Is That an Enchilada in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

Made these enchiladas the other night, and they made an ass-ton. They were good but not phenomenal, so I'm only going to half-assedly post the recipe here until I tweak it into perfection. They were definitely missing a green of some sort and also something a bit more stiff (twss?) to balance out the mushiness of the black beans, refried beans, and potatoes. I guess what I'm saying is, they could be improved. So take this recipe and have your way with it.

Ingredients:
About 7 small/medium potatoes, diced
One large can of black beans, drained
Two small cans of vegan refried beans
Two small cans of enchilada sauce
One nice big bag of daiya cheddar cheese
About 12 tortillas
Sliced black olives (optional)

What to do:
Preheat oven to about 425F. Toss the diced potatoes with some olive oil and seasonings of choice, in my case garlic powder and chili powder, and spread over large a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake until tender and browned (between 20 and 30 minutes) but don't overbake since they'll be getting another round of cookery.

Spread enough enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of two 9x13 baking pans. Once potatoes are cooked, remove from oven. Take a tortilla, smear a healthy spoonful or two of refried beans down the center of it and toss a generous amount of black beans and potatoes on top. Drizzle a tiny bit of enchilada sauce inside. Roll up and place in pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Distribute the rest of your enchilada sauce among both pans, pouring it over your rolled up tortillas so that they are completely coated. Distribute the cheese evenly over the tortillas in both pans.

Cover pans with foil and cook in oven for about 30 minutes. Remove foil, toss your diced olives over the contents of both pans, and cook for about ten minutes more, until sauce is bubbly.

Garnish with cilantro or lettuce or salsa or whatever the heck else you can think of.

Ponder adding some greens next time.

Pizza Dough of Lurve

You know how we all sort of hope in our hearts that that certain someone will come along that will make us think, You complete me. Well, this pizza crust is that certain someone.

1. No kneading. And if you've been reading this blog for more than 5 minutes, you already know how much I LOVE kneading. Cliff's note version: Kneading, you do NOT complete me.



2. It takes a total of about 15 minutes to have this crust ready to pop in the oven. And as someone who typically comes home from work hungry enough to start devouring couches and small babies, this is important (especially to couches and small babies).



3. It's really really good. Granted, the first time I made it, it BLEW MY EFFING MIND with how fluffy and delish it was, and it hasn't quite managed to live up to that state of orgiastic amazingness since. But even so: I've made it four times already. And every time I've enjoyed it. (I think the key to getting it fluffy may be -1- getting the water temperature correct, and -2- adding extra flour (the first time I added quite a bit more flour just because the dough was so tacky, and that's when it came out the best). I think I just parenthesized excessively, so let's toss in one extra end-parenthesis to make sure we close them all out.)



4. After we made sweet love it -1- didn't fall asleep immediately, and -2- didn't go turn on the tv. It actually SNUGGLED. (Sike!)

As for variations on toppings: my standard go-to toppings are either pizza sauce or pesto sauce plus chopped kalamata olives and lightly-cooked sliced mushrooms and green peppers:





I also experimented with a mexican pizza (based on THIS Everybody Likes Sandwiches recipe as well), and for that, I first cooked the pizza for 10 minutes and then topped it with 1 small can of refried beans and some of the cheezy sauce from Veganomicon (which I actually think I could've just as easily left out since it didn't do much for it), popped it back in the oven for 15 more minutes, removed, and added salsa, sliced olives, and chipotle sour cream. This was AWESOME as well, and surprisingly filling (normally I eat half a pizza, but I could only eat three slices):





So yeah: TRY IT OUT I DARE YOU. Just don't get your current significant others pissed off at me when you DO fall deeply in love.



The Easiest Pizza Dough in the World

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 packet of yeast


• 1 c. warm water


• 2-1/2 c. flour


• 1 t. agave nectar (or 2 t. sugar; I recommend the agave though cuz MAN does it make the crust taste lovely)


• 1 t. salt


• 2 T. olive oil


• 2 T. fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)


• cornmeal

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, add in the yeast and warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Add the flour, salt, agave (or sugar), rosemary (if using), and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon vigorously until combined. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Either sprinkle cornmeal onto a walled baking sheet and press dough into it until thin
-OR-
Sprinkle flour on your counter and roll out the pizza dough. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza stone and toss the dough on top. Spread olive oil over top (optional), and add all your toppings.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until pizza crust is golden and toppings are heated through.

(from Everybody Likes Sandwiches)

Breakfast Burritos & Cock-Potatoes

I have been a blog-slacker this week, so my apologies.

In penance, I offer you a picture of a potato that looks like a mitten and/or a very thick, chode-like cock & balls, depending on how you look at it:

Mitten?

Thick chode-like cock & balls?


Which begs the question: some folks are glass half-full, some folks are glass half-empty, some folks are mitten-potato, some folks are cock-potato. WHICH ONE ARE YOU???

And now: soyrizo. Love it. Want to make sweet love to it. As though it were a cock-like potato.

Here's how I used mine.

Seriously goddamn delish. Reminded me--strikingly and nostalgically--of these freezer b-fast burritos we used to get on special occasions when I was younger. That probably doesn't sound like a rousing recommendation, but it is. I hearted them. And this recipe tastes sort of like them, except 100x more rock-on.


BREAKFAST BURRITOS





INGREDIENTS:

• 1 red bell pepper, diced


• 1 onion, diced


• 4 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 potatoes, diced small


• 1 cube extra-firm tofu, pressed and crumbled


• 1 package soyrizo, crumbled


• 1 small can black beans, drained


• 1 small package sliced fresh mushrooms


• Olive oil


• Cumin


• Season salt


• Garlic powder


• Turmeric


• Salsa


• Tortillas


• Avocado, diced (optional)


• Vegan sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 450-F. Dice your potatoes, and toss them in a bit of olive oil until coated. Season them to taste. (I just shook some garlic powder and season salt over them.) Toss in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Toss. Bake for 10 more minutes (or until potatoes are tender).

