These quesadillas were fairly spicy and I used something I rarely buy - vegan jack. It is not required in order for this to be a yummy meal, I took the leftover filling ingredients and made them into a burrito for lunch the next day sans vegan jack and they were still really good, but it is a nice addition. I keep saying that I need to get the Uncheese Cookbook, but after the disappointing purchases of Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance, I have been a little jaded and torn about whether or not to try getting any other cookbooks. We'll see I suppose. If anyone out there has or has tried anything from the Uncheese Cookbook, please give me your honest review of it so I know whether or not to cross it off my list.
Just a reminder of the produce legend:
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
Anywho...
Quesadillas de Seta Picante
1 cup quinoa, cooked
2-3 cups mushrooms, minced (we used baby portobellos)
1/2 yellow onion, minced **
1 bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 poblano peppers, seeded and minced ***
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
chipotle chili powder
ground coriander
paprika
cumin
Mexican oregano
dash unsweetened cocoa powder
dash black pepper
salt
vegan jack (optional)
tortillas
salsa
Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium skillet. Add the mushrooms, onion, peppers and garlic and cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Drain any excess water.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste.
Layer filling and vegan jack in warmed tortillas and fry if desired.
The next food post I do will be yet another mushroom post, seriously, mushrooms rock, what was wrong with me?! ;-)
'Til next time!
15 comments:
DAMN that looks amazing.
#1 - you had me at spicy mushroom. i love all things mushroom.
#2 - i have the uncheese cookbook. ive only hade a few things. my favorite is the vegan parmesan cheese. its what i use vs. the store bought veg parm. i havent made the block cheese yet but ive wanted to ever since i seen them in the cookbook. vivaciuos vegan has made the block cheese & just posted about it. i might make it this week & let you know how it turns out. i especially want to make the pepperjack one. what was wrong with v'con & vwav?
#3 - i think what im gonna do with my ristras is ground them up into chili powder & use some of the seeds for next year.
I should definetly try this on our trip esp. since I read about Chile's tip in that quinoa is the fast cooking grains. Thank you.
Those look quite yummy! I don't know if you have a good library system where you live, but I'm usually able to find any vegan cookbook I want through a quick online search of the L.A. public library system. That'd be a good way for you to try the Uncheese Cookbook w/out purchasing it. I actually have both the original and the updated version of it (although I've only made a couple recipes), but I shall not give you my opinion because my suggestion for Veganomicon and VWAV would certainly have been for you to buy them and I don't want to be responsible for another cookbook you don't like! ;) P.S. I also love using the library because I feel it's, in some small way, saving trees for me to borrow, rather than purchase a book.
i'm kicking myself in the butt for the fact that i keep forgetting to pick up quinoa! argh! your quesadillas look mighty fine - and mighty tasty, too! mmmmmmmm!
and i have the uncheese cookbook @ home and still have yet to try any of the recipes. Jennifer - i will totally send you my copy to borrow for a bit and you can try some out and let me know how they are. :) and if you like the book you can buy a copy for yourself! i'm serious! :) you just le'mme know if you want to borrow it and i'll sent it on its way. oh, and you might want to contact Jennifer from Small Space Sweets. she makes some cheeses from the Uncheese cookbook and might be able to give you a review: http://jennycestcake.wordpress.com/
i didn't like mushrooms (or zucchini, or eggplant!) until i went veg, too. i wish i had liked all of the sooner - 'cause i missed out on a lot of yumminess!
looking forward to another glorious mushroom post! :D
I love quinoa everything, I love mushrooms, and I love spicy so, I think I love your dinner!
Hey, Jennifer,
I, too, have only made a few things from Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and I checked a copy out from the library for a month before deciding to buy it. I bought it mainly because it has the BEST cheezy sauce recipe in the world. It is honestly better than any other I've made. Even though I've only made a few things, most everything looks really yummy and not difficult - ease of recipes is a major factor when I decide to buy cookbooks.
You should totally take Jessy up on her offer to borrow her book or see if your library carries it. If you don't want the whole thing, maybe you can at least jot down a few of the recipes you like.
Have a great day!
Veggie Girl - Thanks
Selina - Love the numbering system!
#1 - Hahahaha, you'd do great at our place then.
#2 - Thanks for the review of the vegan parmesan. Oddly, we don't do Italian a whole lot. For a number of reasons really, for one, I don't really like it a very much, and for two, cheese or tofu is a fairly large requirement, at least in my experience. I am allergic to dairy and faux cheese just doesn't cut it in Italian, and, well, I don't like tofu beyond tofu sour cream.
Please do let me know how the pepper jack turns out.
There isn't anything WRONG with V'Con or VwaV, I just haven't liked any of the recipes I've tried, and the ones I have already tried were the only ones that interested me. The baked goods were alright, but I had to modify the hell out of the recipes due to all the white flour and sugar, and the entrees just haven't "sent" Brett and I. A lot of it has to do with the fact that most of the recipes in there aren't really my cuisine of choice, and a lot of the ones that sounded good either turned out not to be (in our very humble opinion) or they required ingredients of equipment that we didn't have (and often couldn't find) and weren't willing to get. It's just our opinion though, I don't judge anyone for liking those cookbooks, they opened up the world of vegan cooking for a lot of folks, I just personally got very excited about getting them, and then felt let down. Sorry to "slam" the cookbooks though.
#3 Good thinkin'! I love ground cayenne and it is great on, well, everything really. Well, to an extent....
