Wild Mushroom Tamales with Kale, Feta. Lime & Serrano Chili

Happiest Winter fellow foodies!

It has really been chilly here in Northern New Mexico.  The good thing about that?...it really inspires the "foodie urge" to create hot steamy soups and spicy dishes to keep us warm for the next few months.  I have been doing a lot of that; from slow cooking Pinto Beans in a Micaceous pot to robust pasta dishes to thick chunky chili with fresh hot crusty Sourdough Bread. 

If you know me well, you know that I am crazy about wild mushroom foraging in the summer months here in the high elevations of Northern New Mexico.  This year because of a great deal of much needed monsoonal rains, it was like a mushroom fantasy land in our forests.  I am lucky enough to be able to do this while practicing the art of keeping myself alive, because I was taught one summer for the entire summer, by a mushroom nerd.  Here is where I enter my disclosure;

Mushroom gathering in the wilds can be such a rewarding experience...and to boot, its free food!  However, there can be extreme risks in harvesting wild fungi in that the wrong mushroom eaten can, at best cause a violent vomiting session or two or three or four, till the bad enzyme's are out of your system, or at worse, kill you.  Just make sure that you truly know what you're doing when out gathering the delicious gilled fungi morsels.  This is not a hobby where you can take chances...enough said. 

I have been staring at all of my jars of dehydrated mushrooms sitting up on a kitchen shelf for months now...finally yesterday the kitchen spirit moved me.  I began researching recipes on the Internet for mushroom tamales.  There are numerous recipes out there with flavor slants this way and that way.  I knew that I wanted to incorporate dinosaur kale in my recipe, as well as tangy feta cheese.  When all was said and done, I had created a culinary fungi masterpiece!  I really love this tamale.  Fellow aficionados of the wild fungi...you will not be disappointed.  In this recipe I am giving instructions for the filling only...if you wish to learn about making tamale masa, refer to my previous blog, where I share all of that in my pork tamale recipe here:

http://www.foodolicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/tamale-masa-hold-lard.html

I used four different wild mushrooms, porcini, lobster, oyster & shaggy parasol.  Not certain that you need to use this combination, it was just what I reached for when I was brainstorming yesterday.  You could probably even succeed with this recipe if you used all domestic store bought varieties of mushrooms or only used one type instead of four.  I will just say that the combination I used in this recipe was dead on delicious.  Also my measurements for quantity of mushrooms was from a dehydrated state, before reconstituting with boiling water.

Here is my slant on Wild Mushroom Tamales;

 

Wild Mushroom Tamales

 

2 cups dried porcini mushrooms

2 cups dried lobster mushrooms

2 cups dried oyster mushrooms

2 cups shaggy parasol mushrooms

 

boil up some water and then pour over all the mushrooms into a bowl till covered.

Cover the bowl with a dish to allow for thorough steeping for 30 minutes.

Do not discard the mushroom broth created because you will be using it to add to the recipe.

After 30 minutes remove the mushrooms from the liquid, and chop finely and set aside.

 

 

 

1 medium sized bermuda onion finely chopped

 

3 large cloves of garlic finely chopped

 

1 serrano chili

 (I used dried and then pulverized in coffee grinder..but you can use a finely chopped fresh serrano)

 

5 large leaves of dinosaur kale finely chopped

 

1 cup of crumbled feta cheese

 

1 cup of dry white wine

 

1 1/2 cups of mushroom broth (from re hydration)

 

1 lime - use 1 teaspoon of zest and half of the lime for juice

 

3 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped

 

 

To the saved mushroom broth add 1 no salt vegetable broth bouillon cube (I use Rapunzel brand sold at Whole Foods) and dissolve - set aside

 

In a large pot, add 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and drizzle in some good olive oil...

be generous ;)

 

sauté the finely chopped onion for about five minutes till softened over medium heat 

 

add in the chopped mushroom mixture, the chili (either powdered or fresh chopped) & the garlic

 

sauté for another 10 minutes...(hopefully you will have a bit of fond at bottom of pan to deglaze with the wine)

 

Add in the chopped kale and season with salt and pepper

(remembering that feta cheese can be quite salty in of itself)

 

Once the kale is wilted in a few minutes, add in the wine and deglaze if fond has formed at bottom of pan

 

Add in mushroom broth and once a boil had been reached, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes

 

Add in the lime zest and juice of 1/2 lime

 

Allow mixture to cool and then add in the crumbled feta and the chopped cilantro

 

Your filling is ready to make tamales with.  Yum!

