World Wide Vegan

This week I'm in Kauai, Hawaii. We are staying in a condo which not only is more comfortable than a hotel but it allows us to do our own cooking. Of course we eat out part of the time but it is nice to create nutritious meals that meet our dietary requirements as well.

Last night we came back from a very full day of fun in the sun (in November no-less) and I didn't feel like doing anything fancy so I threw together a fabulous taco salad. It is a family favorite while traveling or at home. We were so tired and hungry that I forgot to take a photo before we devoured it. Just imagine a bed of greens with seasoned beans, guacamole and olives on top.

With my family helping we threw this together in about 15 minutes. The men in my family prefer to add chips and cheeze but it is still fabulous and filling without the heavy additions.

Travel Tip - When traveling instead of carting bottles of seasonings along, try purchasing seasonings in bags in the ethnic section if your grocery store. Better yet, pour some of your own spice into 1-2 oz. zip-bags (found in craft stores).

In a pot I combined:
1 can of drained & rinsed black beans
1 can of drained & rinsed pinto beans
3T. tomato paste
1/2 chopped onion*
1 c. water
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
2 t. Mexican oregano
1/2 t. ground cumin
pinch of crushed red chili pepper (to taste)
2 t. chili powder
salt to taste

Simmer while preparing remaining salad ingredients (15-20 minutes)

Place into serving bowls:
1 bag rinsed & drained chopped greens
1 can sliced black olives
Bottled salsa
Shredded soy cheeze if desired - I omitted the cheese to reduce the fat content.
Guacamole (see recipe below or make your own recipe)
Corn chips (optional) I omitted the chips


Guacamole: mash avocado. add remaining ingredients - 1/3 jar medium salsa, salt, 1/2 t. lemon juice.

* if you are feeding people who don't appreciate onions you can keep them out to sprinkle on the salad later.

Start with the lettuce greens and add toppings as desired.

Labels: beans, easy, family favorite, Hawaii, taco salad, Vegan