Also a good idea about saving the seeds!
Beany - Quinoa does cook really quick and it is also a complete protein so no beans necessary, though I love beans and have been known to make dishes with both beans and quinoa. I bet this would be easy enough to make while camping too. ;-)
Vegyogini - Thank you! We have a fairly decent library system here in Columbia, though the MOBIUS system that includes all the university libraries in the state tends to have a larger selection, I'll have to see what all they have in the way of vegan cookbooks. Thanks for the idea.
I really don't mean to bash V'Con and VwaV, I completely understand why a lot of people like it, it just didn't really work for our tastes, Brett and I are some pretty particular creatures. I also think that Isa and Terry have access to far more well-stocked grocers than we do, as well as a lot of space, time and money, as I couldn't find many of the ingredients locally and I don't have room for more errant kitchen appliances.
I feel the same way about the library. It's a great way to share books too, not everyone needs their own copy. Especially not me, I have a scanner so I can just scan any recipes that interest me and then take the book back to the library.
Oh, and I also love the library because I am a complete book nerd. Brett has to keep me in line when we're there, I'd try to take all the books with me! He is forever saying "Jennifer you can't read THAT MANY books in 3 weeks!" As I bet you can guess, my books to read list is insane.
Jessy - We picked up a huge amount of quinoa back in May and are STILL working on it. It cooks up so much that a little goes a long way.
You are so sweet Jessy. I may just have to take you up on that offer, but only if I have a book you would be interested in as well. It's a shame, some of my favorite books are already on loan, but if you could send me an email so I have your email address, I could send you a list of the books I do have and perhaps something on there will catch your attention.
Thanks for letting me know about Jennifer, I'll have to check out her blog to see if she has any reviews.
I didn't like eggplant either! I was really wary about trying it again, but I've really enjoyed it the few times I've had it since going veg. Brett had a great idea involving eggplant (and mushrooms - haha) that we are going to try out this weekend.
The next mushroom post is a STUFFED mushroom post. Oh, yeah, it was seriously good.
Shellyfish - Hahahahahaha, if you are ever in Missouri, don't be shy!
Jenny - Thank you for coming on and letting me know about the cookbook.
That cheezy sauce is getting my attention. I've tried another version of a cheezy sauce before for nachos and it was, well, not good. In fact it was worse than that, but I should have wondered with the amount of salt called for in the recipe.
Ease is a really good thing in my book, I'm pretty lazy.
I think I may, I think I may, I just have to make it worth her while too. ;-) I've already checked with the local library and they don't have it, but I do have a scanner so I could scan copies of recipes I'm interested in from Jessy's copy.
You too!
Jennifer! The quesadilla looks AMAZING! I love the inclusion of the qunioa! Wow....great picture.
Oh, I love the vegan jack! Isn't it the best?! And I used to hate mushrooms too, but after going vegan, I magically loved them. Weird.
As for the Uncheese, I want that book so bad! Jenny at Small Space Sweets has made me decide that I MUST BUY IT SOON!
I love mushrooms! YUM!
What kind/brand of vegan jack do you use? I have yet to find a vegan cheese to get excited about...
Courtney
I feel the same way about mushrooms, and olives, too. What was I MISSING, all of that time that I thought I didn't like them? :)
Oh -- and I agree with you, Vegan with a Vengeance and Veganomicon didn't rock my world as much as I thought they were going to. But I do love the tempeh bacon recipe from VWAV, and I could marry the curried tofu recipe from VCON, if that sort of thing made sense. :)
wow, this is one awesome ingredient after another! I have the Uncheese but have only made 1 recipe from it so far, which I did like. I like to test drive cookbooks from the library, maybe yours can get it for you?
Vegan Cow Girl - Thank you! Brett and are both pretty big fans of quinoa so we try to use it where we can. Thanks about the picture too - I'm not usually the best photo-taker.
Bianca - Hahaha, vegan jack is pretty good.
Courtney - Me too!
We use Follow Your Heart Vegan Jack. I wouldn't say I get "excited" about this kind either, I mean, it doesn't taste like Monterey Jack cheese or anything, but it adds an good element to the meal in small doses. I couldn't have a ton of it on a dish, that would just be too much. I've reserved myself to the fact that since I'm mildly allergic to dairy that I will just have to get over the whole "cheese thing", none of the substitutes come close and most are downright awful!
Catherine - I forgot about olives! I used to hate those too! What was wrong with me?!
Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about the cookbooks. I love the mushroom gravy and the baked goods, once modified a bit, aren't bad, Brett really likes the Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies (with my modifications of course), but beyond that, it doesn't really send us.
Never had the tempeh bacon but my experience with tempeh was ICK, don't think it's for me, and I prefer things that aren't "replicas" of meat things that I used to eat. I always find I am disappointed. I never really liked bacon either. And tofu just isn't for me. But to each his own, we can't all have the same tastes, and the world would be pretty boring if we were all the same! I'm sure there is plenty of stuff I like that others would turn their nose at!
But I am interested in learning how to do some curries, I'm sure beans could work in place of tofu, right?
Lisa - Thank you.
I like the idea of "test driving" cookbooks too. Unfortunately our local library or any of the affiliated libraries carry this cookbook, but they do have some others I may have to check out.
Milh - Wheat tortillas?!?! I hope you post the recipe for those bad boys.
Oooh, and you even have the quinoa on hand. If you make these, I hope you like 'em as much as we did.
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