Tostadas with mango slaw

You get home late, you're tired, it's hot out. Making dinner is a choooore. Am I right?

Quesadillas would be great, but they're so much work to put together and then a mess to clean up. Ready for the revolution? Its name is "tostada!"

First and foremost, arm yourself with a batch of this mango slaw (I use peanuts instead of cashews). It keeps for days, and there are so many easy, hot-weather meals you can make with it. Last night I boiled some thin rice noodles, browned some julienned ham tube (just make sure it's vegan and gluten-free. ALWAYS read the ingredients, every time), and tossed a spoonful of chili garlic paste in with some mango slaw. You can also serve it over rice, with baked tofu. Or on a chickpea burger made with homemade bread (frozen and toasted to thaw).

If you're looking for more work to do in the kitchen while the tostadas are baking, slice and saute a ripe, black plantain in a little bit of oil til dark brown on both sides. It makes a wonderful, simple side dish and should be done just in time.

Tostadas with mango slaw

vegan, gluten-free

serves 2, 2 tostadas each

Ingredients

• 1 cup mango slaw. I love this recipe.
• 4 corn tortillas. I buy the uncooked, frozen ones. You don't need to defrost them or anything. Convenience!
• 1 cup refried beans. I like Trader Joe's black or pinto. You can use whole beans and mash them up a bit, too.
• 1 cup vegan cheese. I use Daiya white, I think it's called Italian style.

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
• Spread each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the refried beans, and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cheese.
• Lay the tortillas flat on a baking sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges of the tortillas are just starting to brown and the cheese is melted.
• Let sit for 2 minutes, top with about 1/4 cup of mango slaw each. Serve immediately.

Slacker sangria

I love wine, I love summer fruit, and I adore sangria. What I don't like are sickly sweet versions with sugar or-- heaven forbid-- soda added. Seriously? This is an adult beverage meant for relaxing, not giving you a sugar high.

I also don't want to gather a million ingredients, or chop, peel or juice anything. That's why my sangria mantra is "Dump and go." Pick three fruits, a fresh herb, and a bottle of wine you're not that excited about drinking-- the one that's been in the back of the cabinet for a couple of months.

Almost any combination will do, but you can't go wrong with color matching. Think light, sunny fruits with white wine and darker, berry flavors with red. Below is my go-to, most beloved and complemented recipe.

Slacker sangria

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of wine. I used a Pinot Gris.
• 1 peach, sliced
• 1 orange, sliced
• a handful of raspberries, about 1/2 cup
• a handful of fresh spearmint leaves, about 1/4 cup
• apple brandy, about 2oz (2 shots). I keep a bottle of Clear Creek's lovely apple brandy on hand just for this!

Directions

• Dump everything in a seal-able glass container. I use a 1 1/2 liter bail-lid jar, put the fruit in first, pour wine over it, then fill to the top with brandy.
• Shake vigorously and leave in the fridge overnight for flavors to meld. Tastes even better after two or three days!
• Serve over ice. I let chunks of fruit fall in (who doesn't like boozy fruit?), but if it's too broken down, garnish with a fresh fruit slice and mint leaves.