In the meantime, dice up all your other shit. Grab a couple of pans, and heat them on medium on your stove. Spray with a bit of non-stick spray.

In one pan, add your soyrizo. In the other, add your onions, red pepper, and garlic. Cook soyrizo until it's starting to brown. Cook onions et al. until onions are translucent.

In onion pan, add your crumbled tofu and seasonings (I used some cumin, season salt, and turmeric--I would suggest steering clear of spicy spices since the soyrizo has kick). In the soyrizo pan, add your black beans.

Cook tofu until starting to brown, and then add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Cook black beans until heated through.

Remove both from heat. At this point, your potatoes should be done.

In a large bowl, mix together your potatoes and the contents of both your pans.

Heat up tortillas. Serve each tortilla with a generous scoop of your soyrizo mix. Top with salsa (and/or vegan sour cream and avocado--I didn't use the latter two, but I can only imagine they'd be ORGASMIC additions).

Chow down.

Easily makes about... 8 to 12 breakfast burritos.

Mole Skillet Pie with Greens

                                    from Veganomicon

I'm pretty damn certain that the chile-chocolate mole sauce from Veganomicon is my absolute favorite recipe from the book. I had pondered this after first making it. But this second time around, I realized that I am 100% smitten.

There is just something goddamn sexy about that mole recipe. No matter WHAT you put it on, it turns the dish from Bugs Bunny to Jessica Rabbit, it's THAT kind of sauce. (I just realized that Jessica Rabbit isn't ACTUALLY a rabbit. God, I clearly haven't seen that movie in forever. But you get my point.)

Needless to say, I was also very found of this skillet pie as well, given that it's pretty much just a vehicle for eating mole sauce. Granted, the veggies and stuff are a nice touch, and the biscuit-topping was unusual but damn tasty. But it's kind of like when I order French fries and then load up on the ketchup so much so that I can barely taste the fries--essentially, the veggies and biscuits are just an excuse to eat mole.

Any which way though: this recipe isn't too terribly complicated, and it's a nice warming recipe for these upcoming blustery winter months.

INGREDIENTS:

The Mole Sauce:*

• 1/3 c. sliced almonds


• 1/3 c. tortilla chips


• 2 T. sesame seeds


• 1 t. anise


• 2 t. chili powder


• 1 1/4 t. cinnamon


• 1 t. marjoram


• 1/2 t. cumin


• 1/4 t. allspice


• 3 T. peanut oil (or other mild oil)


• 4 cloves garlic


• 1 small onion


• 2 c. veg broth


• 2 T. peanut butter


• 15 oz. tomatoes


• 3 oz. semisweet chocolate

(*Note: This makes a quantity in excess of the amount called for in the Mole Skillet Pie recipe. Just so you're aware. You'll have leftover sauce.)


The Skillet Pie:

• 3 T. peanut oil (or other mild oil)


• 1 yellow onion


• 1 small carrot


• 1/2 lb. kale


• 2 c. black beans


• 1 c. almond or soy milk


• 1 t. apple cider vinegar


• 3 T. peanut oil (or other mild oil)


• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour works as well)


• 1/2 c. cornmeal


• 1 T. sugar


• 1-1/4 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. baking soda


• 1/4 t. salt

DIRECTIONS

For the Mole Sauce:

Prepare spice mixture. Place almonds, aniseeds, tortilla chips, and sesame seeds in a pot and stir to toast for 2 min. Remove from heat. Place in food processor with spices and pulse until finely ground.

Saute garlic in oil. Once it's sizzling, add onions and cook - 5 min. Combine PB and a few T of hot veg broth, stirring until PB is emulsified and easy to pour.

Pour remaining veg broth, PB mixture, spice mixture, and diced tomatoes into a pot. Boil. Lower heat and simmer 8-10 min, until reduced. Remove from heat, puree, and return to stove. Add chocolate until melted and incorporated. (Lindy Loo Note: I think the "returning mole to stove" step is kind of unnecessary myself, unless you're not planning on eating it for hours. You can just as easily simmer until reduced, toss in your chocolate until it's melted, remove from the heat and puree, and then serve.)

For the Skillet Pie:

Filling: Heat peanut oil. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add carrot and cook until onion is tender and golden - 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and combine with steamed greans, beans, and 1 cup mole. Stir to coat everything with sauce. Place mixture back in skillet (or a casserole dish) and smooth out over top.

Crust: Combine milk and vinegar in measuring cup. Place oil in a large bowl, beat in milk mixture and sift in flour, cornmeal sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until moistened. Pour over vegetables and smooth to cover. Bake 30-35 minutes.

(Posted at Calorie Count--the mole recipe as well, originally from Veganomicon)

Pinto Bean Tacos

                                      from the Veg Times

Oh tacos. I love you, and that love for you is the bane of my existence. You are to blame for so many things:

#1: gas,

#2: me not getting laid that one time because my breath smelled after I ate many of you and then biked over N-A's afterward, breathing through my mouth the whole time and conjuring up the sour breath of the taco-gluttoned dead (the not getting laid part moreso being the result of me getting salty at being told my breath smelled than it was the fact that my breath actually smelled, though I STILL hold you responsible),

#3: more gas, and

#4: the time I caught some taco shells on fire in my broiler.

Nonetheless, you are my go-to food on days when I'm feeling too lazy to cook anything else. And for that I thank you.

Plus, you come in so many different shapes and forms that it is near impossible to ever be bored by you, and for someone who has the culinary attention span (and general attention span) of a 2-year old, that is a great thing.

