Convenience Store Challenge Take 2

Well, friends, there was no winner of the first convenience store challenge. But we're doing it again!

Same rules:

* Take ten bucks into a convenience store
* Find vegan food
* Put together a meal for one or more using just that food, plus you can add water, dried spices and herbs, nutritional yeast. It must be a meal, not a snack.
* Post about it here or here.

If you go to that link above, you'll see some examples of convenience store meals I made myself. It CAN be done. It won't likely be super-healthy but it can be a real meal.

Deadline: March 31, 2009

Winner gets to choose a cookbook from the vegan soapbox store!

Dipping: not just hummus any more.

I made this white bean dip this morning. It contains roasted garlic (five cloves), rosemary, cannelini beans, lemon zest and juice, a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Oh yeah, and some salt and cayenne pepper. It was easy to make (using a food processor) and tastes really good.

The recipe is in the 125 Best Vegan Recipes cookbook. I recommend this book to anyone just starting out as a vegan - it is nonthreatening, the recipes are clear and easy to make, and so far they have all been delicious. Well, I recommend it to any vegan really. Or nonvegan.

Tortilla Soup

My daughter Mary called to tell me about a tortilla soup she had made that was really easy and tasted great. Over the phone she told me how to make it. This is my version of what she said.


two or three corn tortillas
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 Tablespoons oil (neutral is probably best)
1 14.5-oz can stewed tomatoes, Mexican flavored (with jalapenos, cilantro)
1 Qt. vegetable broth
salt
fresh cilantro (optional)

Slice the tortillas in strips.



Either fry them in a little oil until crisp (what Mary did) or
Spray with cooking spray (like Pam) lightly and then sprinkle with salt. Spread in a layer in a flat pan and put in the oven at 400 degrees until crispy.(what I did)


In a two-quart saucepan, heat the oil, then toss in the chopped onions. Cook until soft, a couple of minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, stir. Add the vegetable broth and heat through. Stir and break up tomatoes now and then.



When hot, ladle into serving bowls. Sprinkle with tortilla strips.

Makes about 4 generous servings.