Tastebud salsa of joy

A food photo from the past for tonight's post: a plate of Viva Vegan dishes, and one of my most favourite things in the world. I'm probably doing a disservice to myself actually, because I tried the first few things I that caught my eye in Viva Vegan, and I keep making them over and over again: baked marinated tempeh, black beans, sofrito, and tamales. I should branch out, try new things, life is short! But holy chipotle, this plate just makes my tastebuds do a veritable salsa of joy. I'm sure my tamales wouldn't win any contests (I've been told they're small, which seems like bad/not-bad thing) but I could eat this every day, I make a big batch and eat it until I have nothing left and then I lick the bowl. If you haven't cooked anything from Viva Vegan yet, I dare you not to fall in vegan love.

Tamales are awesome, papusas are awesomer

Have you ever made tamales? They're a lot of frickin' work.  Make the dough, soak the corn husks, make the filling, spread the dough in the husk, add the right amount of stuffing, close the husk, tie it up. And then cook it. Phew! Are you tired yet?? Tamales are so much work people get together and make tamales assembly-line style.
But I have a secret for you: papusas are like tamales, but faster. All the ingredients are the same, but you spend less time fiddling with husks. Instead you make a little circle on your palm, add the filling, then form into a filling. And you fry them instead of steaming.  The ones pictured are with black bean and sweet potato filling (and store-bought salsa). Delicious! I got the recipe from Viva Vegan, which is also an awesomer cookbook. Enjoy your papusas, my vegans!