Simple Roasted Veggie Quesadillas

I believe I promised to post about these a week or two ago, but alas, I suck and am have been a bad blogger, but hey - better late than never right?

I am a self-taught cook, and have also "developed" my own palette, and one thing I continually discover is that the simplest things are not only often the best, but in a strange way they are also the hardest. It is because with fewer ingredients there is less room for error, you can't cover up an overcooked tomato if tomato is one of three ingredients in the dish. Anyway, there were no mishaps in this little simplistic kitchen adventure, but I have had my fair share. This isn't really anything special, but it is a great combination of flavors and textures that really showcase all the abundance that is available at this time of year.


The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Simple Roasted Veggie Quesadillas:
1 yellow summer squash, ends removed **
1 red bell pepper, washed **
2 tomatillos, husked and washed ***
2 serranos, seeded and minced ***
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, sliced thin *
4-6 tbsp. canola oil, divided evenly
salt
pepper
flour tortillas
queso fresco or non-dairy "cheese"
salsa *

Preheat oven to 400.

Drizzle half the canola oil over squash, bell pepper, and tomatillos. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, turning the veggies about half way through to get even cooking.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Add the serranos, garlic, and onions, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

When veggies come out of the oven, allow the veggies to cool. Once cool enough to handle, chop the stem off the bell pepper, peel it (the skin should slide off easily), remove the seeds, and slice. Slice the squash and tomatillos.

Layer veggies and cheese in a warmed flour tortilla and fry if desired. Serve with salsa - the hotter the better.

'Til next time.

Two Bean-Pumpkin Chili

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I am a bit beat from my weekend, but I had a lot of fun nonetheless. I am working on a baking project, whose purpose will be revealed at a later time, so my weekends have been filled with quite a bit of baking (and dishes too of course). This weekend my focus was cookies! I made a few different kinds and they all turned out wonderfully. I'm not sure if I will get to it due to Thanksgiving this week, but if I have time, I might schedule at least a couple of them to go up over the holiday. I have a very short week at work this week, and a lot of prep and planning to do for Brett and I's contribution to Thanksgiving, oh, and then there is the whole going out of town thing - so needless to say, I will probably be absent from commenting on everyone's blogs for the rest of the week. If I can, I will schedule some cookie posts, otherwise, you will get them next week in addition to pictures and recipes from our Thanksgiving meal.

In the meantime though, I hope you will not be disappointed with this week's Dark Day's 90% local meal, a two bean chili with pumpkin! I think I mentioned before, chili is one of the first things I learned how to cook, as a result, Brett and I ate far more chili than I care to mention, we were so burnt out on chili - poor Brett more than myself. Long story short, we are both, particularly Brett, very picky about chili now. Most of the time I make it, it gets an "eh" from both of us, and doesn't get blogged about. The last "hit" I had in the chili department was the Two Bean and Lentil Chili and then this.

This was my first attempt at using pumpkin in a savory dish and it is really good. This chili was really good. It was hearty, and had a deep, rich tomato flavor, was just spicy enough, it had hints of sweetness and creaminess from the pumpkin, and even a meaty quality from the oyster mushrooms. And with the two beans, you know it was filling.

The only thing I would do differently with this chili next time would be to chop the pumpkin up a little smaller. We like to eat our chili with tortilla chips and the chunks were hard to scoop up.















(Not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but so, so tasty.)

The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Two Bean-Pumpkin Chili

4 cups black beans, cooked ****
2 cups pinto beans, cooked ****
4 medium to large tomatoes, chopped +
1 habanero, seeded and minced +
1 hot Hungarian wax pepper (ours was ripe and red!), seeded and minced ***
1 serrano (this one was ripe and red too!!), seeded and minced ***
1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced +
1 purple bell pepper, seeded and minced +
4 cloves of garlic, minced +
1 red onion, chopped +
3 cups fresh pumpkin, chopped +
8 oyster mushrooms, minced +
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely minced +
5 cups water
chili powder
cumin
Mexican oregano
salt

Combine all ingredients, except the beans, in a large soup pot and simmer for about 2 hours.

Add the beans, and more seasoning if desired, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes to an hour.

This makes a lot of chili. I froze the portion we didn't eat and we will thaw it for a quick meal when we get back from visiting my mom.

I hope everyone has a wonderful (and as local as possible) Thanksgiving!

'Til next time!

Two Bean and Lentil Chili with Local Veggies and Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

The cool evenings of fall make soup, stew, and chili some of the best types of food during this time of year. This post is about chili. I love chili, it is really versatile and can be made savory, spicy, and even sweet-spicy if you really want to mix things up a little bit. This time of year is also a wonderful time for those of us who like to eat local in the Midwest - we still have some of the goodies from the tail-end of summer (like tomatoes and fresh, hot peppers) as well as the staples of fall (sweet potatoes, winter squash) to work with. This meal was made for dinner last Sunday - the filling chili and tasty roasted sweet potato wedges were the perfect pairing with Sunday night football. Wahoo!

I also love how easy chili is. I had some beans on hand in the fridge, some fresh things, and I just shucked it all together in a large pot and let it cook for a couple of hours. Brett isn't the biggest fan of chili, I think I've mentioned before that I burnt him out on chili since it was one of the first homemade dishes I learned how to make. He really liked this batch and even happily ate the leftovers for lunch. That was how I really knew he liked it - he ate it again for lunch! He swore you couldn't tell that this was vegan chili.

