Tacos a la Mexicana

My idea for a taco dinner took root when faux pork reappeared at the Asian market. I had long ago promised Chase I would make him the most fabulous pork and potato tacos, and finally it was possible. I don’t go for the faux stuff (it’s always made with soy anyway), so I decided to make myself zucchini tacos. Both taco recipes are from Rick Bayless’ Mexico: One Plate at a Time, and both recipes start with a “flavor base” of lots of dried chilies and fresh tomatoes.
I found plenty of fresh ingredients at the farmers market Saturday morning, including a giant zucchini (nearly 2 pounds) and tons of tomatoes, along with peaches, onions, tomatillos, jalapenos, squash, and apples. Here’s a portion of the goodies.



I used my biggest mixing bowl to rehydrate all the dried chili peppers I had seeded, cut, and toasted.



That’s a lot of peppers! I worked on the Tacos de Puerco y Papas (pork and potatoes) first, since chef says they taste even better the next day. I must admit, the puerco was kinda freaking me out.

But many peppers and potatoes later, it all came together beautifully. I can’t describe how amazing the aroma was. And they tasted sensational. Look at the spicy goodness.

Next time I will make them with just potatoes so I can enjoy them too, and I’m sure they will taste as wonderful.

The next most fabulous part of the dinner was Green Sauce, a cool creamy sauce to add to the spicy taco filling. I found a recipe idea on Homesick Texan’s blog, here, and after my own touches, came up with this.

I’m sorry it’s a bad picture, but you’ll have to trust me that it was super terrific amazing. It’s light and fluffy and oh so tasty on everything.

My Tacos de Calabacitas (zucchini) filling was also very good, but as you can see, not nearly as spicy as the papas.

I also made Chili Pesto from The Artful Vegan, which was very good, Pineapple Slaw, Rice with Tomatoes and Green Chilies, and Black Beans. Chase asked me why the beans were so black and I explained that they were homemade and therefore hadn’t been in a can on a shelf for 2 years! Here’s our table full of spicy and wonderful food.

It really was an exceptional meal. Chase said it was the best he could remember in quite some time. Here’s his plate.

I tried to keep a Mexican theme with dessert as well. I made Coconut Banana Cake from Lickin’ the Beaters, and to brighten it up I served it with Pomegranate Sauce from The Artful Vegan and kiwi slices.

I did make the cake gluten free and chose it because the recipe had more bananas than sugar, but I still found it a little too sweet. My decision to add the Pomegranate Sauce was a good one. It was the perfect complement to offset the sweet cake, and added some great color too. This cake was actually the first recipe I’ve tried from Lickin’ the Beaters, and I was really very pleased. The cake texture was perfect – here’s a close-up.

Maybe the food was so good because we were really hungry and in an extra good mood because it was only 90 degrees instead of 100, but I’m gonna have to say *Yay Me!* for serving up a pretty darn fantastic fiesta and another gluten free meal.