Best Tacos Ever: Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

Seriously. I'm not being dramatic, I'm not being biased. These tacos are the best ever.

I found the recipe on my FAVORITE food blog, Smitten Kitchen. Normally, this is a vegetarian dish, but we decided to add ground beef this time. The recipe says to mash the black beans (we just use a fork) so it thickens into a bit of a paste. Once the ground beef is cooked and the fat drained, we add the black beans. The heat softens the mashed beans and makes the ground beef and bean mixture thick without adding one of those taco seasoning packets. The recipe calls for cumin and we also added cayenne, garlic powder, and taco seasoning (which is just a mixture of paprika, onions, more cumin, oregano, and allspice). In the past I have also substituted the taco seasoning for chili powder, or Hungarian hot paprika.
The star of the tacos is the feta and cabbage slaw. I could seriously eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's fresh and crunchy with a little bite from the lime and hot sauce. And, it's one of those things that just gets better the more it sits in your refrigerator. I recommend buying a large cabbage and making a big batch because you'll want more after the tacos are gone. Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of the recipe calls for about 2 tablespoons (or more) of lime juice. I'm on the "or more" team. I use the juice of about 2 whole limes..or more. I really like a ton of lime juice. I think it enhances all of the flavors and also provides a nice contrast to the feta cheese.

As you can see in the photos, we did not make our tacos crispy. The first time I made them, I pan fried each tortilla in a little olive oil and man was it good. I definitely recommend it. But, if you are feeling lazy or just short on time, regular soft tortillas are fine, or you could use the store bought hard tacos. This recipe is so user-friendly, you can do whatever you want.
Oh black bean tacos, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. You are so easy and fast.
2. The recipe is very simple and wide open for being creative and adding your own twist!
3. Wallet friendly- black beans, tortillas, cabbage, lime, feta, cilantro, a bit of olive oil. These are the main ingredients..trust me, they don't add up to very much $$.
4. You go so well with a tasty adult beverage...especially of the Mexican variety.
5. You are even better the next day! (If there are leftovers)

A favorite restaurant

Did you miss us?
Many moons ago, my friends Mo, Mary and me went to Kona Bistro for drinks and a few appetizers. Kona Bistro is a great restaurant in Oakley Square in Cincinnati. I have eaten there quite a bit over my three years in Cincinnati and I've always had a great meal. The atmosphere at Kona Bistro is really friendly and bright and cheery. They have bright murals on the walls and a funky decor. The food is fresh and eclectic and they always have great daily specials featuring ingredients that are freshest of the season.
We just had cocktails and 2 appetizers, the Mediterranean munchies and steak and Gorgonzola crostini's.
The Mediterranean munchies platter was really good, it's homemade hummus and baba ghanouj with pita wedges. They also put fresh tomatoes and spinach and feta cheese. The hummus is a basic recipe but it is really good and with a little kick to it (I think they add hot paprika). Baba Ghanouj is not my favorite, but combined with some feta and tomatoes, it is not bad.

The steak and Gorgonzola crostini was also really good and quite filling for an appetizer. Each bite had a bit of all the ingredients; flank steak, Gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes and red onion. The steak was a little hard to bite sometimes but I really liked the combinations of flavors. The Gorgonzola was really creamy with a sweet bite from the onion and sweetness of the tomatoes mixed withe crunch of the bread. I think it would be a great thing to serve for a party of company.

After our appetizers at Kona, we actually went to a party where there was even more food. The pictures from the party actually get a little crazy (flip cup in a friends basement) so I only put up one. :) By the way, the little guy we are holding up is Flat Stanley, a school project for a Mo's little cousin.

Mediterranean Cole Slaw

Tonight Mo and I had dinner at Whole Foods.  I know you are probably wondering why I had dinner at a grocery store, but they have an awesome salad bar, soups, sandwiches and lots of interesting salads that they let you sample.  We were just eating quick before running a very exciting errand (I picked up my wedding dress!) so I got a salad from the salad bar.  It started off simply with mixed greens and veggies but then I got a little crazy and started putting small spoonfuls of all of the different salads so by the end of my trip around the bar my plate had a little bit of everything.  One of the sides was Mediterranean cole slaw and it was definitely my favorite!  

It was very light and not like your typical cole slaw because it was in a light vinaigrette.  It was just a great blend of traditional Mediterranean flavors and I wish I would have put more on my plate.  

I just got off the phone with Whole Foods to get the ingredients because I feel like it would be really easy to recreate.   I don't have the actual recipe with the amount of each ingredient but I think with a cole slaw you can just improvise.  The ingredients are as follows: green cabbage, green peppers, cucumbers, feta, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, kalamata olives (ew, I picked those out), feta cheese and the dressing is red wine vinegar, lemon, oregano, basil and olive oil.  Sounds pretty simple and it's now on my list of things to make. 

It's not a typical place to eat out for dinner but I recommend it because you can try a lot of things you would not typically eat.  Oh yea, and Mo had a shrimp enchilada that she enjoyed and she also bought some figs. 

Stay tuned for our Easter dinner, we are making lamb for our friends!