Needless to say, for this reason alone, I was excited to stumble across mention of this version of you on someone's blog recently. Normally, as you know, I whip you up with just beans or with fake-meat. But sausage? How have we never thought of that?

The other brilliant thing about you, tacos, is that you're so simple to make and yet so yummy. Such was the case with this version of you as well. And not only did I like you this time, but N-A did too, loudly blurting, mouth half-full, Oh my god. These may be the best tacos I've ever had.

Hyperbole? Perhaps. But you WERE damn good. And I didn't even use cheez on you. I can only imagine how fantastique you'd be then. *Growr*

It seems unfair not to share my love for you with others, so that they may love you too.

So, dear readers. *tearing up* Meet Pinto Bean Tacos.

This is a day you will remember always. *Cue something from the soundtrack of Gray's Anatomy or Dawson's Creek*

(Note: I omitted several ingredients--red onions being one--so check out the link below for the original.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 6-inch corn tortillas (I used crunchy)


• 1 Tbs. canola oil


• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)


• 4 oz. soy chorizo sausage, such as Soyrizo


• 1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles


• 2 15-oz. cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 small avocado, sliced


• 1/3 cup vegan Cheddar cheese (optional)


• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Heat up tortillas/shells according to package directions.

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Crumble soy sausage into pan, and sautee until it's begun to brown. Stir in diced tomatoes, and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Stir in beans, and cook 2 minutes more, or until beans are warmed through.

To assemble tacos: Fill tortillas/shells with some bean mixture. Top avocado, cheese, and cilantro. Serve with salsa and hot sauce, if desired.

Serves about 3.

(from The Veg Times)

Holy Shit, Rick Astley, I Have No Clue Why, But Apparently You are My Taco Theme-Song for the Day

                        from the Vegetarian Times


I was about to start writing this post today, when all of the sudden Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" exploded into my cerebrum with megaphonic force. Apparently either my tacos are telepathically letting me know they're a fan of Mr. Astley, or even weirder, RICK ASTLEY IS LETTING ME TELEPATHICALLY KNOW HE IS A FAN OF THESE TACOS.

Fuck.

Either which way: I DISAGREE, MR. ASTLEY. I would gladly "give these up" and/or "let them down" and/or "run around and desert them."

They were NOT impressive. At all.

There were just WAY too many things wrong with these tacos.

Ok. No. I lied. There were THREE things wrong with these tacos.


#1: They were so boring they made my ears hurt.


#2: Though they didn't take TERRIBLY long to make, for the amount of effort it took to make them, they shouldn't've tasted NEARLY as boring as they did.


#3: The recipe says this makes four servings. Four tacos = four servings? Seriously?? Who considers just ONE taco to be a serving?!? Dude--I can polish off 4 to 8 tacos in one sitting with no problem. And I weigh 130 lbs. wet. One taco?? That's like dinner for my left nipple.


Point being, fuck Rick Astley. These babies are not worth your while.

Nonetheless, I post. Because I know there are some of you out there who trust Rick Astley's taco opinions over my own.

And for that, I say, VEGANMOFO!



ROASTED TOMATILLO AND BLACK BEAN TACOS



Tip: To prepare fresh tomatillos, strip off the husks and rinse under warm water to remove any sticky sap clinging to the skin.


INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 lb. fresh whole tomatillos, husks removed


• 1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 c.)


• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 c.)


• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled


• 3 T. coarsely chopped cilantro, divided


• 1-1/2 t. minced jalapeño pepper


• 1 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained


• Four 6-inch corn or flour tortillas, warmed


• 1 small avocado, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices


• 2 Tbs. queso fresco or feta cheese


• 1/4 c. frozen corn kernels, thawed, optional


• 1/4 cup low-fat (vegan) sour cream, optional

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to broil. Place oven rack 3 inches from heat source. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray, and spread tomatillos, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic on prepared baking sheet. Broil 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are blistered and charred, and onion and bell pepper are softened and charred, tossing once halfway through cooking time.

Pulse garlic, 1 Tbs. cilantro, jalapeño, and tomatillos 10 times in food processor, or until chunky. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss 1/4 cup tomatillo sauce with black beans, red bell pepper, and onion.

Fill tortillas with black bean mixture, and avocado. Garnish with remaining cilantro and corn kernels, if desired. Serve remaining tomatillo sauce and sour cream, if desired, on side.

(From The Veg Times)


These tacos have the Rick Astley Seal of Approval!

Coagulation Celebration: Cheesey Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

                                    from Ommnomnom & VegWeb


Certain foods just DON'T hold together well the first day. They are unphotogenic. They just sort of blorp themselves all over your plate. They look slippery and flaccid. But then, second day: PERFECT CONSISTENCY. The main culprits seem to be lasagna and enchilada dishes.

Today's recipe is a case in point.

After it was all done cooking, I let it sit for a while in the hope that some coagulation might take place. But when I scooped the first couple enchiladas out, it was like enchilada soup.

And then Tuesday, I had leftovers, and they were perfectly plump and beany. Go figure.

Anyways, this is a nice solid recipe. I *WILL* say, however, that if I make these again, I'll probably adjust the following:

Sub in one can of sweet corn for one of the cans of beans--I mean, sweet jesus, if you lit a match around me or N-A Sunday night, we might've combusted. And honestly, beans are delightful and all, but when you got beans beans beans, you need something sweet to counterbalance. And corn would no doubt do the trick.

Either track down some low-sodium enchilada sauce or sub in one jar of salsa for one of the cans--This was WAY too salty for my taste. And I am saying this as someone who salts the shit out of EVERYTHING, including ketchup.

And finally: I recommend serving this over a small bed of lettuce. It will help counterbalance the saltiness and make you feel at least SLIGHTLY healthier than you would otherwise after eating this dish.