 

If you are making your own masa, instead of chicken or pork broth, I used more of the mushroom broth/vegetable bouillon cube mixture for the liquid...so make sure that you pour lots of boiling water over your mushrooms during re hydration...if using fresh mushrooms you can skip this step all together, but you will not have the delectable mushroom broth to use...

 

 

Fully fenjoy(?) fellow fungi foodie followers!

 

;)

 

 

robert

 

 



Why is Ceviche so much more delicious in the midst of summertime?

 

 

 

Ever notice that certain delicacies that we enjoy are somehow categorized as "summer foods".  Not that you can't eat them in the midst of a winter storm, but certain culinary pleasures seem to scream "summer is here so enjoy these summertime flavors!"  Sweet red watermelon dripping down your chin, vine ripened tomatoes bursting with juicy sweetness, dark burgundy colored cherries exploding with sweetness....I could go on and on... a Blue Moon beer with a big slice of fresh sweet orange...ok enough.  I believe I have made my point.

 

I have been eating Ceviche since I was a youngling, eating it for the first time in Ensenada, Mexico.  From the first bite, I was hooked with the uber vibrant flavors of cilantro, avocado, onions, lime and lemon juices, chili sauce and of course fresh caught fish. 

 

So two months ago, I started making my Ceviche using Tilapia.  I got a great deal on a pound of it at our local market.  It tasted so good....and then I just happened upon about a zillion articles on farm raised seafood and how bad it is for you.  How the process of feeding the fish less than healthy food ends up making the fish not so healthy fish after all...Apparently you might as well be eating bacon because the nutrition or lack thereof in both ends up being about the same.  I just muttered..."it's always something." 

 

Living in northern New Mexico, I don't have access to the Redondo Beach Pier, or the San Pedro fish markets or any of the other California coastal spots I could go to for fresh, wild caught pescado.  I started to get "creative"....(good substitution for desperate).  Every time I got excited about a sale on fresh fish it was farm raised fresh fish...So I did what a native Californian rarely does...I started looking in the frozen seafood sections...it was painful but I had researched about fishermen flash freezing right on fishing boats and so I muttered "Robert your not in California anymore..."

 

First I tried frozen wild caught Ocean Perch, it worked perfectly in my Ceviche recipe.  Next I tried

frozen wild caught flounder...and on and on.  Each time I tried a frozen but wild caught fish, that is one that was of a firmer texture, I was pleased with the results.  Of course if I started thinking about the ample supply of wild caught and I mean just caught ocean fish in southern California...well I tried not to...

 

I eat a lot of seafood.  I was raised eating it because my father was a deep sea fisherman.  The kind that would be able to yank a huge tuna onto the boat with a good strong tug...(ahhh the imagery of yesteryear)...I don't think that happens anymore.  By the time I came around, he was only doing it for sport, mostly in the azure seas of México.  I actually eat everything from raw sushi to octopus to mussels to raw clams and oysters to everything in between.  I know it's good for me so that makes the eating of it all the more appealing.   

 

There are a lot of Ceviche recipes out there and I have tried a lot of them.  I was experimenting a few weeks ago and came up with this super easy and fast recipe.  For those of you reading this that are into Ceviche and all it's healthy goodness enjoy this whether you have the luxury of having lots of fresh wild caught fish to choose from or whether you need to resort to frozen wild caught.  I am not telling you not to use farm raised seafood. I don't use it anymore and I am simply suggesting doing your research before you continue eating it.  Also, for those that want to try Ceviche but never have because of the raw fish in the recipe.  I can say that the acidic nature of the lime and lemon juices changes the texture of the fish to appear like cooked in texture.  You actually see the semi transparency of the fish change to opaque after leaving it in the fridge overnight....enough said.  Here you go friends:

 

 

 

Roberto's Ceviche

 

 

1 pound of firm fleshed fish

 

1/2  red union finely chopped

 

2 large limes

 

1 large lemon

 

2 tsp Sea salt

 

1 tbs crushed dried oregano

 

1 can of Ro Tel Mexican style -lime and cilantro***

(10 ounce size)

 

***If you like fire hot Ceviche, use the Ro Tel with Habanero Chili instead

 

 

Chop the fish into 1/2 inch chunks

If using frozen, if you allow the fish to semi thaw it makes cutting into chucks easier

Finely chop the red onion

Juice the limes and lemons

 

In a covered container add the fish, the onion, the can of Ro tel (DO NOT DRAIN)

the citric juices, the salt and the crushed oregano

 

Mix well, cover and place into the fridge for 6 hours.

