seems like no-one knows what a true Mexican taco is and it shows. 
 

Has anyone here been to a taqueria? Or bought real, mexican tacos?

We have a lot of taco trucks and taquerias where I live.

[Richardhead | 2,813]

11 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

Is anyone here from a state that borders mexico? 
 

Seems like no-one knows what a true Mexican taco is and it shows. 
 

Has anyone here been to a taqueria? Or bought real, mexican tacos?

I live in Colorado and we have a bunch of people that moved here from California that complain about our tacos and burgers. Does that count ?

[Murray | 2,449]

Murray’s gringo tacos:

Ground chicken, onion, lettuce, cheese, secret sauce, nacho cheese el loco Doritos shells. Deconstructed Elote (Couldn’t find corn on the cob at the sto so had to improvise  ). Corn, sour cream, lime, cilantro and queso fresco. Lil Klondike bars for dessert. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Murray

[BlackVega | 583]

Fun fact: I have never eaten a taco in my life, let alone made one so this one is going to be interesting to me so whatever you see will be 100% improvisation

[PII | 1,886]

Here's how I typically do mine:

In a greased pan: Cilantro, Onions, Garlic, Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Oregano, Cumin, Paprika, Lime Juice + Any sort of Beef generally.   Sometimes if I have some extra mushrooms around and I'm a little low on Beef I'll get 'em in there too.

Line flat bottom Taco Shell w/shredded Cheddar, add coagulated ing. from above + more cheese.

Additional Layers in Order:

Shredded Lettuce

Diced Tomatoes or Freshly made Salsa if I've recently made some.

Chopped Jalapeños

Salsa Verde (which I like to make from scratch)

Mango/Habanero Sauce (Also make this from scratch)

Sour Creme

the one thing missing from this pic. - chopped black olives.

Salted Avocado slices

 

So Yum, I rarely have to take a break from 'em.

The jar labeled Sweet Orange Marmalade contains the Mango/Habanero Sauce (cue wicked Wario laughter and twiddle of mustache.)

 

[Gloves | 11,791]

This is what I usually eat as "tacos", as an Eastern Canadian with zero idea of what actually constitutes a taco. 

Sour cream, salsa (from a jar today, Old El Paso), black beans, three cheese blend, and a protein. Today the protein was steak strips, but it's more often than not ground beef. 

[Kguillemette | 1,545]

Buffalo chicken taco with Fiesta cheese, cornflake fried chicken, queso, franks red hot and blue cheese for dipping. Family favorite!

[Kguillemette | 1,545]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

This is what I usually eat as "tacos", as an Eastern Canadian with zero idea of what actually constitutes a taco. 

Sour cream, salsa (from a jar today, Old El Paso), black beans, three cheese blend, and a protein. Today the protein was steak strips, but it's more often than not ground beef. 

I like the addition of black beans. That's a good easy way to make tacos more filling like a folded burrito

[Gloves | 11,791]

Just now, Kguillemette said:

I like the addition of black beans. That's a good easy way to make tacos more filling like a folded burrito

My wife is vegetarian, so they're her protein.

[Link | 2,714]

Okay, this one is for @spacepup, and I guess also @Gloves's wife. I made up a new vegan thing.

 

Rice & beans are good. Nopales are a weird texture. Whole Foods carries a mycoprotein product line called Quorn that's a very good substitute for chicken. Season it right and it's a great taco. And you can get it ground or cutlets. 

But I wanted to invent something new. So I

Recipe:
diced and fried eggplant, mushrooms, soft and firm tofus.

With oil and seasoning in this ratio: 
2 tsp. chili powder
1 ½  tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. paprika  
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
½ tsp. salt 
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. dried oregano 
¼ tsp. black pepper

 

Pro tips: 

Spoiler

- Toast half of the seasoning in the oil before adding anything else. Add just the vegetables first and cook 10-20 minutes. They'll release a lot of water that won't evaporate if the tofu starts at the same time. So add the tofu and more seasoning last. Continue to stir fry 10+ minutes more until desired softness.

- Toasty corn tortillas on the open flame stove.

With sour cream left over from my last (unpublished) grilled cheese. It's good because I went slightly heavy on the spice, so it counteracts that. On a corn tortilla. 

