The Barebones Vegan: Cheap 'n Easy! (Just how you like it)

This is my third of the "Barebones Vegan" posts, in which I tell you how to get by as a vegan without sacrificing your wallet or principles (screw you, Big Business!). You can find my other two posts on this issue here and here.

In the kitchen, practicing my "Look me in the eyes and say that" face. I never said I was fierce.

Here's a cheap and easy recipe that I adapted from The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook.

Spicy Spanish Potatoes:

Ingredients:

7 or 8 small potatoes (use red bliss or Dutch yellow), sliced 1/4'' thick
1 TB (or so) olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/8 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
Sriracha ('cause I'm crazy like that)

Parboil your potato slices for about 3 minutes. Then fry them in the olive oil until they're slightly browned on both sides (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat to low and season with salt and pepper. Add the cayenne and paprika, making sure to flip the potatoes over a few times to coat. Cover the pan and let it cook until potatoes are soft.

In a small bowl, mix together the tomato paste and vinegar. If you're also crazy, add however much Sriracha you want. Stir the mixture into the potatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes or less, making sure to flip the potatoes occasionally.

The beauty of this dish is four-fold:
1. it's cheap
2. it's easy
3. it uses mostly natural foods
4. it acts as a sinus decongestant because it's so damn spicy 

I paired these potatoes with heated up black beans topped with melted Daiya, and a salad of arugula and tomato. I think adding a side of sliced avocado would also be good.

P.S. Peta2 does a $3 Dish Of The Day if you're interested in checking out similarly cheap vegan recipes.

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