 

When you serve, chop up an avocado and fresh cilantro and mix in with the Ceviche

 

Serve up on either a crispy corn tostada shell or soft corn tortillas.  Or just eat it with your favorite chips...it's the bomb with Stacey's Pita Chips.

 

Mucho Yummy!

When going bananas is okay...

Two things...I can't believe how long it has been since I posted to Foodolicious and I can't believe
how much I love all things bananas.  Banana ice cream, banana pudding, banana cream pie, banana bread, banana cheesecake,  banana cake with banana frosting...Okay I think I made my point. 

Ironically in the past, due to my extreme affinity for those yellow potassium filled morsels, listing that many scrumptious desserts would make me get right into the kitchen and concoct one of them immediately.  But thankfully and healthfully, my partner and I have given up processed white sugar.  Sure wasn't easy for this pair of sugarholics, but two months down the line, the cravings are gone and we feel great.  The weirdest part about giving up those sinful empty non nutritional delights, is that if you decide to, so to speak, "treat yourself" and have something sugary you have given up, you immediately notice not only a rush from the sugar, but your body just doesn't like it the way it did before and you know it pretty quickly...amazing what our body tries to tell us if and when we are ready to listen.

I try to live by the nutritional rule that says; If it's low fat, no fat, no salt, low salt, no sugar, low sugar, low calorie, no calorie, etc....then it was given it's "qualities" in a laboratory of sorts and if that's the case my body would rather have stuff not altered by a man or woman or even perhaps an automaton in a white coat among all of those petri dishes...so to speak.  Just sayin...

I was excited to discover that there are lots of healthy baked goods you can sweeten with bananas, raisins, applesauce, etc. instead of white sugar.  After I "got" it, and realized that you could use alternative natural sweeteners in baking, I began creating a few really good sweet desserts that are truly good and good for you.  We aren't staying clear of items made with cane sugar.  The other day I purchased some Kashi Cereal sweetened with cane juice that is really good tasting.  By the way talking about sweeteners; beware of all that marketing around Agave Nectar...it's just as bad as white sugar...just sayin...(google it)

We really appreciate the naturally sweet flavor of fruit now more than ever.  So twelve pounds lighter and feeling absolutely fantastic...with the help of cardio exercise of course, allow me to share the easy and noisy recipe for banana soft serve.  By the way, when Rachel Ray made this on her show, she topped it off with chocolate syrup and peanuts.  You may opt to do that, but if you use really ripe bananas that are beginning to get the black spots on the peels, you really don't need anything else.  It's the perfect dessert for the palate in our hotter month ahead.


Here is one time when it's okay to go bananas.....


rv



Banana soft serve

3 very ripe bananas (3 serve 3 people so plan this accordingly)
milk of your choice; whole, low fat (I use sweetened and unsweetened almond milk)

Food processor or high end blender

Peel the bananas and chop them into 1 inch long slices.  Place into a ziploc bag and freeze.

Here is the noisy part:

Remove the completely frozen banana pieces from the freezer and drop into a food processor.  To make it an easier process, break up the frozen mass carefully with a small sharp knife.
Begin to pulse the bananas and then fully turn on power as soon as they begin to puree and blend.
Drizzle in milk of your choice a little at a time just till it looks like ice cream. You may need to do some additional pulsing if the frozen chunks are not separating.

You will not believe the fluffy soft serve consistency. Enjoy.

 

The Land of Enchantment Stew

Here in New Mexico, we have a few tricks up our sleeves when it comes to keeping warm in the wintertime.  It can be pretty brutal...and as soon as I label it "brutal"...I hear from a friend in some other place dealing with 40 degrees below zero...then I sort of relax. 