All that being said and done: This is one of those recipes that's a good framework for experimentation.

So get thee to an oven and start experimenting!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 c. flour


• 1/2 c. nutritional yeast


• Salt, to taste


• 1 t. garlic powder


• 2 c. water


• 1 t. mustard


• 4 T. margarine


• 10 small tortillas (or 8 large)


• 2 small cans enchilada sauce


• 3 cans beans (white kidney, pinto, black), drained

-or-


• 2 cans beans and 1 can corn, drained


• 2 medium onions, chopped (or 3 green onions, sliced)


• 1 can olives, chopped


• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro


• 1/2 c. salsa (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In medium-large saucepan, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder. Add water and mix thoroughly. Heat on medium heat until bubbling and thick. Remove from heat and add mustard and margarine.

Set aside 1/2 cup of cheese sauce in separate container. Add onion, beans, olives, cilantro and salsa to sauce. Mix it up.

Pour a 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Place a tortilla in pan and cover in enchilada sauce. Spoon in filling. Roll and push to one end of pan. Continue until all tortillas filled.

Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top and then spread reserved cheese sauce on as last step.

Bake at 350 until brown, 30-45 minutes.

Serves: 6-8

(Recipe posted at Ommnomnom)

Mexican Frisbees!

                        from Happyveganface


Yet one more food that doesn't take well to being photographed.

Woot motherfucking woot.

So yeah: that's a kidney bean, spinach, & potato "quesadilla." Ugly from the top, slightly more attractive from the side.

I made these a couple weeks ago and have been lazy and keep forgetting to post them.

As I was making them, I thought to myself: goddamn this is a long process for quesadillas. Even moreso when (because I still refuse to read recipes the whole way through before actually cooking them--yes, I am a fucktard) I realized that this makes ONLY TWO QUESADILLAS. At which point I was like, Um, seriously? (It was a total valley-girl moment: me in the kitchen, pan in hand, other hand on hip, head cocked, bitchy-pinched-face, and "Um, SERRRRRiously??") So yeah: point being that you should double the recipe so that the pay-off doesn't seem so minimal. Not that the pay-off IS minimal (because these were actually quite good after all was said and done--I was feeling sassy about the fact that they were taking so long and was thinking there's no way in hell a quesadilla could redeem itself from my valley-girl bitchiness, but they actually do--so rock on, my little happy vegan faces!). But because seriously: 1 pot, 2 skillets, and ovenware? That's a lot of cooking for two mexican frisbees, my friends.

Nonetheless: double them and try them out. Because they really were quite good.

I feel like this has been the most boring post ever.

So I'm gonna throw in a picture of a mexican wrestler.



Hopefully that makes up for it.

Also, my Spanish kind of sucks, so I'm enjoying the thought that LUCHA LIBRE means MILK BOOK. Which is like the BEST NAME EVER for a mexican wrestler. The more I think about it, the more envious I am that the name has been taken, because when I begin my illustrious career as a mexican wrestler, WTF AM I NOW GOING TO NAME MYSELF??? (Suggestions are welcome.)



INGREDIENTS:

Bean Filling:

• 2 c. cooked kidney beans


• 1 green pepper, finely diced


• 1 medium onion, finely diced


• 1/2 small jalapeno, minced


• 1 t. cumin


• 1 t. chili powder


• 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (optional)


• 2 t. olive oil

Potatoes:

• 2 t. olive oil


• 3 small russet potatoes, peeled & diced (or 1 large one)


• 1/2 t. garlic powder


• 1/2 t. onion powder

The rest:

• 1 c. salsa


• 4 small whole wheat tortillas (I actually used four large regular tortillas--TAKE THAT!)


• 1 c. fresh spinach


• 1/2 c. salsa verde (or 1/2 c. of the salsa from above if you are too cheap to buy more of a different salsa)

DIRECTIONS

put the diced potatoes in the medium-sized pot with enough water to cover the potatoes – boil water and cook until they’re almost done (don’t over cook ‘em). drain and set aside. (we usually cook ours for about 8-10 minutes)

heat 2 tsp olive oil in the small skillet on medium high and add in the boiled potatoes. cook until they start to brown and then add in the garlic & onion powder and mix it all in to distribute the seasonings over the potatoes. cook for another 2 minutes. remove from heat and set aside.

in the large skillet heat up the 2 tsp olive oil on medium high. add in onions, jalapenos, and green pepper. saute until they begin to brown (about 5-8 minutes). add in kidney beans & spices. reduce heat to medium and cook for about 2-4 minutes more. remove from heat - then smash up the kidney bean mix a little bit with your spatula or a fork.

spray each pie dish (or your cookie sheet) with a little oil cooking spray. place a tortilla in the bottom of each dish. put a little bean mix on top of the bottom tortillas, then add on some potatoes, half the spinach (just dividing the spinach between both "quesadillas" here), and some more bean mix. top your "quesadilla" fillings with another tortilla and then top each of those final tortillas with half of the salsa verde. [I actually topped mine with the 1 c. of salsa, 'cause I couldn't initially figure out where the hell that came into the recipe, though now I'm thinking it's an end-garnish. but anyways--though it still tasted good, I'd recommend NOT doing what I did, simply because it makes for a soggy quesadilla.]

cook for 10-25 minutes on 350 degrees (no need to preheat). remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes. top with fresh salsa, or anything else you super love on quesadillas, (jarred salsa should taste great, too) and enjoy!

(from Happy Vegan Face)

The Day the Grocery-Store Clerk Didn't Get Laid, or "A Tale of a Misguided Conversation, and Also Vincent Price Quesadillas"

Last weekend, I was at the grocery store, getting my groceries rung out. And of course I had a handful of garlic-stuffed olives in my basket (since they are my newest fetish, for those of you who haven't been keeping up). Anyways, the grocery-store clerk ringing me out was a skittish young boy who spent the time trying to flirtatiously chat me up, until he said the following words:

CLERK: Just 5 olives?