The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms















Yummy, chili!















Baked sweet potato wedges.

Two Bean and Lentil Chili with Local Veggies
Makes about 5-6 cups of chili.

1 cup kidney beans, cooked
2 cups black beans, cooked ****
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
4 cups of water
4 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and minced *
1 red bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 "yummy" orange peppers, seeded and minced *
2 serexican chiles, seeded and minced ***
2 serrano chiles, seeded and minced ***
1 Spanish red onion, minced *
6 tomatoes (we used 3 red, 3 yellow), chopped *
6 cloves of garlic, minced *
chili powder
cumin
ground coriander
black pepper
salt

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Season to taste - but be careful, you can always add more seasonings later. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours.

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into wedges *
1 tbsp safflower oil
a couple of pinches of black pepper
sea salt

Preheat oven to 450.

Spray a baking dish with safflower oil.

Toss sweet potato wedges with safflower oil, pepper, and salt.

Place on baking dish in a single layer.

Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes. Flip wedges over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with more salt if desired.

I will try my best to get the garden update posted tomorrow. It was really windy here yesterday - too windy to get decent pictures, so hopefully the weather will cooperate tonight. I am also feeling a little icky. I hope I'm not coming down with something. That would really suck.

'Til next time.

J&B's Huevos Rancheros (vegetarian)

I don't eat eggs very often, but will on occasion as I don't really consume all that many enriched products, nor do I take supplements, and this is a great way to have them. It could easily be made vegan by simply omitting the eggs and spicing up the beans, or using tofu and doing whatever it is that you do to make tofu taste good. I also made a vegan version awhile back.

I will not vouch for the authenticity of this meal, I actually don't think it was very authentic at all, but it was really, really good. Brett recently had Huevos Rancheros at a local restaurant called Cafe Berlin. He really liked the dish and we had what we needed on hand to make it at home. Now I didn't taste the dish as it was loaded down with cheese and I don't do cheese, so I only have what Brett told me about it and my own interpretations to go on. Oh, and I added roasted potatoes to the dish because roasted potatoes make everything better.

Just a reminder of the local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms















J&B's Huevos Rancheros
Makes enough for 3 large servings (I took some to work for lunch the next day).

The 'Taters:
2 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed *
1 tbsp safflower oil
chili powder (ancho would seriously rock)
ground cumin
ground coriander
cayenne pepper
black pepper
salt

Preheat oven to 450.

Toss potatoes with oil and spices. Cover with foil* and roast for 35-45 minutes stirring a few times throughout cook time.

*If the foil doesn't get any food on it, it can be reused a few times.

The Eggs:
4 eggs *
1 red bell pepper, seeded and minced *
2 ripe serrano peppers, seeded and minced *
1 small yellow onion, minced *
4 cloves of garlic, minced *
black pepper
pinch of salt

Heat 1 tbsp of water in a medium skillet. Add the peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Drain any excess liquid. Add the eggs and scramble. Make sure they fully cooked. Season with pepper and salt.


The Rest of the Stuff:
1 cup cranberry beans (or pinto), cooked ****
1 cup black beans, cooked ****
1/2 cup long grain brown rice, cooked ****
salt

Season the beans with a little bit of salt.

really spicy salsa
tortillas (flour or corn would work)

Eating Huevos Rancheros can really be approached in two ways. You can layer all these components in a large tortilla and make a mondo burrito, or you can serve it family style with smaller tortillas.

Yum!

I am quickly getting a cold, I hope it goes away soon. I'll make sure to get lots of orange produce at the farmer's market tomorrow, and may even get some citrus from the regular grocery store if there is USA grown organic available.

'Til next time.

Queso-menos Quesadillas con las habas de Anasazi y la calabaza de Delicata (Cheese-less Quesadillas with Anasazi Beans and Delicata Squash)

Update: Veggie Girl flippin' rocks and she helped me get the translation right. Thanks Veggie Girl!

Anyways, this recipe is dedicated to Katrina from Kale for Sale for giving me the idea of expanding my horizons and mashing up roasted squash for use in Mexican food. It was an awesome suggestion and we'll be doing it often now. So thanks Katrina, this one is for you!

This was also the first time we had tried delicata squash. There is only one purveyor at the farmer's market who sells these too. I had noticed them when I bought a huge bag of organic red potatoes from the vendor the previous week. We asked him about the delicata and his awesome array of acorn squash, but didn't purchase any - until last Saturday of course. After enjoying the delicata squash as much as we did, we're hoping to clean out the remaining ones he has (along with a few of his gorgeous acorn squash) Saturday at the market. Wahoo for storing local booty for winter.

Between the 11 butternut squash we got from our community garden, the delicata, acorn, and spaghetti squash we hope to obtain, we are going to turn in to squash! During the summer, we are loaded down with zucchini, yellow summer squash, and eggplant (not squash, but similar in taste in my opinion), and over the winter - well, it's all winter squash. I guess it is a good thing that squash are versatile and we like them, otherwise eating locally might be pretty crummy!

An FYI if you've never had delicata squash: apparently it is considered as a quasi-heirloom variety. It is also referred to as "Sweet Potato Squash" and "Bohemian Squash", not sure about the Bohemian one, but the Sweet Potato name fits. The squash has an orange flesh similar to butternuts. They are moist and very sweet, much like....you guessed it, a sweet potato. The skins on delicatas are also edible, though we scooped the flesh out and discarded the skin for this recipe. I tried a piece with the skin after I had roasted the squash and it was quite edible.

