Vegetarian Tostadas and Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

I totally did not feel like cooking last night because this horrendous cough is draining all my energy. I finally switched from Zyrtec-D to Mucinex-D. Some how I do not know why physicians try to pawn off their samples when they can easily prescribe medication that will take care of the issue. Such is the case when I switched from one med to the other. I have to say I feel SO much better. Even my hubby said I was not having as many coughing fits as I did the day before. Anyway, I finally decided to make something simple yet delicious.

My hubby likes Mexican food, so much, that he has requested homemade tamales for his birthday. Even though I am half Mexican/half Chilean, I do not tend to cook Hispanic dishes. I defer to Asian stir fries, Mediterranean dishes, or Greek dishes. Really! Well, one of the easiest Mexican dishes to prepare are Tostadas, which are like flat crunchy tacos. The preparation takes a little longer because this dish requires an assembly line. It requires many bowls and spoons too, so be prepared. Now if you have a carnivore at home like I do, then you can have ground beef or shredded beef as an additional topping, but otherwise beans can be your source of protein along with some mushrooms.

So I said I did not feel like cooking but I lied. I decided to prepare one of Alicia Silverstone's recipes from her The Kind Diet book. I would recommend to prepare dessert before dinner so that you can dessert ready. It requires 2 hours to refrigerate. After we were done with dinner, I no longer felt like dessert! Sigh. Coughing makes me lose my appetite, but I had one today, so I gotta say it was a winner. The dessert is vegan so when I handed one to my husband, he nodded enthusiastically and said they were delicious. Who said you can't somewhat convince your hubby to be vegan? Ha ha. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did!


Vegetarian Tostadas

serves 2

10 corn tortillas
1 avocado, sliced
1 pint sliced mushrooms (your choice)
1 zucchini squash, sliced length-wise
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of vegetarian refried beans
Your choice of picante or tomatillo sauce


Preheat oven to 425F. Place tortillas on cookie sheet, somewhat overlapping. Process takes 10-15 minutes to toast. Check at mid-point and flip tortillas. Toast tortillas until somewhat golden brown.

Meanwhile, grill zucchini and mushrooms and place in a side dish along with the sliced avocado. Warm to refried beans and place in another bowl. Place the shredded lettuce and red onions with the lime and season with salt and pepper in a third bowl.

Assemble: Take a tortilla and spread a layer of beans, avocado, veggies, salad, and top with sauce. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

makes a dozen
adapted from The Kind Diet


1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
3/4 cup crunchy almond butter
3/4 cup chocolate graham crackers crumbs
1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 cup grain-sweetened, non-dairy chocolate or carob chips
1/4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the almond butter, graham crackers crumbs, and sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among muffin cups.

Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the almond butter mixture. Yop with chopped walnuts. Place in refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.