Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Day 14: Who's Day Tuesday? Fatuma!!

Let me start this by saying that after writing for over an hour, this post has become extremely long. It seems that when you've had such a good friend for such a long time, it's really hard to keep it short, and there's so many stories I want to tell!


Like the time I dragged Fatuma to a Metric concert in Denver and then halfway there realized that my entire wallet was on my desk at home and that meant picking up those will-call tickets was going to be a big problem.

Or that Halloween in high school when we went through a drive thru and I tried to scare the lady at the window by hiding in a gorilla suit and growling when she handed the food to Fatuma (the lady was unfazed).

Or that time she came to Boston to visit me and we had Bloody Mary's and miso soup for breakfast at the Asian restaurant below my apartment because like they say, the hair of the dog...

Or when we used to go to the hippie dippie hookah bar because why not.

Or that time at the Fiery Foods Festival when she ruined a man's life because his hottest hot sauce had no effect on her and when I ended up in the fetal position on a bench because of some salsa while Fatuma tried to feed me Lifesavers, which didn't seem to have any effect.

Or that time we went to see her now-fiancé's band play at a lesbian bar who was having a lube-wrestling contest for a cancer fundraiser.

Or that time when she was the best Maid of Honor a girl could ask for. The list could go on but I should probably stop here.


Fatuma and I met in highschool. She didn't like me at first because I sat next to the girl she wanted to sit next to in physics. (Insert sad face here)

It wasn't until we were lab partners in anatomy that we first became friends. I think the thing I remember the most is that senior year, Fatuma was the only person at school who remembered my birthday. I was having a really miserable day, but she came over and handed me a handmade birthday card, which really meant the world to me.

After high school (good riddance) we both went to the University of New Mexico. We had a lot of the same classes together, and we became even better friends. We ended up both majoring in biology so we got flail our way through plant physiology, physics, and intro to chemistry with an English as a second language teacher who called delta, "darla."

When we turned 21, we were lucky enough to not have classes on Fridays. This meant that we spent every Thursday night at Burt's Tiki Lounge where they sold 75 cent PBR and we danced to MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, and MIA (before they were cool of course) until they flipped the lights on and played Bohemian Rhapsody. Every. Single. Thursday. We've tried to go back since, but it's just not the same. The magic of Burt's on Thursday went right out the door with the DJ when she moved to Chicago, and there are some things that can only be truly appreciated by a 21 year old's heart. (Insert double sad face here)

http://www.theuntz.com/images/members/venues/47/burtstikilounge-featured.jpg
The other thing is that Fatuma and I think the same things. For example, in high school, we had the same life goal, and that was to own a restaurant, but not just any restaurant. Independently of one another, we had planned the same restaurant. Specifically, this restaurant would have different rooms, and each room would be themed like a different place in the world, and the food would be food from around the world. This shared thinking also manifests in other subtle ways. For example, last January I was in Albuquerque for the month, and every time Fatuma and I went out, we somehow managed to, without any discussion about it, wear almost the same thing. A few times this meant that we had the same color scheme. But one time, as evidenced below, we independently donned our favorite animal sweaters. It's weird. 



We have a shared appreciation for dirty martinis and Manhattan's, which is rare among girls. Every time a girl tells me she likes martinis, I get really excited and I ask her if she prefers vodka or gin, dirty or dry. Usually I get a confused look, and the answer of "strawberry" or something like that and my heart sinks. And I'm not sure I've met another girl who is willing even to tolerate whiskey, but Fatuma, she orders Manhattans, and that's one of my favorite things about her. ;) 

And now that we're both vegans, we get to share our love for vegan food as well, usually at Mint Tulip (my favorite vegan restaurant in the whole world) or Thai Vegan (and if she would come visit me again we could try all the Boston vegan restaurants too! Hint hint wink wink!).

Today, she is sharing her recipe for vegan taquitos. Because she had eaten them all, I tried out her recipe so I could give it a taste and have some pictures of them! They were fabulous! I hope you give them a try!


Seitan Taquitos
Makes about 20 taquitos
Time: 45 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package chicken-style seitan, drained and chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon green chile, chopped (I used red chile powder because I didn't have green chile)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup Tofutti cream cheese
1/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
20 corn tortillas

Oil, for frying

Heat oil in skillet and sauté onions and garlic until golden brown. Add the seitan, mushrooms, veggie broth, and spices and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the cilantro, scallions, and tomato and cook until the liquid is almost gone, but not completely dried out. Remove from heat and let cool.

Once cool, place in a food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in the cream cheese and Dayia cheddar and stir with a spoon until thoroughly combined.

Wrap the tortillas between two moist paper towles and microwave for about a minute and a half so that they are pliable. One tortilla at a time, spoon mixture along one edge and then roll it up.

Fill a pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Fry the taquitos on each side for about a minute or until golden brown. Place the seal side down first to keep the taquitos from unrolling. I found it easiest to place each taquito directly into the pan after rolling it, because the ones I set on a plate began to unfurl.

When each taquito is finished cooking, remove from pan and let drain on a paper towel. Serve with salsa and guacamole.

Cheers! 

2 comments:

  1. 1) These taquitos sound insanely delicious. I don't know why it's never occurred to me to make them from scratch, but clearly now is the time to start.

    2) Your blog is beautiful and I absolutely love the title.

    3) Metric. YESSSSSSSSSSS.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I am so flattered!! And yes, I don't know why it never occurred to me to make taquitos from scratch either. I was really nervous to try it, but it's actually quite easy, and the filling that my friend created is amazing!

      I love your blog as well! I actually was considering making jalapeño poppers for one of my "finger food friday" posts, but having never done that before I was nervous about that as well. Your illustrated guide was AWESOME and now I'm really excited to try making some! :)

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