This is a really simple recipe, the only time consuming part is roasting the squash. If you have your beans made ahead of time (which I always do because Brett flippin' rocks hardcore), then you can use the squash roasting time to prepare everything else and have a meal from oven to table in about 45 minutes.

Anywho, I've rambled long enough, let's get on to the food!

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden















Queso-menos Quesadillas con las habas de Anasazi y la calabaza de Delicata
1 delicata squash, stem removed and halved *
1 tbsp safflower oil
salt
pepper
2 cups Anasazi beans, cooked
1 cup of white button mushrooms, minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced *
1 hot banana pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced **
1 small yellow onion, minced **
4 cloves of garlic, minced *
chili powder
ground coriander
cumin
salt

tortillas
spicy salsa

Preheat oven to 450.

On a baking sheet, rub safflower oil into the flesh of the squash (the squash should be roasted with the skin side down). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until squash is soft.

Let cool for a few minutes. Then scoop flesh out of the skin and mash in a bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium skillet.

Add the mushrooms, peppers, garlic, and onions. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are to your desired "doneness". Drain any excess water.

Add the beans and seasonings and heat through.

Layer squash and bean mixture in warmed tortillas. Fry if desired.

Serve with some really spicy salsa.

I can't remember what brand it is, but Brett and I recently came across a really yummy hot salsa that comes from Texas. It has pureed hot New Mexican Chile peppers, jalapenos, and chipotle peppers in it. It is very good for salsa out of a jar.

That reminds me, I need to see what kind of salsa the locals sell at the market this weekend!

I should be back sometime this week with a post about our (vegetarian) Huevos Rancheros - they are seriously awesome, and then the first of my two installments of Monthly Unplug Yourself wrap ups. There are going to be two for the sake of my not writing a novel for you guys to read all at once. The first post will be a round-up of other participants' posts on the initiative as well as on my beginners understanding of Permaculture - having read the book Permaculture and now working on David Holmgren's Collected Writings. I hope that my knowledge of the topic will continue to improve. The second post will be about the alternative (non-mainstream) news sources I read, with links and brief descriptions of each. Now, most of them are liberal, some so liberal they are almost back around to the right again, but I do have a few conservative news sources I read for good measure. Oh, and also if I need a little increase in blood pressure. ;-)

Brett should be posting sometime soon as well as to his progress with the Unplug Yourself initiative, and he will also be posting the monthly "call to arms" for the initiative as well. I think we've worked a lot of the "kinks" out, so hopefully the aim, purpose, and commitment will be much clearer. A big thanks to everyone who has joined - we hope you have enjoyed the experience (or at least learned something) and will consider continuing on. Others, please think about signing up to participate - this is a group effort and the more heads that come together and figure out how to live better with less, expand our horizons, and live by our morals and priciples - the better this planet will be.

'Til next time.

Quesadillas de Melocotón y Verdura (Peach and Veggie Quesadillas)

This was one of the more experimental recipes I've tried lately and it was really, surprisingly good. The sweetness of the peaches worked really well with the spicy peppers, the crunch of raw cucumbers, the juciness of the fresh tomatoes, and the nuttiness of the quinoa. Brett's only complaint? There weren't enough peaches in the dish - he's a hummingbird, there have been times that I've truly wondered if there is a such thing as sweet enough to him! :-) But I did agree that more peaches would not have been a bad thing. When I had created this recipe, I decided that 3 peaches seemed a good amount for the dish. I was thinking of the larger sized peaches I've seen around the farmer's market. Well, after much frustration this past weekend, we finally found the only stand (that we are aware of) that was selling pesticide free peaches, and they were a little smaller than the other peaches. So next time I make this meal, if we are using the small peaches, I will use 5, otherwise 3 it is.

I was a little nervous about this dish, as the only fruit I had ever tried in a meal has been pineapple, and I was nervous when I made that too! I was really happy it turned out and we had a lovely fresh batch of Green Chile Taco Sauce that complemented these quesadillas perfectly.

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden

















Quesadillas de Melocotón y Verdura
1 cup quinoa, cooked
3 peaches, washed, cored and diced *
2 serranos, seeded and minced ***
2 petite bell peppers, seeded and minced ***
1 gypsy pepper *
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
1/4 red onion, diced *
1 cucumber, minced *** (we used one of the cukes we nabbed from an abandoned plot)
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped *
juice of half a lime
dash chipotle chili powder
dash cumin
dash cinnamon
dash white pepper
dash salt

tortillas
Green Chile Taco Sauce

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers, onion and garlic and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain any excess liquid.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste. Refrigerate for about a half an hour.

Either drain the filling or use a slotted spoon* to layer filling in a warmed tortilla and fry.

Serve with Green Chile Taco Sauce.

* There will be liquid at the bottom of the bowl of filling, I suggest draining it so there isn't a risk of soggy tortillas, nobody likes that.

It's always nice when an experimental meal goes well.

'Til next time!

Quesadillas de Frijole Negros, Pimiento, y Calabacín (Black Bean, Pepper and Zucchini Quesadillas)

This was, again, nothing too special, but it was very good. I have made something similar to this before - in fact, using an incredibly similar spice combination, but doing just a few things differently, adding things here and there, substituting this for that, and suddenly you have a unique meal!

I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but there was guacamole on this. It made this meal even better!

When my Dad brought down the avocado tree for my birthday, he also brought down a bag of 5 huge avocados - this is more than we would ever buy at one time. I had already planned out my meals for the week, which, of course, did not include avocados, so we were scrambling to find uses for the lovely guys before they went bad. Needless to say, we had lots of snacks of chips and guacamole, I added guacamole to this dish, and I made avocado and cucumber sushi rolls this weekend - I was also able to use up the last two sheets of nori we had in our cabinet that would probably not have lasted too much longer.

Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, black beans are our most often used bean, oddly, since pinto beans might arguably be both Brett and my favorite bean - the black bean is just so versatile.

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden















Quesadillas de Frijole Negros, Pimiento, y Calabacín
1 cup black beans, cooked
1 zucchini, chopped ***
1/2 cup sweet corn, cooked **
1 bell pepper, seeded and minced **
1 petite bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 banana pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced ***
1/2 yellow onion, minced *
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped ***
juice of half a lime
chipotle chili powder
ground coriander
cumin
Mexican oregano
black pepper
salt

tortillas
guacamole

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium skillet. Add the zucchini, peppers, onion, garlic, and tomatoes and cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Drain any excess water.

Combine all filling ingredients and season to taste.

Layer filling in warmed tortillas.

Fry and serve with guacamole.

'Til next time!

Incan Tostadas with Roasted Poblano Sauce

This is one of our favorite meals, and perhaps the one I am most proud of. I first made this meal last summer when I began my crusade to learn how to make authentic Mexican food at home. This was inspired by my Mexican neighbors - they would cook amazing smelling food and I could smell it every time I was in our hallway. It got to the point where Brett and I decided that we either had to learn Spanish and weasel our way into their meal time, or we had to learn how to make it ourselves. Me being a vegetarian, our neighbors - well, not, it was an easy decision.

This was also the first meal I modified and made my own (from a very different recipe I found on All Recipes a few years ago). It has changed very much since the first time I made them, and it has only been for the better - each time we improved upon the last.

The poblano sauce is what makes this meal. The beans and quinoa actually have no seasoning on them - they don't need it.

With that said, the sauce has gotten more complicated since I first made it, so I thought I would provide a visual guide for the steps involved in making the sauce.

Remember the produce legend:
no asterisk = from the grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden















Roasted poblanos out of the oven.















Other sauce ingredients getting ready to go in the oven.















Roasted poblanos after being peeled.















Roasted poblano sauce.

Roasted Poblano Sauce
Makes about 4 cups.

6-10 fresh poblano peppers, washed *
2 tsp coconut oil
1-2 tsp sea salt
28 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
1 serrano pepper, stem removed (red if you can find one) *
4 cloves of garlic, peeled *
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thick *
a few good dashes of cumin
a dash of Mexican oregano
a dash of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat broiler.

Toss whole poblanos with coconut oil and sprinkle with salt. Place under heated broiler and roast for 3-5 minutes on each side. They should get blistered with black spots.

Remove them from the oven and place them in a paper bag to steam - this will make the skins easy to remove.

Heat the oven to 400.

Combine the remaining sauce ingredients in a baking dish. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, removed the skins, stems, seeds, and veins from the poblano peppers and put the peppers in a food processor.

Once the sauce mixture is done roasting in the oven, let it cool for a few minutes before transferring it to the food processor.

Blend in the food processor until smooth and add a bit more salt if necessary.















Incan Tostadas with Roasted Poblano Sauce
1/2 cup raw quinoa, rinsed at least 2 or 3 times
1 cup water

1 1/2 cups black beans, cooked
Poblano sauce
tostada shells

Bring water to a boil, add rinsed quinoa and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.

Layer quinoa, black beans, and poblano sauce on a warmed tostada shell. Repeat for a second layer.

Brett likes to add just a little bit of cheese on his.

Super yummy. I can't wait to have these again.

An FYI: the second post in Brett's "What is Food" series will be published tomorrow, I don't know about you all, but I am looking forward to it - I've been excited about it since he talked about writing it!

'Til next time!

Quesadillas de Frijoles de Anasazi, Arroz Integral y Verdura (Anasazi Bean, Brown Rice, and Vegetable Quesadillas)

This was one of the best new meals we have tried this summer. We both really like Anasazi beans, but they are often forgotten with the traditional black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans we usually use in our Mexican food. If you can get your hands on some Anasazi beans, I highly recommend them. They have an oddly "poultry-ish" quality and also a smoky flavor. Anasazi beans are also incredibly filling, it's crazy! We made quesadillas last night, no bigger than we normally do, and neither of us could eat the whole thing - we don't often have that problem.

This was also an excellent application for yellow summer squash. As I'm sure you've noticed if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, we are "beans and rice folks" (neither of us like tofu beyond tofu sour cream, we don't like seitan, and we most definitely do not like tempeh), and we are also quite obsessed with Mexican food. So it has been a fun challenge trying to figure out how to create "authentic" Mexican meals that utilize ingredients such as zucchini and summer squash that grow so well here in the Midwest. I can tell you from experience, the zucchini is harder to make "work" than the summer squash, we've had a few "hits" with zucchini, but also some "misses", things that were edible, but that weren't "blog-worthy" nor worth making again, so I was happy to find a meal that used squash that worked out really well. I can say though, with a little creativity and patience, almost anything can be used in Mexican food and it still taste "authentic", you just have to get familiar with the flavors and textures used in traditional Mexican cuisine.