My thoughts:

Spoiler

I would have added cilantro and onions. But I know cilantro can be divisive, and somehow I lost my onion between the produce aisle and home. Also I already bought way too much stuff. Two different kinds of tofu in no smaller than 1 lb. packages. Eggplants are big. Mushrooms are also a whole pound. I'm one person. Tofu is not in my ususl rotation, although I've made tofu scrambles and fried tofu sandwiches before. So I was getting ready to alternate that with the tacos. But I liked this so much that I went ahead and used most of the rest for a double batch. I think I have enough for 12 tacos stored now.

 

Edited January 20 by Link

[Jeevan | 8,912]

On 12/10/2023 at 6:06 AM, BlackVega said:

Fun fact: I have never eaten a taco in my life, let alone made one so this one is going to be interesting to me so whatever you see will be 100% improvisation

where do u hail from?  to never have eaten a taco in your life......are you patrick star?  

no disrespect meant, but serious.......

[Link | 2,714]

1 hour ago, Link said:

I lost my onion

I should have tied it to my belt. It was the style at the time.

[BlackVega | 583]

3 hours ago, Jeevan said:

where do u hail from?  to never have eaten a taco in your life......are you patrick star?  

no disrespect meant, but serious.......

It is that great land called Europe. No it is not Spain

[Jeevan | 8,912]

Forgot to post this but I take my taco's last night in salad form.  Unfortunately Kroger messed with their pico de gallo, so it wasn't as good, so I will just have to make my own next time.

[fcgamer | 4,729]

On 12/13/2023 at 2:23 PM, Link said:

Okay, this one is for @spacepup, and I guess also @Gloves's wife. I made up a new vegan thing.

 

Rice & beans are good. Nopales are a weird texture. Whole Foods carries a mycoprotein product line called Quorn that's a very good substitute for chicken. Season it right and it's a great taco. And you can get it ground or cutlets. 

But I wanted to invent something new. So I

Recipe:
dice and fry eggplant, mushrooms, soft and firm tofus.

With oil and seasoning in this ratio: 
2 tsp. chili powder
1 ½  tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. paprika  
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
½ tsp. salt 
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. dried oregano 
¼ tsp. black pepper

 

Pro tips: 

  Hide contents

- Toast half of the seasoning in the oil before adding anything else. Add just the vegetables first and cook 10-20 minutes. They'll release a lot of water that won't evaporate if the tofu starts at the same time. So add the tofu and more seasoning last. Continue to stir fry 10+ minutes more until desired softness.

- Toasty corn tortillas on the open flame stove.

With sour cream left over from my last (unpublished) grilled cheese. It's good because I went slightly heavy on the spice, so it counteracts that. On a corn tortilla. 

My thoughts:

  Hide contents

I would have added cilantro and onions. But I know cilantro can be divisive, and somehow I lost my onion between the produce aisle and home. Also I already bought way too much stuff. Two different kinds of tofu in no smaller than 1 lb. packages. Eggplants are big. Mushrooms are also a whole pound. I'm one person. Tofu is not in my ususl rotation, although I've made tofu scrambles and fried tofu sandwiches before. So I was getting ready to alternate that with the tacos. But I liked this so much that I went ahead and used most of the rest for a double batch. I think I have four servings stored now.

 

That looks good, what is the name of the tofu you are using here? 

[fcgamer | 4,729]

I had tacos for dinner tonight, finally.

[Jeevan | 8,912]

30 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I had tacos for dinner tonight, finally.

what is the filling????  give us all the deets. 

[fcgamer | 4,729]

Fried rice from two nights ago

Sausage, peas, rice, fermented black beans.

I'll try to do a proper one next week. 

[JamesRobot | 5,806]

Tacos!  Everything is fairly standard here.  Corn tortillas, beef, cheese, 50/50 lettuce mix, baby grape tomatoes, and taco sauce.

[G-type | 2,482]

[JamesRobot | 5,806]

Tacos and metal. Together!

 

[Richardhead | 2,813]

1 hour ago, JamesRobot said:

Tacos and metal. Together!

 

Love the band. Hate the song.

[JamesRobot | 5,806]

2 hours ago, Richardhead said:

Love the band. Hate the song.

It's not a song, it's a taco.

[Link | 2,714]

Chicken w/ onions & cilantro

 

[Hammerfestus | 3,857]

I’m lateeeee.  
 

 

i dun made some nice standard ass taacos the other day.