ME: Pardon?

CLERK: You're only getting 5 olives?

ME: Yep.

CLERK: Did you know that just ONE olive has all of your salt for the day?

ME: What?

CLERK: Olives. Just one of them provides 100% of your salt for the day.

*A slow tear rolls its way dramatically down my cheek as my love affair with the garlic-stuffed olives is basked in a not-so-forgiving light*

*The clerk awkwardly resumes his bagging*

*A tumbleweed rolls through the grocery-store clerk's sex life*

A moment of silence for the end of my love-affair with garlic-stuffed olives.



In other news, a half-assed, snackalicious recipe...



Cleary, quesadillas aren't real photogenic.

In fact, if I hadn't told you this was a quesadilla, you probably wouldn't know wtf it actually is. It conceivably could be pancakes with a smushy-inner-layer. It could be a really flat sandwich. It could be Vincent Price in hiding. It's really hard to say.



Nonethless, I whipped these up one day when I was studying my ass off and needed a break.

They're nothing particularly magical, mostly a quick-fix when you need something slightly greasy. But I thought they were yum.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 taco-sized tortillas


• 1/2 of a 15-oz can of black beans, drained and mashed with a fork


• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced


• Diced fresh tomatoes, 1/3 to 1/2 c.


• Salsa or hot sauce to dip


• Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Smash your avocado into your bean mix until you have a sticky, gluey (but slightly chunky) mixture. Take a tortilla and slather your bean/avocado mix on it thickly, leaving room around the edges to seal it (or not--as you can see, mine aren't sealed real well... the bean/avocado mix is sticky enough to keep them togehter). Smoosh another tortilla over it and seal the edges as much as possible by dampening them with a tiny bit of water and smooshing them together.

Repeat with your second set of tortillas.

Heat up some veggie oil in a skillet until hot. (I used maybe 1 T. since I don't like stuff real greasy.) Toss your quesadilla on it and grill one side until starting to brown. Flip. Remove after second side browns up nicely. Slice into quarters or halves. Repeat.

Chow down with some salsa or hot sauce.

Delectable Plunkett Burritos

It's been one of those weeks. One of those irritating irritating weeks. So I've been trying to work up the energy to post. And then I realized that this recipe was actually sitting in my inbox, so I figured I'd keep it short and sweet.

Last week a friend of a friend of a friend (who is also the son of a son of a mother--you following?) cooked dinner for several of us when he was in town. The sweet perk about the fact that he cooked dinner for us is that he's a chef (is/was--not sure if you can ever RETIRE that position, even if you DO move on to a different type of job). So dinner wasn't just good, it was sweet-good-god-tasty like something you'd get at a real restaurant.

Thankfully he was kind enough to jot down the recipe, and I must say: if you have time to whip these up, they are WELL worth it. Wonderfully simple ingredients and yet chock full of a variety of crisp and spicy flavors. I liked it so much that I ate two huge burritos, and I had a grand ol' stomachache the rest of the night, but it was well worth it. So, thanks, RP. =)



TOFU AND MARINADE

INGREDIENTS:

• juice of 2 fresh limes or one lime juice squeezed


• .25 medium red onion rough chopped


• 2 T. agave nectar


• 1/2 t. cumin


• 1 t. salt


• 1 t. pepper


• 1/2 c. canola oil


• .25 bunch of cilantro

DIRECTIONS

mix together and taste for salt pepper and if needs more lime juice or oil. put 1/2 oil in then add rest because I am not sure that it is to much or to little.

cut tofu in desired size I think longer thinner strips might be better the second time around.

put in zip lock bag.

let sit over night.

Bread the tofu with whole wheat flour, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper.




AVOCADO TOMATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

• three avocados


• 1/2 red onion


• three tomatoes


dressing:


• 1 Clementine


• fresh or 1 squeezed lime juice


• 1/2 bunch of cilantro


• 1/2 t. cumin


• 1/2 t. cayenne pepper


• 1 T. agave nectar


• salt pepper to taste


• 1/2 c. canola oil

DIRECTIONS

add together and stir up well again add oil slowly all measurements are not exact. make sure it has enough salt.




SLAW TOPPING

INGREDIENTS:

• julienne cabbage


• Chipotle Tabasco


• salt

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together to taste. Don't be afraid of the salt



ALTOGETHER NOW:

fry up tofu, drain well, and enjoy. dont forget to warm up your tortillas.

(We assembled our burritos by taking a warm tortilla, filling it up with the tofu and avocado tomato salad, and topping it off with the slaw.)

Mexican Pumpkin and Sweet Tater Casserole

It almost seems wrong posting non-Thanksgiving-related recipes the first day after a holiday weekend, but as I forgot my T-day recipes at home, YOU WILL DEAL, AND YOU WILL LIKE IT! NAY--YOU WILL **LOVE** IT AND YOU WILL BEG FOR MORE!!!

Also: sidenote: Mondays back at work after a lengthy holiday weekend are the fricking PITS. *sobbing and wetting myself a bit*

Anyways...

Here's a recipe I made a couple weeks ago. I saw a link to another link that mentioned these Marth Stewart enchiladas, but I just ended up borrowing the pumpkin sauce recipe and that's it. All in all, I wasn't TOO bowled over by the enchiladas. They were ALMOST mind-blowingly tasty, but I think they needed a) a really salt layer (like refried beans or something) to counter the sweetness of both the pumpkin and the sweet taters, or b) a really crunchy layer, since everything was so softy.