Anyways, I've also gotten a few comments asking what, if any, produce used in our meals comes from our gardens. This excites me to no end that people enjoy the garden updates and our local food, so for the rest of the summer I will use a "legend" to show which fruits and veg came from our gardens, our CSA, the farmer's market, or the "regular" store.

The legend is:
no asterisk = from the grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden

Without further ado, here are the pictures and the recipe.

















NOTE: I am going to try to start "titling" my recipes in Spanish, since it is pretty much just Mexican food. Not only do I think this is neat, but I learn a little bit of Spanish along the way. Now, with that said, I am coming up with these translations via online Spanish to English dictionaries and translators, and they aren't always accurate. So if you know Spanish, and know I am wrong with my translation, please correct me, it will help me learn!

Quesadillas de Frijoles de Anasazi, Arroz Integral y Verdura (Anasazi Bean, Brown Rice, and Vegetable Quesadillas)
1 cup anasazi beans, cooked
1 cup long grain brown rice, cooked
2 tomatoes, diced ***
1 yellow summer squash, diced ***
1/2 onion, diced **
1/2 bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 hot banana pepper, seeded and minced ***
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
ground coriander
chipotle chili powder
cumin
salt

tortillas
salsa

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add squash, onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes. Drain any excess water.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

Layer a few tablespoons of filling in warmed tortillas. Fry if desired.

Yummy!

I wanted to end this post with a reminder about the Quit Now Challenge. It officially starts tomorrow and it is not too late to sign up. I will be posting a reminder tomorrow to all you quitters out there that the challenge has begun!

'Til next time.

Sushi 'Burgers' with Asian-ish Slaw

This meal was one of the more experimental things I have tried and I'm pleased to say it turned out really well. I modified the recipe for the sushi 'burgers' from here. I loved the spiciness of the burger and it even had a slightly "fishy" quality to it, but not overpoweringly so.

I added shredded beets to the coleslaw for some sweetness, which complimented the savory and slightly spicy burger quite well. The dried cranberries offered more sweetness and a nice addition of texture. The peanuts add an additional burst of protein and good fat, while adding a nice crunch to the dish.

The meal was also quite easy as I had my microplane grater and food processor do most of the work for me.















Sushi 'Burgers'
Makes 4 large patties

1/2 cup sushi rice, cooked
1 cup adzuki beans, cooked
1 sheet of nori, shredded
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded (I used a microplane grater)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and shredded (Again, I used a microplane grater)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated with the microplane (or finely minced)
1/2 yellow onion, shredded with the microplane (or finely minced)
2 hot banana peppers (or jalapeno, Anaheim, Hungarian Wax, Serrano, etc), stems removed, shredded with microplane (or finely minced)
1 1/2 tbsp seasoned brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp shoyu (or other soy sauce)
1 tsp wasabi powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl, lightly mash the adzuki beans with a fork.

Combine with the rest of the ingredients.

Form into 4 large patties and refrigerate for about an hour to let the patties "set".

Lightly coat the bottom of a small skillet with oil (I used coconut, probably about 1/4-1/2 tsp). Fry patties for about 5-8 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Top with Asian-ish slaw (recipe follows).

Asian-isn Slaw

Salad:
1 cup red cabbage, shredded
1 cup green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 yellow onion, shredded
2 beets, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1/4 cup crushed peanuts

Dressing:
2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup seasoned brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2-4 tbsp raw sugar
2 green serrano chilies, seeded and minced (Thai chilies would be even better)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salt and white pepper to taste

Shred all the salad ingredients except the peanuts and cranberries in a food processor or with a box grater. Set aside.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.

Refrigerate for about an hour to allow flavors to meld.

Right before serving, stir in the cranberries and peanuts.

This meal had quite a bit more oil in it than I usually use, but we had a more active than usual day. We had this on Saturday, so, as usual, we walked to and from the farmer's market and we also went out walking for a couple of hours with a good friend at a local park, so this meal was very nice after a long day walking outside. We were lucky to be able to walk in a shaded park, it felt so much cooler beneath those trees than out exposed to the scorching sun.

Well, I'm off to prepare a simple dinner, enjoy a fresh batch of sun tea (our favorite recipe is a gallon jug filled with water and 4 fair trade, organic Darjeeling tea bags and 1 organic peppermint tea bag, so refreshing!), and probably take a sneak peek at the book I chose for the month of July's "Blogging Borkworm" review, though I still have to finish Wealth and Democracy by Kevin Phillips (it's a really long book). I chose "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman, he explores how the planet would respond without the pressures of human civilization. Interesting topic to ponder.

Oooooh, and we stopped by the smaller, but still lovely, farmer's market that runs on Monday's and Wednesday's here in Columbia and picked up some gorgeous local peaches. They were so yummy looking we both just ate one right there at the market, along with everyone else who had gotten peaches. :-) Never done that before.... They were so juicy, and perfect, this was my first local peach, and I gotta say, no peach I've had before even comes close. And to think, we got 9 local peaches for $5, who says buying local has to be expensive?

'Til next time.

Fajita Burritos with "Traditional" Refried Beans

So I'm a little bit behind in my food posts as things were a bit hectic this past week.

