raw walnut tacos
I used this recipe as the basis for the filling with a few additions and substitutions. Instead of the plain olive oil, I used some vegan basil pesto. I also added some nacho jalapeno slices, some cumin, a splash of soy sauce, and some nutritional yeast for good measure. If you make the recipe, I suggest using it as a base and customizing it to your tastes by adding in your own little tweaks and perks. But whatever you do, don't exclude the sun dried tomatoes...they give this filling a lot of flavor.
raw walnut taco filling
There was tomato rice too--it's not in the photo because it was still cooking when I shot the tacos. If you've never had it, tomato rice is delicious: you basically saute onions with herbs/spices of your choice (I added chili powder, cumin, oregano) until the onion becomes translucent, then add the rice stir it through, then pour in an herby tomato broth, bring to simmer, cover and cook the rice through.
Now, on to the beer. Barnivore says this beer is vegan-friendly, so we couldn't resist trying some:
vegan-friendly watermelon-infused beer
It's fermented with watermelon juice; and it does have a subtle watermelon overtone...perfect with tacos on a summer evening, in my humble opinion.
Here's dessert:
local organic fruit, YUM!
Oh, and before I forget, has anybody tried these?
radish seed pods
They're some radish pods. I had never seen them before picking them up at the farmers' market last week. They're sweet and crunchy. The farmer said they're good in stir frys...I've been using them in salads. Of course in order to get these, you can't eat the radishes--can't have your radishes and your pods too ya know :)
Ciao for now.
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Tobin
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Ugh I just wrote a whole comment and got deleted! What I was saying was, wow walnut tacos and radish pods! Great job with the all raw food day! Also, those berries are calling my name!
ReplyDeleteWe like walnut tacos too. It is amazing how well walnuts stand in for meat isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWatermelom beer? Where in the world did you find that? Pumpkin beer is good so this is certainly intriguing to me. ;-)
I have not seen radish pods before. Can't wait to see what you do with them.
Ali
This looks very, very tasty. Between Shen Vegan's tostadas and this, Mexican food is calling out my name!
ReplyDeleteYou know, we have accidentally let our radishes go to seed a few times but I don't think the pods ever got as big as the ones in your photo, but maybe it's just the photo angle??
Very impressive. The Avocado in the top pic is gorgeous. I will look for that beer.
ReplyDeleteOh my... you had me at the walnut tacos (which look incredible), but my mouth literally dropped open when I saw the watermelon beer! Talk about summertime refreshment. :)
ReplyDeleteCarissa,
ReplyDeleteSorry your comment got deleted...I know that's frustrating. I'm with you...I love berries in the summer! I love all summer fruits for that matter, but berries are my fav...we've been eating loads of them everyday...have to make the most of it while they're in season.
Ali,
I think the walnuts have a perfect richness about them, granted all the other goodies in the mix were a big part of the overall effect too. The beer is from a micro-brewery in San Francisco; they sell it at my local co-op. The radish pods are fun; I didn't do anything special with them; I've already eaten most of them in salads, but the farmer suggested using them in stir frys too.
Stacy,
I know what you mean, sometimes you just have to go with Mexican-style standbys. BTW: I looked for that hot sauce you recommened, but I couldn't find it...I'll have to keep looking.
As for the radishes, they were really that size..I was surprised at how big they were too, as many typically larger plants have much smaller pods than those...maybe it was the variety of radish they came from. (?)
Shen,
I agree, avocados are a pretty color. As for the beer; I'm usually not a fan of fruity flavors in beer; but the watermelon beer seems quite agreeable. The brewery is in SF...if you try it, let me know what you think.
Allyson,
That taco filling is the ticket, I definitely recommend it. I agree, the watermelon beer just seems to capture a piece of summer. Beer + Watermelon? how could you go wrong? :)
July 16, 2010 11:23 AM
Hi, Rose!
ReplyDeleteYou come up with the most intriguing foods and beverages! Foods I've never heard of, or combinations of foods I've never tried... makes visiting your blog such a fun learning adventure! :-)
Walnut tacos - never heard of them, never would have thought of them myself, but now that I see your picture of it, little processed walnut bits seem so obvious as a taco filling! What a clever and delicious sounding idea! And what a pretty serving of tacos!
I had the same reaction everyone else did - watermelon beer? I can't wait to show this to BW! :-) He brewed a Flathead Cherry Stout once that was amazing (it used 5 lbs of Flathead Cherries from the Flathead Lake area of Montana - similar to Washington's cherries), and like Ali I love pumpkin beer, and I've had huckleberry and blackberry beer too ~ but watermelon would never have occurred to me for a brew. I'd love to try some, and I think the name of the beer is a hoot!
Speaking of cherries... oh, you tease, with the local organic cherries and blueberries! Aren't they beautiful together? (That entire lovely display would be snarfed in under 3 minutes at my house!)
Radish seed pods - another new one on me! Makes me want to grow radishes next year, the pods sound perfect for salads! (I'd probably end up doing to a radish crop what my mom and grandmother almost did to my dad's zucchini crop once... they'd sneak to the garden to pick all the blossoms to fry! We liked the fried blossoms more than we did zucchini, but there was no convincing my father it was the best idea when he finallycaught the blossom bandits red-handed!) ;-)
I've never seen radish seed pods, but they look better than radishes to me. I definitely need to make those tacos. Anything tastes good in a taco shell, if you ask me, but walnut filling sounds great. I think I may have ordered raw tacos at a restaurant many years ago and really liked them. I just added you to my blog list!