But I share the recipe anyways. Perhaps at some point I'll get a chance to make it again and tweak it some. Or perhaps you can do the honors.

Apparently Mondays back at work after a lengthy holiday weekend are the kryptonite to my sense of humor as well, so please insert funny, slightly pervy food-related comments here so I don't have to.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium/large sized sweet potatoes


• 1 t. agave nectar


• Scant soy milk*


• 2 1/4 c. black beans


• 8 to 12 corn tortillas


• Vegan "cheddar" cheez


• 6 scallions, thinly sliced

For the sauce:


• One 15-oz can pumpkin puree


• 4 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 jalapeno chili, quartered


• 1 t. chili powder


• 2 c. water


• Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the sauce:

Throw all your sauce ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

For the enchilada-casserole construction:

Preheat your oven to about 425.

Peel your sweet potatoes, and steam or boil them until they are tender. Mash them in a bowl with your agave and just enough soy milk to make them a wee bit fluffy.

Pour about 1 c. of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish (an 8-inch square one will work best for thickest layers). Layer on enough tortillas to cover the bottom (you may end up tearing some in half to do so). Smooth out about 1/2 of your sweet-potato mixture on top. Sprinkle half of your black beans evenly over it. Add about half of your remaining pumpkin sauce on top. Layer on more tortillas. And then repeat another layer of taters and more beans. Add on a final layer of tortillas, and pour the remaining pumpkin sauce on top. Add shredded vegan cheddar to taste, and sprinkle your scallions on top.

Cover with foil, and bake until heated through (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour--I think mine took a bit shy of an hour). Remove, and if the cheez is not fully melted, toss into the broiler for a minute or two.

Let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Serves about 6.

----------
* I am not exactly sure what "scant" means, but I like the sound of it. Here I'm using it to mean, "just a wee bit to fluffy-taste." In other words, you'll want to use just enough to fluff up your sweet taters.

SusanV's Mexican Lasagna (or Enchilada Casserole)

Let me just preface this by saying that this recipe was cooked on Old-Guy-Neighbor Time. So I'm not sure precisely how long it was in the oven. I *CAN* verify that it was in for 30 minutes, and then another 15. But then it stayed in there another indiscernible amount of time, since Old Guy Neighbor managed to catch me out on the roof and engage me in conversation. So, when you go to bake this, think 45 minutes, plus a one-sided conversation about a) the loud noise that came from the street in the middle of the night that it's amazing I did not hear, b) what time the news is on, c) the string of cars owned throughout OGN's life, d) the onset of cold weather, and e) the fact that OGN cannot believe I don't ever smell the marijuana smoke wafting up from his downstairs neighbor (aka. Hot Guy Neighbor)'s apartment.

Other than that, this was a really good recipe. Again, I baked it in the inappropriately-sized pan, but somehow thought that if I perhaps bunched up some foil at the end of the pan, I could somehow transform the pan into a smaller pan (when in reality, the weight of the enchilada sauce just sorta tsunamiied the foil into the corner). But despite that fact, man, was this tasty, easy to make, and (I'd venture to say) very kid-friendly.

Oh, and as always, the lasagna looks a bit flaccid in the above picture, but it firms up if you refrigerate it overnight. *Insert naughty comments here*

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped (or you can use 1/2 green, 1/2 red)


• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional)


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 large onion, chopped


• corn tortillas--at least 12


• 3 c. (28 oz.) fatfree refried beans


• 2 medium tomatoes, diced


• 1 t. chili powder, divided


• 1/2 t. cumin, divided


• 3 c. black beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 c. salsa


• 1 can enchilada sauce (or 1 1/2 cups homemade)


• sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a non-stick pan with a little water (1 tbsp.), sauté the peppers, garlic, and onion for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Set aside.

Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the bottom with a layer of tortillas (you may cut some of them to fit). Make sure you cover the entire bottom of the pan.

Stir the refried beans and spread half of them evenly over the tortillas. Cover the refried beans with half of the pepper-onion mixture and half of the tomatoes; sprinkle with half of the seasonings and half of the black beans.

Add another layer of tortillas and repeat the layers of the other ingredients. Spread the cup of salsa over the final layer of black beans. Cover with a final layer of tortillas, pour the enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with black olives. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot throughout (I cooked mine 45+ minutes). It will be easier to cut if you allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Fresh corn is a great addition to this. I use about 2 cups of uncooked (or frozen) corn and add it as one more layer. You may need a deeper pan, though.

(Recipe from The FatFree Vegan)

Black Bean and Walnuts in Three Shorts

If you haven't caught onto this fact yet, every weekend I make some sort of a) lunch dish, and b) dinner meal that I can chow down on for three out of four days during the week and which can sustain the transition to leftovers without tasting like crap all week. It is a nice habit as it forces me to make the time (and gives me a justification) for trying out a couple of new recipes a week. But one thing that I'm not such a big fan of is the fact that by the time Day Four of leftovers rolls around, if I never ever ever have to see this dish again, it will only be too soon.

So last week, I decided to put a spin on a VT recipe in the hopes that I'd conquer the blahs when it comes to leftovers for the week. What I ended up settling on was the Black Bean Burger recipe from a summer issue from last year. I heart black beans, and I heart homemade veggie burgers, so I figured what the hell. I hadn't decided that my plight would be to create three different items from the same recipe when I first whipped up (a halved version of) the recipe, but once I realized that one of the two evenings I would need to have something easily microwaveable to eat (which veggie burgers aren't quite so much unless you precook), that became my plan.

And voila: three takes on the VT black bean burger recipe.

