weekend breakfast

I had a long long holiday weekend. It actually started on Thursday with bowling and the Bob Inn for my friend Sophie's birthday and then just took off from there. In between were several recipe duds that do not deserve to be written out here, leaving me with a strange mix of ingredients. So on Sunday I woke up (maybe hung over, maybe not. I'll never tell), looked in my fridge and came up with some great breakfast tacos. In this I got to use up some of the cabbage halves and green onions I had left over from the dairy-crazy and bland coleslaw as well as some mozzarella from my intense pizza-making phase (with the disappointing sauce) earlier in the week. It made me so happy that I had to immediately go back to bed and nap.

I doubt you need the recipe, but in an effort to be somewhat consistent I'll include it. 


Crispy Breakfast Tacos
makes 3 for a hungry lady


Ingredients 
1 c. finely sliced mix of purple and green cabbage
2 green onions, finely sliced
olive oil
1 lime
3 eggs
2-3oz shredded mozzarella 
1 can of black beans, drained
1 t. cumin
2 t. vegetable oil

corn tortillas
hot sauce


Process
Dump black beans into a small bowl. Add cumin. Using a fork, stir and mash the beans against the side of the bowl until about half the mix is mashed. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, add the vegetable oil and heat on med-high until hot.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the cabbage and onions. Add the lime juice and a splash of olive oil and toss to mix. 


When oil is hot in pan, on one side add one tortilla with about 1oz of the cheese, on the other crack one egg to cook. When the mozzarella starts to melt slightly, top with about 1/4 c. of the mashed beans. Continue to heat until the egg white is set. Then remove tortilla, add egg and desired about of cabbage mix to taco. Top with lots and lots of hot sauce.


Now go back to bed and watch Netflix.

potato and green chile tacos

El Cid has been with me every step of my Chicago way. It was one of the first restaurants I ever went to here. When I got back from the post-college month in Europe, getting on the el from O'Hare, I went straight to the restaurant for a burrito. Birthdays have been celebrated, break ups mourned- their strong margaritas are good for both.

For the past couple of years I've fallen into a delicious rut with El Cid. My order is one avocado taco and one potato taco. Now, the avocado one is a no-brainer to make, but I was always curious about the potato.

Recently I came across Rick Bayless' recipe for potato and green chile taco filling. I gave it a shot and completely loved it. I'm not giving up El Cid yet, but since I no longer live around the corner from them, this will keep me happy in the winter months. You know, until their patio reopens.

Soft Taco Filling: Potatoes and Green Chiles

2 small (about 6 ounces total) boiling potatoes like the red-skinned ones, halved
1 1/2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
3 medium, fresh chiles poblanos, roasted and peeled
Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like mild domestic goat or farmer's cheese *I've never added the cheese and it's still really good*

1.   The potatoes.   Simmer the potatoes in salted water to cover until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool under running water, peel and cut into 1/4-inch dice.

2.    Fry the mixture.   Heat the lard or oil in a heavy medium-size skillet over medium. Add the onion and potato, and fry, stirring regularly to ensure that nothing sticks to the pan, until the mixture is nicely browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are browning, seed the chiles and slice them into 1/8-inch strips. Stir them into the potato mixture, season with salt, remove from the fire and stir in the cheese. Scrape into a small dish and cool before using.

crispy black bean tacos

I made these tacos last night. They were ridiculously fast, easy, and delicious. Also, all the ingredients costed around $8 total. I think this may be a meal I make weekly for a while.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw
(from February's Bon Appetit)


1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce



Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.

well good morning, taco

Matt, the guy I'm dating, is a boy. Therefore he was apparently born with the I-can-cook-eggs gene, a fact I like to take advantage of whenever I can. Yesterday we teamed up for some pretty amazing breakfast tacos. They were basically just the tacos I'd made the day before but with eggs and no avocado. Oh, and also they were incredibly delicious.

If I hadn't been kind of hung over from the cheap beer I drank at the sweet Frightened Rabbit concert the night before I would have clawed his eyes out for the last one. Because everyone knows it's food before bros.