We had a really good, albeit short, trip to St. Louis. My dad's graduation ceremony was held at the Missouri History Museum. It was a lovely ceremony with a good keynote speaker. It was also really nice to see my grandparents from Houston, we don't get to see them enough. After the ceremony, we had a nice lunch and looked around the St. Louis Art Museum for awhile. I will post some St. Louis pictures at the end of this post.

Onto the food. As you all know, Brett and I love Mexican food, it might go beyond love, but that is beside the point. :-) Anyways, we have been trying to get a good refried bean recipe down for a couple of years. Our beans have always turned out well, but they were also always more flavorful than authentic refried beans, and something always seemed a bit off. I did a little research and experimented, and have come up with the most 'authentic' recipe for vegan refried beans we've had yet.

Brett also made a good portion of this meal. I made the beans, he made the marinade, cut up all the veggies, and marinated them for the day. When I got home from work to make the meal, all I had to do was sauté the veggies and heat up the beans. Gotta love meals like that!

'Traditional' Vegan Refried Beans

1 cup of dry pinto beans, soaked overnight and rinsed

1 serrano pepper, stem removed

1 jalapeno pepper, stem removed

1/2 medium onion (or equivalent)

1/2 bulb of garlic, peeled

2-3 tbsp vegetable (or other) oil

1-2 tbsp salt (in water)

In a crock pot, combine all the ingredients and fill the pot with water. Simmer on high for 2-3 hours or until beans are soft. (You could also do this in a pot on the stove.)

Reserve about half a cup of the bean water.

Remove the peppers, garlic, and onion, and discard.

Mash beans with a mixer or potato masher, adding bean water and salt as needed to taste.

Fajita Burrito with Refried Beans

2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced

1 package white button mushrooms, sliced

Just Another Fajita Marinade

refried beans

tortillas

salsa

Marinate the veggies in Just Another Fajita Marinade for at least a couple of hours.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the veggies and cook for about 15 minutes or until soft. You may want to put a lid on the pan (if you have one) to help them cook faster.

Layer refried beans and marinated veggies in warmed tortillas and roll 'em up! Serve with salsa.

We both really like this mariade, it works really well with fajita style veggies.

I'll end this post with a few pictures from the History Museum St. Louis. Unfortunately, none of them will be of my dad's graduation. For one, the lighting was difficult for our camera and we didn't get many good pictures. And for two, well, I didn't ask him if he minded living in infamy on my blog, so I didn't think it would be fair to post the pictures without asking him first.

Anyways.....

I really have a thing with public transportation, so I was excited to take a picture of one of the Metro buses in St. Louis.

The Missouri History Museum. You can actually see my family walking up towards it.

Old trolly car.

Good 'ol TJ.

These posters are from 1943. I don't think we should have ever lost these principles.

And finally, they have an exhibit at the Museum where you can stand behind this thing that looks like the basket of a hot air ballon and the TV shows you 'flying' over St. Louis, seeing the arch, all that sort of stuff. It's a pretty silly, kitchy thing, but I thought it would be fun to take a picture of it 'flying' us over St. Louis. See the Arch in the background. It felt so real...... ;-)

I will try to get back on this afternoon and post the weekly garden update, and will try to catch up on everyone's blog soon!

'Til next time.

Marinated Portobello Mushroom and Veggie Fajitas with Chile-Lime Sauce

I've been on a slight marinating kick lately - especially marinating mushrooms and veggies for Mexican-ish food. This time I decided to highlight the portobello mushroom in a marinated fajita as, well, they are one of both Brett and my favorite mushrooms.

This is another spicy dish, for less fire, omit some of the hot peppers from the 'veggie mix' in the fajitas.

Since Brett and I aren't eating avocados for a month, I've decided to try to be creative with salsas to go with our meal so guacamole and avocado won't be necessary. I decided to go with a Chile-Lime sauce this time and it paired with the marinated mushrooms and veggies well. The sauce is also pretty spicy, remove the seeds from the peppers before blending if you want a milder sauce. Brett made some tofu sour cream and it turned out excellent this time, I love the way the tofu sour cream compliments really spicy food.















Chile-Lime Sauce
2 serrano chilies, minced
1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup veggie broth
juice of one lime
cumin
pinch sugar
pinch white pepper
pinch salt

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers and onions and cook for about 10 minutes, add the garlic and cook another 3-5 minutes. Drain any excess water and transfer to a food processor.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Return to the stove in a small sauce pan. Simmer on low for about a half hour until thick.

Mushrooms and veggies marinating.

Just Another Fajita Marinade
1/8 cup vegetable oil (you could get away with less, but this marinade does need some oil)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
juice of one lime
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 chipotle chilies in adobo, roughly chopped
4 dried New Mexican Chile peppers, roughly broken up
1 tsp. sugar
Mexican oregano
chili powder
cumin
ground coriander
salt
dash white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and marinate veggies for at least an hour. Remove dried chilies and chipotle chilies (if desired) before cooking veggies.

Marinated Portobella Mushroom and Veggie Fajitas
Marinate the following veggies:
2-3 cups portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
1 serrano pepper, seeded and sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced

The Other Stuff:
small tortillas
Chili Lime Sauce
tofu sour cream

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the veggies and cook for 15-20 minutes, adding more marinde if neccesary, or until soft.

Divide filling in two bowls. Serve with warmed small tortillas, Chile-Lime sauce, and tofu sour cream.

I love fajitas, and marinating veggies is an incredibly easy way to take a meal to a different level.

'Til next time.

