Casa Rasta

Recently, Pittsburgh has exploded into the realm of tacos. Sure, we had Mexican restaurants galore. But now I can count at least six places that specialize in tacos.

Casa Rasta is one of these of these newcomers. It's a tiny but very cute restaurant located in a little suburb outside of Pittsburgh. On the weekends, if the traffic isn't bad, it takes maybe fifteen minutes to get there from my apartment. Which is a good thing, because I foresee a lot more Casa Rasta lunches in my future. 

They had two veg options on their menu: Raja (roasted veggies) and Soyrizo (fake chorizo). I tried both of them, one as a soft taco, the other as a torta. 

The folks who work at Casa Rasta are very friendly and accommodating. The woman taking our order asked if I consumed dairy or not, because they typically add a thin layer of sour cream to the Rajas.

First off, let me just say: the freshest corn tortillas ever. Pittsburgh has a great Mexican grocery store that sells fresh corn and flour tortillas, but these tasted even fresher. All the ingredients were super fresh. And take a look at how pretty the food was!

If I had to choose a favorite, I'd go with the Soyrizo taco. But honestly, both of them were fantastic. 

And here's a picture of me, looking pensive before tasting the first bite. Of course, I was all smiles afterward. 

So yeah, I'll definitely be heading back to Casa Rasta on a regular basis!

Lazy Girl Photo Pastiche

Okay, so basically I'm giving the impression that all I've been eating these past couple of weeks have been veggie dogs and more veggie dogs. Which isn't entirely true ... 

Oh, and did anyone out there go to their local comic book stores for Free Comic Book Day? I have to say that I was kind of disappointed in the selection. But of course, I'm complaining about free comic books here. So maybe I'll just be quiet now.

Chickpea Tacos

So I was at Trader Joe's this weekend, and there was a giant display of their organic taco shells, along with a handwritten sign suggesting either ground beef or chickpeas for a filling. That got me to thinking ... I do love chickpeas ... and I do love tacos.

I sauteed the chickpeas with onions, tomatoes, black olives, and a generic taco seasoning. Topped with yummy queso, and then green salsa (not pictured). This is the perfect weeknight dinner, because it literally took fifteen minutes to make.

Earlier this week, I also heated up a lovely Field Roast and roasted asparagus and baby potatoes.

I have staunch omnivore house guests this weekend, so we may have to resort to restaurant eats. I'll keep you posted.

Stir Fry and (Finally) A Few Comics

So, I managed to cook a few dishes this week. Tonight we had a stir fry. No recipe needed. I used a Thai satay peanut sauce and asparagus, fresh green beans, mushrooms, straw mushrooms, baby corn, green pepper and onion. A liberal teaspoon of sriracha rounded out the flavor. 

 I also tried a new dish. Cannellini Kale Soup is from Get it Ripe, and it was quick, easy, and delicious. The cannellini beans give this soup a smooth, hearty texture. Can I just say again how much I heart kale?

Now onto comics! I finally read Batwoman #6 by J.H. Williams III/Amy Reeder and Animal Man #7 by Jeff Lemire/Travel Foreman. 

I have to say that both issues were disappointing. There was a great scene in Animal Man where Cliff attempts to impress girls by telling him who his father is. The girls don't believe him, at least until Buddy swoops in, quite literally. Otherwise, nothing really stood out in either comic. There was a lot of flashback sequencing in Batwoman that made the events hard to follow. I can only assume that everything gets clearer in #7, which I forgot to pick up from the comic book store last night! I did get the next issue of Animal Man, so expect a review soon. 

Food Collage

A vegan mostess from Dozen Bake Shop. Eaten on an inappropriate Christmas Mickey Mouse plate! Yes, I do know that it is Easter.

Broccoli with Food for Lovers' original queso. So far, this is my favorite vegan "cheese" dip.

 Homemade veggie enchilada with liberal amounts of Daiya.

Oh, and I finally caught up on some of my comic book reading. I'm so behind, I don't think the guys at Phantom of the Attic will recognize me anymore. More on that next time.

I'm On a Roll

I cooked again tonight! I know, someone should give me an award. :) Today I tried the Bangkok Street Cart Noodles from the latest issue of VegNews (April 2012). I made some substitutions -- I couldn't find rice noodles at Giant Eagle, and didn't have time to go to an Asian grocery store, so just used some udon noodles in the pantry. I also totally forgot to buy peanuts. 

It was still very good. Next time I'll try it with the rice noodles. You can't see them very well, but there are snap peas and cilantro mixed in with the red bell pepper. 

I think we're having leftovers for the rest of the week. I have to do a crazy midnight shift Friday morning, so I'm not going to be in the mood to cook.


So is anyone else excited about The Hunger Games? I love the books (with some reservation about the third), and can't wait to see the movie in IMAX!

I Finally Cook Something!

So it's something I've featured on this blog before, but that doesn't mean it's not exciting! It's Polish Neighborhood (Cabbage and Potato) Soup from Ripe from Around Here. 

 

With Tofurky beer brats! I love cabbage and potatoes, and the beer brats just tip the scales into soup bliss. 

I also made some stir-fried veggies tonight with the leftover cabbage and some mushrooms, but it wasn't exciting enough to warrant a picture. They tasted good, though.

And now, on to a non-food related topic. Super Best Friends Forever recently premiered on Cartoon Network. I believe this is the first of several shorts involving the adventures of Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl. The hope is that if this project does well enough, SBFF will be made into a regular cartoon. I really think it will succeed. The 90-second short is lively and fun, and the superheroines even have diverse body types. Yay for that!