Truth be told, the only one I was really and truly wowed by was the enchilada recipe. Oh my god, did I like this one--mostly because the Samsara cheez sauce was WAY too fricking tasty (even despite the fact that I accidentally dumped a good 2 T. of garlic powder into it while adding spices). But... with a little tweaking, I'm sure you could get the other two up to par as well. I think they just were a bit too soggy and need more adjusting to keep them from crumbling so easy. So get at it.

Oh, and in case you didn't notice, this is kind of a one-person meal-deal. If you wanna whip these up for two folks for the week, you'll of course need to double the recipes.

And you'll probably want to figure out your black-bean burger ration quantities ahead of time as well--I'd suggest portioning out enough for three small patties and one bigger pattie before figuring out how much you have to spread on your enchiladas. If you hadn't noticed I'm not so much the Queen of Exactness.

And finally: the enchilada recipe is the recipe that made me realize my cat Zooey is deathly afraid of the sound of foil. Ha ha ha. I thought I was weird.


Core Black Bean and Walnut Burger Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained well


• 1 tsp. ground cumin


• 1.5 tsp. chili powder


• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper


• 1/4 c. cooked brown rice


• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts


• 3 T. chopped red onion


• 1.5 T. canned corn

DIRECTIONS

Purée beans (minus 1/4 or so) with cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper until smooth. Add rice, walnuts, onion, corn and remaining beans, and pulse 2 or 3 times to mix. (Mixture should be stiff but not dry.) Add 2 to 3 Tbs. water to moisten, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the consistency is too wet (or you overwet it--which I of course totally DID NOT DO, *ahem*), just add a bit of flour until it's less slimey and holds a bit better). Cover and chill.

(Recipe originally from the Vegetarian Times)


Black-Bean Burrito Burgers


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 med. red potatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes


• 1/4 to 1/2 c. water


• 3 cloves garlic


• A pinch of: cumin


• Season salt & onion powder to taste (I used about 1/4 t. season salt and 1/2 t. onion powder)


• 1 burrito-sized flour tortilla


• Shredded lettuce


• Salsa


• 1/4 c. cornmeal


• 3 mini-patties from your core-recipe above, each about 2" in circumference (and coated in the cornmeal above), each probably around 1/4 c.'s worth of your core black-bean recipe

DIRECTIONS

Toss your potato cubes into a microwave-safe bowl with your water. Cook for about 6 minutes or so (or until nearly soft, but not yet soft) on medium-heat. Heat up a frying pan and spray with some non-stick oil. Toss your potatoes into the pan. Add seasonings and stir... Cook until soft and browned on all sides. Remove potatoes from pan, toss in bowl, and cover.

Reusing the same pan, spray a bit more non-stick oil, and return it to the heat. Toss on your mini-patties, and cook each side until browned (3-4 minutes each).

In the meantime, heat up your tortilla in the microwave according to directions.

Toss some lettuce on your tortilla. Add potatoes and your mini-patties, and top with a nice hearty scoop or two of salsa.



Flantastic Black Bean Walnut Enchiladas





INGREDIENTS:

Awesomest Cheezy Sauce Ever

• 2 T. corn starch (also works with flour, but you have to use a little more of it)


• 1/4 c. nutritional yeast


• 1-2 c. cold water


• 1/4 t. chili powder


• 1/4 t. ground cumin


• 1/4 t. season salt


• 1 t. garlic powder


• 2 t. soy sauce


• 1 t. vinegar

The Rest of the Enchiladas

• Two flour tortillas
• 
  
• 1.5 to 2 c. of some sorta chunky (preferably black-beany) salsa


• 1 avocado, diced


• 1 c. shredded lettuce


• Core black-bean mix (probably about 1/3 c. per enchilada--but that's a guesstimate)

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CHEEZY SAUCE

Stir the cornstarch, nutritional yeast, and dry spices together in a sauce pan. Add one cup of the cold water and put over medium heat while stirring with a whisk. Add garlic, vinegar, and oil now. Keep stirring while the sauce thickens and bubbles adding more water if the sauce is too thick (will take at least 5 minutes, more if you used flour instead of cornstarch). Add soy sauce to taste. Turn off the heat when the sauce gets to desired consistency. Remember that it will get a little thicker when it cools down.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE WHOLE ENCHILADA (BAHA!)

Preheat oven to 450.

Line a baking pan with foil. Spray with some nonstick spray.

Take a tortilla and smear 2/3 of it with the black-bean mixture. Coat with a generous helping of cheezy sauce. Roll up and place on foil. Do the same with your second tortilla.

Pour your salsa over the two enchilada-wraps. Place in oven and cook for about 25 minutes or so (or you can use the Lindy-Loo poke method, if you're not trying to impress people with how pretty they look, and poke your finger in the middle to see if they've cooked through).

Divide your lettuce between two plates. Place an enchilada atop your lettuce, and top with 1/2 an avocado, diced. Do the same with the second, and voila--dinner.

(modified from Samsara, because they are *awesome*)



Standard Black Bean Burger



INGREDIENTS:

• The remaining veggie-burger mix, formed into a patty (probably about 1/2 to 3/4 c.)


• A bun or bread


• A scoop of leftover "cheez" sauce from above recipe


• Any other garnishings (I just used ketchup and mustard with mine)

DIRECTIONS

Cook patty on medium-heat in a pan sprayed with non-stick oil for about 4-5 minutes each side (or until brown and burger cooked through). Place on a bun or bread, and top with "cheez" sauce and your other accoutrements.

Lindy Loo's Mexican Lasagna

Apparently my gastric system is in line with Cinco de Mayo or something, because I spontaneously decided to cook a bunch of hot and spicy mexican stuff this weekend, without even realizing that it was Cinco de Mayo until I'd already planned the meal. Inadvertent score.

