Vegan MoF0 #19: Huevos-Free Rancheros

Avocados are good at any time of day or night, and this recipe came about because of a perfectly ripe one that I wanted to eat for breakfast this morning. So succulent and luscious was the pale green flesh of this beautiful fruit that it cried out for a fitting foil to showcase its loveliness. (Can you tell that I really love avocadoes? Because I do.) So I rooted around in the refrigerator and found the necessary components for what would be called huevos rancheros if it included huevos, which it most emphatically does not. What it does have is fresh, ripe tomatoes and peppers from the garden of my mother's friend, lots of yummy spices, refried black beans and Nature's Wonder Food, tofu. This is the kind of breakfast that could easily send you back to bed with the Sunday paper: so satisfying, delicious, and utterly worthy of a perfect avocado that it's hard to imagine ever being hungry again. In a good way!

Ingredients:
~ 1 tbsp. olive oil
~ 2 tbsp. minced garlic
~ 1 cup chopped onion
~ 1 cup diced green bell pepper
~ 2 cups sliced mushrooms
~ 2 cups diced fresh, ripe tomatoes
~ 3 thinly sliced scallions
~ 1 tsp. each: salt, cumin, cilantro, thyme, chili powder, smoked paprika
~ 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
~ 1/4 tsp. cayenne (more to taste)
~ Fresh black pepper
~ 1 15 oz. can refried black beans
~ 1 lb, firm tofu, mashed
~ 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Also:
~ 4-5 large flour tortillas
~ Sliced ripe avocado, or guacamole if you prefer
~ Salsa
~ Vegan sour cream, if you're into that sort of thing

Directions:
~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
~ Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the flour tortillas on it. Lightly salt and pepper them, then bake for about 10 minutes, until slightly crisp but not too brown. Break into tortilla-chip size pieces and set aside.
~ In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
~ Add bell pepper, mushrooms and seasonings, and cook another few minutes, until the mushrooms start to soften.
~ Add the chopped tomatoes and refried beans, then raise the heat to high and cook about 5 minutes more, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
~ Add the tofu, scallions and nutritional yeast. Stir to combine and cook another minute or two, until everything is heated through. Remove from heat.
~ Arrange tortilla pieces on plates, then spoon the bean & vegetable mixture on top. Serve with guacamole, salsa, vegan sour cream and hot sauce for a breakfast you won't soon forget, because you'll be full for hours. So go do the crossword puzzle or something!