Mushroom and Asparagus Burritos with Roasted Salsa Verde

I was initially very wary of using veggies like asparagus in Mexican food as it didn't seem very 'authentic'. Well, I've quickly gotten over that because many ingredients, whether authentic or not, can be turned into yummy Mexican-inspired meals with the right flavor combination.

Wanting to enjoy the abundance of fresh, local, organic asparagus we've been getting from our CSA, I came up with these burritos. They were really good, and as my first Mexican meal without avocados or guacamole, I must say, this was fantastic!

I made a roasted salsa verde to go with the meal. The burritos and the salsa paired wonderfully. The salsa is spicy, flavorful, and very easy to make.

Roasted veggies out of the oven.

Everything in the food processor.

The finished product, so good!

Roasted Salsa Verde

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups of salsa.

1 lb tomatillos (about 10), husked and washed

4 serrano chiles

1/4 yellow onion

4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of one lime

cumin

salt

1 1/2 cups veggie broth

Preheat broiler.

Layer tomatillos, serrano chiles, onion and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with cocout oil and salt.

Roast in the oven for about 3-5 minutes on each side.

Once veggies are roasted, allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove the stem and peel the peppers. (Remove the seeds if you don't want a spicy salsa.)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until very smooth.

Transfer salsa to a sauce pan. Add the veggie broth and simmer on low for about 2 hours or until the salsa is very thick.

This sauce will last about a week in the refrigerator and freezes well.

Mushroom and Asparagus Burritos

2 cups cooked black beans

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends discarded, roasted, and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, roasted and sliced

1 package white button mushrooms, minced

1 package baby portobello mushrooms, minced

2-3 hot peppers, seeded and minced

1/4 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

cumin

chili powder

paprika

ground coriander

cayenne pepper

salt

tortillas

Roasted Salsa Verde

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the mushrooms, peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook for 10-15 minutes of until veggies are soft. Drain any excess water.

Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

Layer filling in warmed tortillas. Roll up and fry if desired.

Serve with Roasted Salsa Verde.

'Til next time.

Black Bean Burgers and Lisa's Cantina Potato Salad

We had these last Saturday, May 31st as our send off to avocados for a month. I've just been busy with work, and then came down with a cold, so have been slow to getting around to posting about them.

They were really good, and I was particularly happy to find a 'new' black bean burger. You see, Main Squeeze, the vegetarian restaurant here in town, used to serve a black bean burger, topped with vegan chipotle mayo, avocado, red onion, the works. It was so good. It had actually made it's way to my top favorite foods, then Main Squeeze stopped serving them. I was crushed, and haven't had a black bean burger since, which is such a shame. I think I did a fairly good job replicating my old favorite and I'm happy it's back in my meal routine! I adapted this recipe from a Vegetarian Time's recipe which can be found here.

Lisa (the Show Me Vegan) posted about a chipotle potato salad awhile back which she dubbed 'Cantina Potato Salad'. It seemed like the perfect accompaniment to the burgers so we whipped up a batch. This potato salad was AWESOME. Seriously good stuff. I will definitely take this to the next potluck I attend, you couldn't even tell it was vegan! Brett really liked the dressing for the potato salad and thought, if toned down in spiciness a bit, it would be an awesome salad dressing too. Lisa, you rock, thanks for the recipe.

J-Style Black Bean Burgers

Makes 3 MEGA burgers

1 1/2 cups black beans, cooked

1 cup long grain brown rice, cooked

1/4 cup sweet corn, cooked

1/2 cup Matzoh meal

2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced (optional)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

juice of one lime

1 tbsp ketchup (I use organic, no sugar added)

chili powder

cumin

ground coriander

onion powder

dash white pepper

salt

1/4-1/2 cup water, as needed to get desired consistency

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers and garlic and cook for 10 minutes.

Transfer all ingredients in a food processor and blend. Add the water a little bit at a time until you get the desired consistency.

Form batter into three large patties and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat just a tiny bit of coconut oil in a medium skillet. Add the burger and cook for about 5 minutes on each side.

We topped our burgers with vegan chipotle mayo, lettuce from our CSA, red onion, and avocado.

Really, really good, we will be having these often!

I apologize that I've gotten a bit behind reading everyone's blogs, I am hoping to get caught up soon. And this cold better split pronto, I am taking a four day weekend this weekend.

'Til next time.

Quesadillas de Frijoles Negros Refritos y Arroz (Refried Black Bean and Rice Quesadilla)

I hope I got the translation right. If anyone out there knows Spanish and wants to correct me, please, by all means, do so! I am essentially trying to 'learn' Spanish via eating Mexican food. :-)

These were really, really good. I can't believe, seeing how much we love Mexican food in my house, that I've never made refried black beans until now. What's wrong with me?! Refried black beans rock!

(Notice how I sneak in greens in the oddest places? How else can I make sure Brett eats his greens? Gotta be a bit sneaky sometimes, and it helps that spinach is seriously one of the best veggies there are, period!)

Frijol Negro Refrito y Arroz Quesadillas

Refried Black Beans:

2 cups black beans, cooked

2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and minced

1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced

splash veggie broth

juice of half a lime

garlic powder

onion powder

cumin

chili powder

Mexican oregano

dash of white pepper

salt

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile in a seperate bowl, heat 1 tsp coconut oil. Fry the black beans until they begin to get mushy and split.

Transfer everything to a large bowl and combine with a mixer or potato masher.