ReplyDeleteLaurie,
ReplyDeleteI can't take credit for the walnut tacos....I saw a recipe for them on a raw food blog a few months ago and have been wanting to try them ever since. Do try them; they are super easy, quick, nutritious AND delicious...how can you beat that?
That beer is from SF, so not too far from where you are...maybe you can find some in a store around your parts. I got them at my co-op...haven't seen it in the more traditional grocery stores, so not sure how easy it is to find. But, from the sound of it, you and BW could turn your hand to making some of your own! I love the sound of the cherry beer, and the huckleberry beer especially...but I'm nuts for berries! and cherries!
Speaking of which, I had no intention of being a tease with the berries and cherries, but you're right; they are so beautiful just the way they are, it's hard not snap a photo. If we were all together with the berries, it sounds like it would be an "every man snarf for himself" situation...do you remember Cookie Monster? Well, I eat berries in the same fashion, and probably just as messy and probably look just as crazed...things could get ugly!...Only joking! But this is the time of year to snarf berries for sure.
The radish pods were surprising. And radish grow so quickly, that you could probably grow a batch for the pods, save some seed from them and then plant another round for the radish themselves all in the same season.
That's too funny about your Dad's zucchinis...poor guy...I agree with you're mom, grandmom, and you that the blossoms are good...not to mention prettier and more fun than eating full-grown zucchini...especially when you tend to get sooo much zucchini at one time once it gets big....and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger the longer you leave it go.
I have to say, there is something about zucchinis that gives way to all sorts of sneakiness. We used to have a neighbor that we called the sneaky zucchini bandit...he used to leave his overflow of zucchinis on everyone's porch early in the morning, so you'd open your door and see a large sneaky zucchini there first thing! Thanks for commenting Laurie...it was fun! Talk to you soon.
Jenny,
Hi! I had never seen radish pods before either, so it was fun new thing to try. And I agree, taco shells are a great vehicle for all sorts of things...I hadn't had a taco in so long that I had forgotten how full of texture and flavor they are...and food you can eat with your hands is always fun in my opinion. Do try the walnut filling; it's so quick and easy...and you can add in other ingredients and flavors to suit your families tastes...I used the recipe I linked to as a base and then just added in extras that sounded good to me at the time. I'm sure kids would love it. Thanks, for adding me to your blog list; you're on mine too!
Have a fun weekend!
I'll be trying walnut tacos. I'm always looking for a way to move away from the Boca crumbles that are so popular in my house! So far the biggest success has been tofu tacos with pepitas, so the step from seeds to nuts should be okay.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of that brewery, but I just checked and they do distribute in my state. I will be looking for the watermelon wheat!
Dearest Rose, I have a few things I'd love to say in reply to your fun reply, but I have only moment and simply must use it to tell you that I am still laughing over the fantastic mental image I now have of you shoveling berries into your face as fast as you can, with berry juice running down your chin and berry fragments flying in all directions a lá Cookie Monster! LOL!
ReplyDeleteAnd I still have part of my moment left, so I'll dedicate it to zucchini. ;-) BW, whose grandmother lived in Iowa where everyone had prolific gardens, was telling me recently how everyone in his grandma's small town learned to lock their car doors when they went to town in the summer - not because of crime but because if they didn't, they'd find their car seats filled with zucchini when they opened their doors! :-)
At least zucchini is versatile! (But yeah, we've had those zucchini the size of nuclear submarines foisted on us before! I'd cut them up and feed them to my deer friends!)
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteDo try the walnut tacos...they are good, and they aren't really walnutty either...the flavor comes from the sun dried tomatoes and other goodies you add in, the walnuts provide great texture. I'll have to check out your tofu pepita tacos too; they sound yummy as well. Good luck on your beer search!
Laurie,
Hah, you got the image I was going for! Yep, that's me, but I do try to be civilized.
Great zucchini story...zucchini car capers! You have reinforced my conviction that zucchinis really do encourage all sorts of shadowy behaviour! I'm sure the deer love your submarine offerings!
Happy Hay Hauling!
What a fun post! Walnut tacos sound great! We've had lemonade tacos - family joke - when you come to Sac I'll share it with you. :-) I'll have to look for those radish seed pods. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteBlessedMama,
ReplyDeleteNow you have me intrigued...lemonade tacos? Do I really have to wait until I get to Sacramento to find out? :)
As for the walnut filling; I'm recommending everyone to try it...the walnuts give it great texture and sort of richness, while the sundried tomatoes and any other goodies you through in give it a flavor punch.
Raw walnut tacos sound so intriguing. I've been wanting to use more raw foods and this looks like a great one to try.
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find radish seed pods? I've never seen them. University market? Wallingford? Ballard? I want some!
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteThe walnut filling is delicious, and I can imagine using as a base and adding in different spices depending on the type of food you wanted to make...it makes a great "mince" substitute. I'm interested in trying more raw recipes too, but I tend to mix my metaphors a bit...like using a raw recipe in a larger meal that isn't all raw...but I'm with you, definitely want to learn more.
I got the radish pods at the Phinney Neighborhood Center Farmers' Market. I didn't see them there this past Friday...I think it was just a matter of what they had going to seed at the moment and trying to capitalize on it...they were fun to try and surprisingly sweet considering radishes tend to be peppery/spicey.
Looks delish!
ReplyDeleteLaura-Jane,
ReplyDeleteOMG, they are delish...you should try that recipe I linked to!