Autumn Vegan Tacos with Roasted Corn Tomatillo Salsa

Ok, so here's my first shot at video blogging. As it were, my 5-year-old daughter was the only available camera-person, so it's a pretty... interesting video. So take it in context. My wife tells me she'll help out with future video blogging efforts, so long as I give her a bit of advance notice.



Autumn Veggie Tacos with Roasted Corn Tomatillo Salsa

Tacos:

4 corn tortillas, taco size
1 cup asparagus, trimmed
1 cup yellow squash, diced
1/2 large jalapeno, diced
1/3 xup red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped portabella mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp groud cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1 tsp olive oil
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and mashed


Salsa

1 can yellow corn, drained
3 large tomatillos, husked and diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/32 jalapeno pepper, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Drain corn; empty onto kitchen towel. Press dry with a second kitchen towel. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray; arrange corn in a single layer; bake for 15 minutes.

Combine olive oil, asparagus, yellow squash, red bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno. Stir fry on medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften.

Meanwhile, mash together avocado, cumin, and cayenne. Set aside.

Combine chopped tomatillos, cilantro, 2 cloves chopped garlic, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Place in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Warm tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconeds, or steam for 2 minutes to soften.

Fill tortillas with vegetable mixture; top with avocado mixture. Serve with tortilla chips and corn-tomatillo salsa.

Tomatillo Corn Salsa

Anybody that knows me can attest to the fact that I loathe store-bought salsa. I'm not sure why... it just has some strange wang to it that I can't get past. Whatever the reason, I suffer long periods of salsa withdrawal, because I'm too picky to eat salsa from a jar, but too impatient to make my own.

Sooner or later, though, the salsa bug always gets me. That usually involves a long round of chopping, simmering, tasting, swearing, and tweaking. Tonight, though, I decided that I'd try and keep it simple.

It worked out very well. I had this salsa ready to go in about 10 minutes, and I don't think there was even any swearing involved.

It's also spicy without being too immolatingly hot, thanks to the sweetness of the green tomatillos. So you can take it to the next office potluck without having to listen to Wilma from the payroll department gripe about it afterwards.

So, here we go:

Tomatillo Corn Salsa

1 can golden corn
4 medium or 2 large green tomatillos, de-husked and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 serrano peppers, finely diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 tbsp ground cayenne pepper
1/3 tbsp ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl (glass, not metal). Put in refrigerator and let sit for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

This is very good with tortilla chips, or in burritos.