Nibbles with Nelly

Mango salsa and cabbage tacos

Welcome back to the Blue Barn Farm and Sanctuary! As summer finally arrives here in Oregon, our thoughts are turning to things that are crisp and satisfying. My adventures in cooking might be centered around my love for searching through recipes, anticipating that moment when I spot the thing that makes me light up. Sometimes it's the whole enchilada, but often times I am attracted to one aspect of a recipe. That one piece might even become a star player in whatever meal I end up concocting. What I am about to describe to you is exactly that: an amalgamation of a few different suggestions from sources that I thoroughly enjoy. More on that in a bit.

Having things leftover from previous escapades in the kitchen is pretty standard around here. So when I looked in my fridge and saw a couple of cabbage heads that had been cut in half (from last week's BBQ sliders...YUMM!), I thought about how delicious that would be in tacos. This lead me down a lovely little rabbit hole, perhaps I may even suggest that Miss Nelly created it herself for my traveling enjoyment. Anyhow, the two halves of leftover cabbage inspired me to visualize these wonderful tacos you see pictured above. With the help of a handful or two of cheddar shreds (also leftover from a tasty dish that I will tell you about next week), we might just have discovered the most beautiful and mouthwatering tacos ever created. I suppose I am a bit biased, but seriously: look at those pictures. Doesn't that just make you want to devour them?

Let's get down to business. First, these are all vegan and as organic as possible, all day long, which makes them even more amazing! Second, the ground brown that makes the filling for these little beauties is from a fabulous food blogger who can be found at noracooks.com. Third, the refreshing, bright, and mouthwatering mango salsa that gets to be the star of this show is compliments of cookieandkate.com. Basically, we have shredded cabbage, ground brown, mango salsa, and corn tortillas all coming together in a fabulous dance that will delight your taste buds!

The ground brown, as I mentioned is from the talented noracooks.com. It's super easy, and ridiculously savory. I use it anytime I need that sort of element in whatever I'm making. Riced cauliflower (either from a whole head of cauliflower or from a bag, pre-riced; your choice), blends perfectly with chopped walnuts, lightly chopped mushrooms (if you pulse them too much in your food processor you will wind up with mushroom pate; which is not a bad thing, but certainly not what we are going for here), with vegan worcestershire sauce, Braggs liquid aminos (tamari or soy sauce works, too, but without the added benefit of the aminos), the spices pictured and maybe an onion, bell pepper, and a bit of garlic if that's your thing. I use coconut oil anytime I am cooking on the stove, as it tends to be healthier and happier at high temperatures than other cooking oils. If you want to do this oil free, go for it.

This whole menagerie began with the cauliflower, walnuts, and mushrooms getting browned in the kettle. It's going to seem a bit dry at first, but don't you fret. Once those veggies begin to cook down a bit, they will release their water and you will have a nice little juice in with your ground brown. In a separate pan, I temper the spices in the coconut oil, Braggs, and worcestershire. Then after a couple of minutes, one by one, I begin adding the garlic, onion, red bell pepper. These are sautéed until the veg seems a bit soft, but not mushy. Add it to the ground brown, and simmer the whole mixture for about 10 minutes. FYI: if this gets cooked too long, it can start to loose it's "ground" appearance. Once it's done, you can set it aside. I even make this ahead of time, and keep it in the fridge until it's taco time.

Mango Salsa

Absolutely divine!

The next part is the salsa. Again, I stumbled on this while looking for something else on cookieandkate.com. What a perfect accident! This, too, is really easy to make. You can chop everything up ahead of time, store it in a sealed glass container in your fridge, and when you're ready to make the tacos: BAM! There it is! All done! Simply stated, you just have to chop up all the produce you see in the picture, except the lime. Add the spices, with juice from the lime, and toss.

Now, let's be real here. Getting the right tortillas for the job is essential. Unfortunately, I do not have a local source for fresh, handmade tortillas here in town. That would be the best! However, I discovered some that are pretty good, all things considered. Plus, they are organic, which means no GMOs here! YES! To get them ready for stuffing, you want to preheat a nonstick frypan without oil. Put the tortillas in the pan and make sure you flip them and rotate them while they are heating to avoid them getting crunchy, unless you want them that way. Once they are hot, stack them on a plate in between layers of a towel to keep them warm until you are ready to use them. In this way, you can make the tacos as you go, putting all of the ingredients on the table, and as you finish one taco, you can get started on building the next round.

Thanks for stopping by today and checking out what we're making for dinner! I bet you can hardly wait to get these beauties on your plate and into your belly. Come back next week to see where those cheddar shreds came from. I promise, you will not be disappointed!

From all of us here at the Blue Barn Farm and Sanctuary, and especially Nelly, happy nibbling! Your kindness, compassion, and empathy is changing the world one meal at a time.

Miss Nelly Rose