I tried the taco pasta salad recipe again today with a few modifications.
Instead of kidney beans, I used black beans. I felt the black beans were more "taco" than kidney. Of course, that brought to mind whether or not I could use dried instead of canned, so I put dried black beans on my grocery list and plan on doing a how-to post on making black beans.
My original recipe included Roma tomatoes. This was because Roma tomatoes are usually under $1 per pound. This week, though, the Sprouts had a sale on hothouse vine tomatoes at only 48¢ per pound, so I went with these.
The 1-pound 7-ounce bunch came to 1 pound 5 ounces when de-vined. I only need 1 pound for the recipe, so I ate one of them. It was very stiff and juicy, squirting seeds across the room several times. {I'm glad not in the direction of the computer!} There wasn't a lot of overt sweetness, which is fine, and I got the distinct aftertaste of ketchup. Now, on to the chopping.
Because of their firm flesh, the tomatoes chopped very easily. Here is where I get on my knife block and preach a little. The blade of the sharp knife should slide through the tomato like a hot knife through butter. If you have to use a sawing motion, that means your knife is too dull. Some people prefer to use a knife that "never needs sharpening." These knives have a serrated edge, just like a saw. You aren't slicing the tomato; you are grinding it. No matter how good you think your eversharp blade is, it can never match the precision and cleanliness of a properly honed and sharpened blade.
I will now use that blade to cut up the green onions. Many people throw out the tops of the green onions, but I include them in this recipe to add some green. That doesn't mean you include everything. You should remove wilted or browned leaves before chopping. For this version of the recipe, I also doubled the green onion to two bunches instead of one.
After it took 10 days to go through the previous taco pasta salad batch, I decided to reduce the amount of pasta in half, to 8 ounces. While grocery shopping one day, I came across a package of melon seed pasta in the Mexican isle. I haven't been able to find it again since, but that might be more theme appropriate than using orzo. Next time I see it, I am buying it and including it in the recipe.
I put the pasta on to boil and prepared the sauce as before, the only change being switching from hot to mild taco sauce. I wish they had a medium. Oh, a quick tip for completely emptying jars and cans. If your recipe calls for a watery ingredient, like this recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, use the watery ingredient to rinse out the jar or can to get everything out. For example, I pour my ¼ cup of vinegar into the empty taco sauce jar, shake it, and pour this into my recipe leaving a clean jar.
The finished product, like most of my finished culinary endeavors, is not very appetizing to look at. However, it does have a fresh taste. I was correct in that using mild sauce would remove some of the taste. In this incarnation, however, it gives everybody the chance to match the heat to his or her palate. You can view a copy of the recipe, and download it if you wish, at this link.
The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are. To see them larger, simply double click on the picture. Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism. Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say “No” or have a number in front of it.
Instead of kidney beans, I used black beans. I felt the black beans were more "taco" than kidney. Of course, that brought to mind whether or not I could use dried instead of canned, so I put dried black beans on my grocery list and plan on doing a how-to post on making black beans.
My original recipe included Roma tomatoes. This was because Roma tomatoes are usually under $1 per pound. This week, though, the Sprouts had a sale on hothouse vine tomatoes at only 48¢ per pound, so I went with these.
Because of their firm flesh, the tomatoes chopped very easily. Here is where I get on my knife block and preach a little. The blade of the sharp knife should slide through the tomato like a hot knife through butter. If you have to use a sawing motion, that means your knife is too dull. Some people prefer to use a knife that "never needs sharpening." These knives have a serrated edge, just like a saw. You aren't slicing the tomato; you are grinding it. No matter how good you think your eversharp blade is, it can never match the precision and cleanliness of a properly honed and sharpened blade.
I will now use that blade to cut up the green onions. Many people throw out the tops of the green onions, but I include them in this recipe to add some green. That doesn't mean you include everything. You should remove wilted or browned leaves before chopping. For this version of the recipe, I also doubled the green onion to two bunches instead of one.
After it took 10 days to go through the previous taco pasta salad batch, I decided to reduce the amount of pasta in half, to 8 ounces. While grocery shopping one day, I came across a package of melon seed pasta in the Mexican isle. I haven't been able to find it again since, but that might be more theme appropriate than using orzo. Next time I see it, I am buying it and including it in the recipe.
I put the pasta on to boil and prepared the sauce as before, the only change being switching from hot to mild taco sauce. I wish they had a medium. Oh, a quick tip for completely emptying jars and cans. If your recipe calls for a watery ingredient, like this recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, use the watery ingredient to rinse out the jar or can to get everything out. For example, I pour my ¼ cup of vinegar into the empty taco sauce jar, shake it, and pour this into my recipe leaving a clean jar.
The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are. To see them larger, simply double click on the picture. Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism. Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say “No” or have a number in front of it.
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