TACO TUESDAY!!

shawn hebrank?
shawn hebrank??
yeah. my tattoo guy homeboy since forever and ever was here!
he did tattoos at AMPERSAND TATTOO,
and we hung out and caught up on good times,
and also, naturally, we ate.
yeah.  we ate a LOT.
and on tuesday, we did something we hadn't maybe ever done,
and that i personally hadn't done in an age, either.....
you know what time it is, right?
taco mutha-'ucking tuesday, dudes.
i guess i must've been excited to see him,
and show off some of these sexxxxy cooking skills with another 'nother
drug-free vegan warrior from back in the day...
look:

SOFTIES FOREVER!!
i do not like hard tacos nearly as much.
but soft flour hottness is the TRUTH over here.
there's a time and place for all the tortillas,
but this is the place for the best kind.
he helped chop all the vegetables.
i forgotten that a heart he's still a DIY punk-rock get-involved kid,
and he can't help himself but jump in and actively participate.
i really like that.
-
so we had our heated up soft four tortillas.
we also had scallion and cilantro sprankles.
i mean, c'mon.
how you gonna NOT doo-doo around with those lil green exxxtras, right?
and AVO-F*ING-CADO, too-
because that's what you want on tacos if you know about good tacos.
plus, some nootch-boosted red bell pepper and onion activated refried beans,
exxxtra-thick and hella tasty.
i love refritas, man.
f'really-real.
if you don't saute a few bits of pepper and onion in a pat of vegan butter,
and add a punch of GPOP, and nootch?
you are effing up, bruh.
get right, or get lost.
all that is pretty tight, right off,and that would've been a decent taco spread,
but too much is the right amount,
and friendship-times call for that level eleven expert stuff....
so i also made homemade seitan,
and we fired up some asada-style fajita strips, to turn these bad boys UP.
word.
the recipe for homemade seitan is HERE.
-
and with red pepper, and sweet onion, and poblano,
plus cumin and oregano and smoked paprika and GPOP and black pepper and pink salt?
you are gonna be SO psyched if you get it poppin' like this.
here's the thing-
a dab of oil and a hot pan are all you need to begin a majestic journey to
dinnertime super-deluxxxurious dopeness.
so, don't sell yourself short, and get after some of that boomfire from your kitchen.
i mean it.
it's good for you.

see?
-
that's a LOT of flavors to enjoy, y'know?
but we still needed MORE.
too much is the right amount, bruh.
that's no joke.
*
we also had fire-roasted tomato salsa.
like, 1 1/2 cups of those tomatoes,
and 3 tablespoons of onion,
and 1/2 cup of mixed peppers,
AND two cloves of garlic,
AND a bunch of cilantro,
AND green onions,
AND lime juice,
plus GPOP, black pepper, pink salt, cumin, coriander seed,
and a touch of smoked paprika just to give it that low end body, broski...
-
and last, but not least,
i got busy-busy with some ESCABECHE!
yup,
that peekooo, baby.
um, that's pickle, for those who aren't phonetically inclined.
two bias-cut carrots, barely covered by apple cider vinegar,
with a spoonful of sugar, and a splash of salt,
boiled until soft, and super sexxxy in flavor.
that's that turbo-expert excellence.
you want tacos that are great?
y'gotta BE great.
rules is rules.
***********
so, we had our first guest artist after all this time.
and he was a great guest,
and we all had a great time with what we were given to span, i think.
i know i did, anyway.
and now, it's back to normal,
and while it might be less cramped on the business end of AMPERSAND TATTOO,
the wall is getting more cramped with all the art that's happening every damned day
over at the back table where paint and wood and what's good all converge.
it's all really happening,
and that's the whole point,
never quiet, never soft.....