The Rest of the Filling:

1/2 cup of corn, cooked

1 cup long grain brown rice, cooked

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

Mix corn and rice together in a bowl.

Heat a few tablespoons of veggie broth in a small sauce pan. Add the spinach (in batches if necessary) and cook until wilted. Drain any excess liquid.

The 'Other Stuff':

tortillas

guacamole

Jalapeno-Tomatillo Green Sauce

Layer beans, rice and corn, and spinach in warmed tortillas.

Fry if desired and top with guacamole and Tomatillo-Jalapeno Green Sauce.

We will be making these again very soon!

'Til next time.

Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams and Roasted Asparagus

This meal was really good. I modified the recipe from one of Chandelle's that can be found here. I basically changed the spice combination to suit our tastes and changed up the ingredients based on what we had on hand.

'Burgers' are a great summer meal as you can make up a large batch, freeze what you don't use, and have yummy dinners that require the stove to be on for just long enough to cook the burgers. I don't know about anyone else, but I like to avoid using appliances that heat the place up when it's hot!

Note: Don't get the 'super-ultra-mega' big burger buns like we did. I had to make the patties HUGE, these were so big we didn't need the sides! In my own defense, these buns had the fewest preservatives in them.

Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams

Lentil Burgers:

1/2 cup green lentils (raw)

2 cups veggie broth

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup Matzoh meal

1/4 cup long grain brown rice, cooked

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, minced

juice of half a lime

2 tbsp Bragg's

chili powder

cumin

salt

The Rest of the Stuff:

whole wheat (or whole grain) burger buns

leaf lettuce

sliced cucumber

sliced avocado

sliced red onion

chipotle vegan mayo (I just mixed some chipotle chili powder, cumin and salt in some Veganaise)

Bring broth to a boil and add the lentils. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers, garlic and onion and cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft, drain any excess liquid.

Combine all other ingredients with the lentils.

When cooled, form into patties.

Heat just a bit of coconut oil in a small skillet.

Fry for 5 or so minutes on each side until golden brown.

Spicy Shoe String Yams:

1 large yam, cut into very thin strips

1 tbsp coconut oil

chipotle chili powder

cumin

cayenne pepper

ground coriander

dash cinnamon

dash cocoa

Mexican oregano

salt

Preheat oven to 450.

Toss yams with oil and seasonings. Layer in a baking dish.

Roast, uncovered for 30 minutes or until soft.

We also made some roasted asparagus to go with the meal.

Aside from the size of the burger, this was an excellent meal!

'Til next time.

Orange-Chipotle Anasazi Bean Quesadillas

This recipe is dedicated to Alice (in Veganland).

She declared her undying love for all things citrus when I posted about the Spicy Chipotle-Citrus Marinated Veggie Fajitas, and her comment reminded me of this other citrusy-spicy recipe I created awhile back.

Oh, and this is my 100th post! Wowsa!

I can only imagine what these tasted like in crispy tortillas, as I was only able to eat the filling (at least I could eat that!), and boy, it was good. Brett made some tofu sour cream to go with this and it complimented perfectly.

It may not look very pretty but don't be fooled, this is a sweet, tangy and spicy delicious meal. The spice level bordered on too much for Brett, so I may add the habanero just to my dish next time.

Orange-Chipotle Anasazi Bean Quesadillas

Serves 2.

1 cup Anasazi beans, cooked

1/2 yellow onion, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced

1 orange bell pepper, seeded and minced

2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

1 habanero, seeded and minced (optional)

2-4 chipotle chilies en adobo, minced

1 tbsp adobo sauce

juice of one orange

1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup veggie broth

2 tbsp dried cilantro

cumin

Mexican oregano

white pepper

salt

tortillas

guacamole

tofu sour cream

picante sauce

Heat a few tablespoons of water. Add the peppers and onion and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Place all the filling ingredients in a medium sized sauce pan. Simmer, covered on low for 30-35 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

Layer mixture into warmed tortillas and top with guacamole, tofu sour cream and picante sauce.

'Til next time!

Black Bean and Quinoa Taquitos

So, my tooth is finally gone! I didn't think I'd ever be so happy to go to the dentist. I am now happily at home, with gauze in my numb mouth, but the jaw pain should be gone! Wahoo! It's likely that I won't be able to eat solid food for a day or so, but seriously, I'm just happy the whole 'tooth fiasco' is over with!

Last night, I was still able to eat solid foods, so I whipped up some taquitos. Yet another good finger food, and really easy. Enjoy!















Black bean, quinoa and veggie filling!















Taquitos ready to go in the oven.















Black Bean and Quinoa Taquitos
1 cup black beans, cooked
1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
1 cup mushrooms, finely minced
1 zucchini, chopped
4 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and minced
1 habanero, seeded and minced (optional)
1/4 red onion, minced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small can of sliced black olives, drained
chili powder
cumin
ground coriander
salt

corn tortillas (we used white corn)
toothpicks
guacamole
Green Chile Taco Sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the mushrooms, peppers and onion and cook for 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 5 minutes. Drain any excess water.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste.

Layer filling in warmed corn tortillas and secure with a toothpick.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until tortillas crispy and golden brown.

I hope when the numbness wears off that my mouth isn't too painful. We get our first CSA box this weekend and I want to be able to enjoy some of it!

Anyways, I'm off to read, it's a gorgeous afternoon here in Mid-Missouri.

'Til next time.