Corn Tortilla Quesadillas, Tofu Stir Fry

After that gigantic English breakfast you probably thought I couldn't eat anything else but it's a holiday after all and I felt like cooking! Made these as a snack mostly for my husband but I had a little. I had a container of Daiya vegan cheese that I had to use up so I made these quesadillas with corn tortillas instead of flour. I've never tried this before and it worked wonderfully. Really yummy these were.


When dinner rolled around, I whipped this up out of the leftover tofu and mushrooms that I didn't use at breakfast. This is the "Tofu Stir Fried with Vegetables and Hoisin" recipe from "The Power of Ancient Foods" cookbook. Very simple and very satisfying with a bit of rice and a side salad.

Cooking out of the pantry: Portobello Tacos, Refried Beans and Rice

Check out my lunch today. It was superb! Portobello tacos, rice and beans. I wanted to make refried beans from scratch weeks ago but never got around to it because I had other things in mind. This weekend seemed just right for it. The bag of pinto beans in my pantry was calling my name as well as another item from my pantry that I forgot to add to my list: a bag of dried New Mexico chiles. I have a book called "The Power of Ancient Foods" and there is a recipe for red chile sauce that I planned to make along with the refried beans. I cooked my pinto beans in the crockpot overnight so they'd be ready this morning. (My crockpot has a new name: "The Bean Machine". I don't use it for anything else anymore.) So anyway back to the beans, I sauteed some onions and garlic in olive oil, added the cooked and drained beans, mashed them up and let them simmer with salt, pepper, about a cup of the bean cooking liquid and a touch of liquid smoke. I don't think I can enjoy canned refried beans ever again! The beans were stellar, just like in a restaurant. The rice was wonderful as well. Fresh guacamole and lime wedges made it all complete.


I've never had mushroom tacos before and I'm glad I tried this. They were so meaty and juicy. The red chile sauce was really nice.

Portobello tacos recipe here.
Mexican rice recipe here.
This short video shows pretty much how I made the red chile sauce.

Pantry staples used:
dry pinto beans
dried new mexico chiles
rice
tomato sauce
corn tortillas
herbs/spices: cumin, oregano, cayenne

Items from fridge etc:
onions
garlic
cilantro

Items I needed to purchase: 2 portobello mushrooms and avocado

VeganMoFo: Posole Stew with Squash, Collards and Pinto Beans

I just got this really interesting book called 'The Power of Ancient Foods' and along with recipes, it tours the regions of the world and discusses the various foods of ancient civilizations and how the nutrients and healing properties in these foods kept ancient peoples free from diseases and conditions which affect us today. It's not new that beans, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables are the keys to a healthy life but unfortunately the majority of the world today relies on cheap convenience foods and chemical laden "frankenstein" foods that don't offer any nutritional benefits.

So anyway, I just got through reading about the ancient foods of South America, Central America, Mexico and Southwestern United States. Some of the foods discussed: peppers, chiles, corn, beans, quinoa, amaranth, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados, cocoa, pumpkins and squashes. What a delicious variety of foods! I was inspired by one of the recipes for "Posole and Winter Squash Stew with Red Chile". What luck that I happened to have a can of hominy in my pantry. I had some beautiful zucchini so I decided to use those instead of the butternut squash. I also added peppers, jalapenos, pinto beans and collard greens. The stew is flavored with onions, cumin, oregano, garlic and New Mexico chili powder. I'll be having this for dinner tonight after work with a side of hot whole wheat flour tortillas. I tasted a bit and it's fantastic, a bit spicy and full of powerful foods!

Recipe

2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped
1 TB jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 TB New Mexico chili powder
1 28oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed (You can cut this in half if you want!)
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
pinch of sugar
3 cups water
1 14oz. can pinto beans
2 leaves of collard greens, chopped
chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lime

Saute oil, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, jalapeno and zucchini in a soup pot over medium heat until it starts to brown. Lower heat and add the cumin, oregano, chili powder and some salt and pepper. Stir around a bit and then add the tomato sauce, hominy, collards, sugar, beans and 3 cups of water. Simmer until veggies are tender about 20 minutes. Add more water if stew is too thick. Taste for salt. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice.