Actually good vegetarian tacos

Vegetarian tacos are boring.  There, I said it.  A rice/bean mixture in a corn tortilla just isn't the most exciting thing in the world even if you've managed to throw together some really tasty rice and some time-tested beans. As it turns out, those do much better in a flour tortilla together, but that's another discussion for another day.

So you get creative.  And maybe you have to throw in an under-appreciated starchy vegetable.  And maybe, just maybe, you've been playing with some of the more esoteric uses of a food processor.  You might come up with something like this.

Part the first: a bean salad.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cans or 1lb of (soaked, cooked, etc) black beans, well-drained.  Throw in a a can of corn.  Perhaps pull out a can of olives, slice that up, and add.  While you're on knife work, dice a red onion finely -- and half a medium jicama, a bit less fine.

Set that aside; it won't need dressing for these purposes and you'll have plenty of leftovers that you can dress as you go.

Part the second: purée.  In a food processor, combine the following:

• 1 avocado
• a modest amount of corn or olive oil
• a dash or two of red wine vinegar
• juice (and pulp; why not) of 1 lime
• red pepper flake to taste
• small amounts of garlic (powder is fine here)
• a pinch of salt

Blend that puppy until smooth.  If you need a bit more liquid, add either oil or vinegar based on taste and overall texture.  Oh, and if you're making ahead or in a large batch, be sure to retain an avocado pit to keep from browning before serving.

And that's it.  Toast yourself up some corn tortillas, layer on the purée, bean mixture, and whatever loose greens you have around.  You might note that this is not just vegetarian at this point, but also vegan.  Feel free to keep it that way -- or sneak in cheese and yogurt.  And there you go: interesting tacos that don't depend on all the usual ingredients.

Mediterranean fun

A few weeks ago I ran across a huge sale on meyer lemons (and chicken thighs) and was left with very little idea as far as what to do with them.  So it was experiment time.  In this case I decided to look around the Mediterranean area and see what I could pull together.

First, the lemons.  I took two, sliced them thin, and brushed them with olive oil.  They went on a baking sheet with half a head of garlic and then in to the oven at about 325 for half an hour.  The lemons ended up slightly browned and the garlic was wonderfully mellow and mushy.

In the meantime, I dredged the chicken in flour, cayenne, paprika, and allspice and then browned it in an olive oil butter combination.

Once the lemons and garlic were ready, I chopped them along with kalamta olives and capers.

I added all the leftover flour to make a roux around the chicken then added everything in with a bit of chicken broth and simmered it down until the sauce was fully integrated and the chicken cooked through.

This worked wonderfully over pasta and would have done just fine on couscous as well.

Nice to have a slightly different flavor profile once in awhile.

A sandwich

This goes back a few years, but it's definitely a summer recipe.  It's sort of loosely based on a mufuletta.  And since it's a relatively cool day with no sun, I figure it might be perfect.

Tapenade

Odd place to start?  Sure.  But why not?  This is going to serve the role of oil and vinegar in the final product while adding something, umm, tapenady?

In a food processor, combine:

• A 60/40 split of kalamata olives and normal black olives
• 2 cloves of garlic (for once I'd strongly advise not going overboard here)
• 1 small handful of italian parsley
• A few chives, somewhat chopped
• 2 small spoonfuls of capers, rinced
• A small amount of oregano

Blend that, adding olive oil as needed, until you have a paste.

Sandwich

So when that's done, select your bread.  I'd recommend a baguette.

Halve your loaf, boule, whatever, and get some of the guts out.  You will have to make room for the other stuff.

So start adding:

• Tapenade to both pieces
• Feta
• Salami
• Spinach
• Banana peppers, sliced
• Roasted red pepper, sliced
• Tomatoes, sliced, salted, and drained in a strainer
• Whatever else strikes your fancy (though I'd recommend not taking the salt content up from here)

Recombine your two halves and wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least half an hour and up to, say, overnight.  Slice and serve.