Hi eaters!

It’s Tuesday, as you probably already know. There really isn’t much to say about Tuesdays in general, or this Tuesday in particular.

So let’s talk about something that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: learning.

I love to learn.

Proof: as I write this, I’m listening to NPR and learning about dynamic windows and how the NHL has more reliable brain damage testing then the military.

More proof: when I was younger I thought about being a college professor because the idea of being in a career based on constantly learning was thrilling.

I honestly hope I never stop learning. And so far I haven’t.

From this blog alone, I’ve learned an immense amount.

I’ve learned how to create recipes. I’m still learning about photography and plating. I’ve learning (and hopefully will always keep learning) about nutrition. I’ve learned cooking techniques.

The list goes one.

And hopefully (oh I really really hope so), you’ve learned a thing or two from reading my blog.

I hope you’ve learned to see the potential from a pile of vegetables.

I hope you’ve learned that vegetables are really awesome.

I hope you’ve learned that there are two ways to skin a cat raccoon. By that I mean, you can rip kale off the stem by hand, or you can cut it off with a knife. Neither is wrong because both result in stem-less kale.

I hope you’ve learned that having a good recipe to follow can make cooking easy.

On the flipside, I hope you’ve learned when a recipe isn’t that good.

Note — If a recipe suggests sautéing with water, not oil, and doesn’t have any spices, it’s probably not a good one.

I hope you’ve learned how to be confident enough in the kitchen (because, honestly, if I can do it, so can you) to use that bland recipe as a jumping off point and create something delicious.

Mushrooms and Greens Tacos

I hope you’ve learned that just about anything sautéed up with cumin and cayenne can be put in a tortilla and called tacos.

1 container mushrooms, roughly chopped

½ (red) onion, diced

~2 c kale, roughly chopped*

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ c TVP**

1 T ground cumin

~1/2 t cayenne, optional

~1/2 t salt, divided

½ T (apple cider) vinegar

oil

water

tortillas and salsa, to serve

*Substitution — Use any green you want. Chard, spinach, or whatever you have on hand.

**Substitution — Beans or crumbled tempeh would also work if you can’t find TVP. But, really, try to find TVP (Bob’s Red Mill sells it). It’s a really fun and easy ingredient.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and stir to coat. Sauté the onions until they are just softening, add to garlic, and continue cooking until everything is fragrant and almost translucent.

Next, add the mushrooms, TVP, and a good sprinkle of salt.

Note — When you salt things matters. Salting early draws out water (which is what we want here), while salting later adds flavor.

Stir everything together and cook until the mushrooms are soft and the TVP is soft. Add the cumin and cayenne, stir, and cook until fragrant (about a minute or two).

Toss in the kale, another sprinkle of salt, and a dash of water. Stir everything together, trying to get the kale covered by the mushroom mixture, and cook until the kale is wilted down.

Finally, add the vinegar, give everything one more good stir, and spoon the mixture into tortillas.

This recipe may not seem very different from the original. But it’s worlds away, flavor-wise.

The addition of a little cumin, cayenne, and salt made this more then a bland, mushy pile of sautéed vegetables. The kale held up better then chard would have. And by swapping TVP for the beans I used what I had on hand and upped the protein and fiber.

These tacos became something delicious and filling, that makes you want to eat your vegetables. All because I learned how to confidently depart from recipes.

Another thing I hoped you’ve learned — salsa makes (a lot of savory) things better.

Yup, better.

Your turn:

What’s something you’ve learned lately?

What’s something you want to learn here?

G’night eaters!