My New Tortilla Press is Very Useful:)

So, I finally bought a tortilla press at San Marcos, the local Mexican grocery. And man, oh man, am I glad I did!! I knew I was going to make a big Mexican-style feast for my roomie and I (and I did)--but I was so excited when I got it that I made tofu asado tacos that night:)

First of all, it's super easy to use. Follow the directions on the bag of masa (yes, I made corn tortillas, I have yet to make flautas with it, but I will surely post pics when I do).

First, take the divided ball of masa dough and place it on the back half of the tortilla press (and make sure to line both sides w/folded plastic wrap):

Then, press!

I used these tortillas to make tofu asado tacos. I took the tempeh asado recipe from Viva Vegan! and used pressed tofu instead:

Tofu Asado: 

--1/3 c.veggie broth
--3 tbs. lime juice
--1 tbs. tamari
--2 tbs. peanut oil
--2-3 cloves crushed garlic
--1/2 tsp. cumin
--1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano

Marinate for at least 15 minutes, then grill, pan fry or bake (I baked them in the toaster oven in extra sauce...)

Assemble the tacos w/what ever you want. I used some of the refried beans (again, a Viva Vegan!) recipe, sliced tomato and they were super good!

Yep, that's my cellphone next to the tacos. I was carrying everything from the kitchen into the living room in one trip and forgot to take it off of the plate before snapping the picture.

So, onwards to the enchilada awesomeness........

As I said above, I made the refried beans the night before (and they are excellent heated up!) You could, of course, always buy canned as well.

The enchiladas had a red chile sauce and Latin-style shredded seitan filling (recipe here).

Red Chile Sauce:
--mix of chiles (I used about 4 ancho chiles and 3 guajillo chiles) pan toasted for a minute and soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes;
--2 tbs. peanut oil
--2 cloves garlic, chopped
--1 small onion, diced (my roomie is allergic I left them out and put in some scallions)
--dried oregano and cumin
--1 can diced tomatoes
--2 c. veggie broth

1. Combine the oil, garlic and onion (if using) in saucepann and heat over medium heat for about a minute;
2. Stir in spices and coat, then pour in chiles, tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, veggie broth and simmer;
3. Put in a blender and blend.
4. Return to saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.

To Assemble:
 (have an assembly line ready to go: shallow pan with sauce, filling, pan you are going to cook the enchiladas in)
1. Put some sauce in a shallow pan as well as the pan you are going to bake your enchiladas in;
2. Take a tortilla and dredge in the sauce;
3. Fill the tortilla w/2-4 tbs. of filling (depending on how large your tortillas are) and roll them tightly;
4. Continue with other tortillas until they are all done.
5. Pour on chile sauce over the top, making sure to really coat everything (about 1 to 1 1/2 c.).

To Bake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F;
2. Wrap pan tightly in aluminum foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes;
3. Uncover and bake for another 8-10 minutes.

For the Rice:

--1 1/2 c. brown rice;
--3 c. water
--3-4 cloves minced garlic
--1/2 tsp. tumeric
--saffron (I just tossed some in, since it is soooooo cheap at San Marcos!)
--1 tsp. peanut oil
--1 tsp. Earth Balance or other butter substitute.

I made mine in the rice cooker; however, you could make it in a pan and just follow the directions on the bag of rice.

Right before serving, chop up some scallions and throw them in! 

I served mine with refried black beans and yellow garlic rice w/scallions:

Fresh before the oven!

Ready to eat!