Many of you that don't reside in our Land of Enchantment, are aware of our obsession with chili, especially green chili.  When I moved here 12 years ago I lived in Albuquerque.  So late summer arrives and suddenly anywhere I went in the city, I was slapped and overwhelmed with the mouth watering smells of roasting green chili.  I knew I had moved to paradise.  Being from Southern California, unless you go to a specialty food store or have a "chili source", you just don't have exposure to New Mexico Green Chili.  Oh yeah you mention green chili to the average Californian and they reach into their pantry and pull out a can of "Ortega Chili".  Only thing these have in common is their color and nothing else...just not the same thing.  Back to landing in New Mexico 12 years earlier...suddenly I am bombarded...in the best way bombarding can occur with green chili options on my pizza, in pasta dishes, on burgers...my gawd, even the "golden arches" offers a green chili double cheeseburger! 

There is this certain addiction to the spicy green morsels that brings excitement to those of us that drool over it, when chili season arrives.  We go thru the chili dilemma..."should I buy from my same source as last year?  should I wait till a few weeks have passed or buy from the first early crop from Hatch? (The main city in Southern New Mexico where the chili is grown), should I roast my own this year on my barbecue? should I try extra hot this year?" and on and on.  All New Mexican style restaurants in the state and I mean all know exactly what you mean when you order "Christmas" as your style of chili, which simply means having both green and red chili poured over your meal...how's that for obsession?
I could go on about the New Mexico chili fix, like at Thanksgiving having a bowl of fresh chopped chili at the table or having it mixed into your stuffing or having a bowl of red chili in place of gravy...but enough!  I have to stop somewhere, even though as I write this post, I know that I am going to have to go grab some green chili and simply serve it up in a tortilla with cheese...oh yum!

So back to our secrets for keeping warm, one of them "Green Chili Stew." is a staple here not only in our cold months, but it is especially fantastic when it's freezing outside.  There are variations on this recipe all across the board, and being a foodie I have asked and asked the locals how they prepare theirs...basics are the same but the subtle differences are why its exciting to have it at so and so's house or at this or that restaurant...it's never exactly the same.  Here's my slant on the stew that I guarantee thousands of households will be serving tonight here in Nuevo Mexico...their very own recipe that is...

Roberto's Green Chili Chicken Stew

4 chicken breasts

16 seeded, skinned & chopped roasted new mexican green chili

(set aside 4 of the chopped chilis)

1 large yellow onion

2 stalks celery

4 large cloves garlic

1 large carrot

5 russet potatoes peeled and chopped

8 cups chicken stock

2 cups cream of mushroom soup (I use fresh, but canned condensed with do)

2 tablespoons coriander seed

1 tablespoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 tablespoons dried mexican oregano
1 tablespoon dried cilantro

2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon smokey paprika

2 tablespoons granulated garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

salt to taste

1 tablespoon dried green chili powder (if available or substitute cayenne)
1/2 cup flour

Except for the salt, place all the spices into your spice grinder and process till a fine potent powder - set aside

Place chicken breasts into a small pot of water and add 2 bay leaves, one stalk of celery, one yellow onion quartered and about a teaspoon of black pepper corns

Bring water to boil using medium heat

Make sure not to over cook the chicken, just process till barely done - cube to desired size and set aside covering with foil

Do not get rid of the water the chicken cooked in but do strain the broth

Take all the vegetables and chop them (not too large not too small but do chop the potatoes a bit bigger) 

In a large dutch oven, saute in olive oil till they begin to soften

Add the ground spices to vegetables along with 12 of the green chili and cubed chicken

saute another two minutes

(allow your nose to take in the magic you have created at this point)

Add the stock and the cream of mushroom soup to the pot.  Mix well and cook over medium heat for one hour

At this point add salt to taste and the remainder of the chopped chilis

Depending on the heat level of chili you are using, the stew may be overwhelming so add in more of the water you cooked the chicken in till it's not a punch of chili that is too strong.  Of course you can begin with mild chilis if you cannot tolerate the heat and leave out the green chili powder/cayenne powder

Now take the 1/2 cup of flour and mix with about two ladles of the water from the chicken and mix well then pour it into the pot of stew and stir till incorporated
This will help thicken the stew just a bit.  If you prefer thicker stew, add a whole cup of flour or to taste

Give this mixture another 45 minutes

Serve it up in this awesome way

In a deep soup bowl, place one heated flour tortilla per bowl formed to bowls inner contours

Smear a small amount of refried beans onto the bottom of the tortilla along with grated cheddar and a dollop of sour cream or plain yoghurt
If you are serving to those that don't like the heat very much, serve extra sour cream or yoghurt at the table...this really can mellow out the chili spices (wimps!  ;-) )

Pour the stew into the tortilla reservoir and savour, savour, savour.

You will love this stew...

Enjoy

Comer mucho!

robert

You and the Sensuous Fungi

Heh! got your attention with that title I bet!  Hey fellow foodies!  It's been awhile and boy do I have serious reasons, from a town evacuation due to fire to a fantastic trip to Costa Rica just this month and a whole slew of others...but the point is, I am ready to resume foodolicious!  I really have liked all those friendly little "prods" from followers..."Robert...what ever happened to your food blog,  Robert...I need some new recipes, Robert...is Foodolicious still alive"...to this I respond simply,

"Si!"

Today I write about my passion for mushrooms.  I would love to write all about how to go out and pic the wild ones, since I do that.  But the truth is I learned from an absolute one-hundred percent "shroom nerd"  Oh my gawd!  This man lives and breathes everything fungi!  I was fortunate enough to cross his path and get him to take me up into our local high mountain ranges last year and show me everything there is to know.  I am so grateful that I can pick in the wilds and not go into hallucinogenically induced spasms or worse...well we know what worse can be.  But my point is, here on my blog, I won't get into the "hows" of wild mushroom foraging because it's just too risky.  The way I learned is the way everyone should...at the side of a willing and knowledgeable Mycologist...like my source...but be warned in my case, that was all the guy could friggin talk about...but that's a good thing for your continued healthy well being!

But the mushrooms you can buy in your local grocery store, sold as button or white mushroom can be real palitable and real cheap if you do like I do.  So I am giving away my secret even if local fellow "los Alamosites" read this.  I go to my local market early in the morning then I go over to the produce department where the loose mushrooms sold in bulk reside.  So that the mushrooms remain fresh in the basket in which they are placed, they bag the old unsold like every two days and sell them for a fraction of the per pound price.  I snag these, sometimes three or four big bags at a time.  At home I slice them up, place them in my dehydrator for 24 hours and then they go into airtight jars.  Voile! 

Now for the fun part...the prior part isn't really that fun...shop, slice, sort, toss. It's the anticipation of what you can do with these dried morsels that is exciting.  Oh and by the way, when you dehydrate mushrooms, the flavors intensify! 

So here are some of my favorite things to do with dehydrated mushrooms:

1)  Take a handful and invent a marinade or use bottled dressing or use bottled dressing and add your personal touch to it, such as chili flakes, dill, fresh lemon juice, etc.  Then simply place the mushrooms in a container with the dressing, give it 24 hours and you have a really tasty snack.

2)  Enhance many meals by simply placing them into your spice coffee grinder and turn them to powder.  Then add this delicous powdered mushroom spice to sooo many dishes. 

3) Rehydrate them and add to soups, sauces, casseroles, etc. Do this by adding boiling water or broth to a bowl containing the mushrooms. At this point simply cover or add spices of your choice for added flavoring, such as garlic powder.  Cover the bowl and give em at least 30 minutes.

4)  Chop em up while dry and top your pizza with them for an almost chewy consistency or rehydrate first and then add for the normal texture.

5)  Make a delicious wintry cream of mushroom soup...you don't even have to rehydrate them for this.  Add them to your cauldron of liquids and spices and just puree the cooked product with an immersion hand blender.

6)  Invite over your vegetarian friends and impress them with re hydrated mushrooms used to make veggie burgers.  There are a zillion recipes on the Internet...or make up your own.

See! the fungi can be versatile and reasonable if you buy them the way I do...heck maybe even a tad sensuous...  ;-)  This year, was not a good one for wild mushrooms here.  I lucked out with one great patch of Oyster Mushrooms but overall, the rain just came too late to New Mexico.  So my dehydrated wild mushroom supplies from last summer have dwindled and I now have to rely on the store bought variety more so.  But I cross my fingers for next year, because there is nothing like a wild mushroom in taste...I suggest finding your own "shroom nerd" or taking a class at the local college.  It's just too risky to go out with mushroom field guide in hand...some in the species that are delectable resemble those that are deadly...just sayin.

Happy Fall!

robert

A repost just for the furry ones in our lives..................

Many of us have at least one of em...they greet us with penetrating eyes no matter what. They are all about unconditional love...and they really mean it too! Well, they do appreciate a treat now and then to keep the unconditional love thing fed.

Today I focus on the love we have for our canine companions and the love they give us in return. I am not as consistent as I should be in making this healthy treat for our three, but when I do, the level of excitement does seem elevated even though all excitement seems to be at the same "happy canine over the top level" for food and hikes and car rides and elk poop. So make this healthy yummy biscuit recipe for your furry ones and get out the excite-o-meter and see if yours don't exude a higher level of happiness when you give them one or two or three or.......

Healthy Dog Biscuits

1 1/4 cups cornmeal

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried dill

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp dried oregano

1 1/4 cups water

1 beaten egg for glazing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Blend all the dry ingredient and add the water and knead into a workable dough or use a food processor with the dough hook attachment.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch.

Cut with a cookie cutter (they will still eat em if you don't have a bone shaped one)

Prick with a fork for texture and decoration.

Brush top of cookies with the beaten egg and bake for 25 minutes.

Keep em in an airtight container....there are no preservatives after all. Oh yeah, you can sample these yourself without any weird stigma attached because they are made of ingredients we humans eat all the time.

bow wow wow!

ciao!

robert

TVP!

Oh my...did I ever have more than just an aha moment in the kitchen today.  Ok so my discovery may be nothing new to you vegetarians out there but for me it was an amazing culinary "trick"...and a very healthy one I am discovering from all the delving I have been doing into this "TVP"...among the top features....NO FAT AND NO CHOLESTEROL!

So my mother in law asked me if I wanted a bag of it because she wasn't going to use it after all...she had encountered a meal prepared by Seventh Day Adventist's it seems...and she was very impressed with the flavor and texture of this mystery product...Again, you vegetarians are probably rolling your eyes by about now...well a mystery to us it was.

I am talking about Textured Vegetable Protein.  It's a granulated product that is made of soy and is used as a meat substitute...so those words in of themselves are enough to make me turn the other way but every review I read about TVP was very good...I kept reading things about how delicious it was and how the texture made it a great meat substitute.

So I had this unopened bag of TVP by Bob's Red Mill... you know the brand that has its very own little section in all the grocery stores now Bob's Red Mill TVP.

So it was a toss up between making a veggie burger or taco meat.  I was in the mood for tacos so I just made my taco meat recipe and substituted the TVP.  I will tell you foodie readers right here and now I could fool anyone if they did not know it wasn't beef.  Everything I read was true.  It is delicious and the end result is a texture that is like crumbled ground beef.  This culinary venture is about as far left into the world of vegetarianism as I have every drifted, I shredded some almond jalapeno jack cheese substitute to further the experiment...there was not one negative thing to say about the meal...cept maybe that I wasn't sipping a cold blended margarita or a cold mexican beer.

TVP Tacos ala Villegas

1 cup TVP Granules

1 cup chicken broth

1 medium sized yukon gold potato or any other buttery flavored spud

1 medium sized chopped yellow onion

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 tsp Chipotle Powder

2 tbsp chipotle salsa

1 tablespoon Ground Cumin

1 tsp Ground Mexican Oregano
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp Knorr Brand "Caldo de Tomate" Knorr Caldo de Tomate

(this is what I use to salt my meat also...don't add any additional salt)

In a bowl, add the TVP Granules to the chicken broth and stir well.

Allow the TVP to soak up all of the liquid for 15 minutes

Either Boil or Microwave the potato and discard skin

Saute in canola oil, the onion, garlic and the spices

Add the cooked potato and mash with a fork, till it's in very small chunks

Add the TVP and the salsa

Mix well

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes

Fill a taco shell with the TVP taco mixture and your regular taco toppings

I hope I find at least two vegetarians that didn't know about this  ;-)

robert