Having seen (and drooled over) the Mexican Lasagna recipe noted at the end of this post, I decided to whip up my own version. I also saw a recipe for a Mexican Chocolate Cake on vegweb, and since I heart heart heart cayenne pepper and chocolate, I of course had to try it out (but you'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to hear more about that). And E ended up picking me up this Vegan Recipes cookbook at Half-Price Books, so I decided to go with a spicy-potato recipe from there as well. I was not too pleased with the latter, but I think this was probably because I thought I needed to double the amount of spices I used (because I appeared to be making double the amount of potatoes) but perhaps I didn't need to after all. The recipe is an interesting mix of spices though--coriander, allspice, garlic, and paprika--so I'll *definitely* be trying it again, hopefully more successfully next time.

As for the lasagna, well, I've been cowing down on it and craving it all week, so I'd say it was a success. It's very sloppy and doesn't hold together well straight out of the oven (as you can see from the pics), but as left-overs, it's all nice and compact like lasagna-leftovers normally are. It also seemed a bit salty to me on the first day, so next time, I will probably do without the taco-packets and use my own non-salty variety of mexican-inspired seasonings. However, the leftovers didn't seem NEARLY so salty, so perhaps it was just my imagination.

All and all, this dish was delish, if I may say so myself. It's nice and spicy, gloriously ooey-gooey, and makes a lot lot lot. So definitely check it out if you're having a party or something, or are just trying to feed a nice big family.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package no-boil lasagna noodles


• 1 lg. can tomato sauce


• 2 jars salsa


• 1 sm. can black beans, drained


• 1 package Morningstar Farms meat-crumbles


• 1/2 c. water


• 1 sm. can vegan refried beans (I used seasoned ones)


• 1 vegan taco-seasoning packet


• About 4-5 green onions, sliced thin


• 1 medium-sized green pepper, diced


• 1 habanero pepper, deseeded and diced tiny


• 1/2 can black olives, sliced


• 1 cube vegan cheddar cheez, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Either spray a large pan with nonstick oil or use a little bit of veggie oil, and brown the Morningstar Farms meat-crumbles along with your habanero. Once the crumbles are pretty brown, add in about 1/2 c. water and no more than half of your taco-seasoning packet. Cook until it's absorbed the liquid. Add in 1/2 jar salsa and 1/2 of your can of tomato sauce. Stir until heated through. Set aside.

In another pan, dump in your black beans, refried beans, the other half of your salsa, and one cup of tomato sauce. Add in just a tablespoon or so of your taco-seasoning packet. Stir until mixed and then cook until heated through. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400. In a 9x13 casserole dish of some sort, pour just enough tomato sauce to very thinly cover the bottom of the pan. Place three uncooked lasagna noodles on top (make sure the noodles aren't touching each other or the sides of the casserole because they apparently expand when they cook). Cover the lasagna noodles with most of the "meat"-mixture (you will end up with a little bit left over). Sprinkle a tiny bit of cheez as well as a handful of green-onions over the "meat"-mixture. Layer on three more noodles. Cover the noodles with the bean mixture (you will have a significant amount of the mixture left over, but that's ok because you'll need it for the final layer). Layer on three more noodles. Cover these noodles with the rest of your bean-mixture and the rest of your "meat"-mixture. Add your final layer of three noodles. Pour your other jar of salsa as well as any remaining tomato sauce over this final layer, making sure to thoroughly cover the noodles so they cook correctly. Sprinkle your green peppers, any remaining green onions, and olives on top. Cover with all your shredded cheez.

Cover the casserole dish with foil and cook in oven for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven for 10 minutes. Turn your oven onto the broiler setting, and place the casserole into the broiler for a couple minutes--until the cheez has melted and started to brown just a bit. Remove from broiler and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Serve.

**Please note, if you are using the no-boil lasagna noodles, you will need to make sure that they are thoroughly covered in liquidy/beany/meaty mixtures so they cook correctly. This is why you definitely need the bottom layer of sauce before you start adding noodles.

Feeds an assload.

(Inspired by--but totally altered from--this recipe)

Flaming Tacos

Important bit of cooking wisdom I learned this past week:

Corn tacos are highly flammable.

No shit.

I quickly came to realize this after I tossed a few tacos into my broiler for a minute to melt the cheddar "cheez" on top (seeing as intense heat seems to be the only fricking way to melt that stuff, and the oven just doesn't quite seem to cut it) and when I opened the broiler to remove them, they were engulfed in flames.

Literal flames.

The kind that made me go "Agh!" and then blow on them, for the most part ineffectively.

Good times.

Actually, it all just made me kind of laugh, since I am a world-renowned klutz, and this didn't surprise me all that much. (In the last month I've also a) melted half my toaster, though thankfully it's still usable, and b) dropped a large cup of ketchup from about four-feet in the air in the middle of a children's booksale, yelled SHIT! when it hit the ground, and watched as it exploded all over my pants and the surrounding carpeting.) So yeah, flaming tacos: not so shocking. I only wish I would've not had the immediate instinct to blow them out seeing as it would've made a helluva picture.

Instead, I give you a picture of the results: sadly burnt taco shells.



The cool thing though was that I was able to save my dinner by just breaking off the more burnt parts of the taco shells and using them anyways. They actually ended up being quite good--they tasted a bit smoked or something. Heh heh--imagine that.

Anyways, I don't recommend going out of your way to set the shells on fire (though I suspect some of you deviants will now be like, "What? Taco shells catch fire? Nuh uh! No way! I've got to see this for myself, because I don't believe you"), but if you do, rise above, and turn them into something magical.

INGREDIENTS:

• Three taco shells


• Cooked quinoa (about 1 c. or so)


• Canned black beans (about 1 c. or so)


• 1/4 packet of taco seasoning


• 1/2 an avocado, diced


• A handful of thinly-shredded lettuce


• 1/2 c. vegan cheddar "cheez"


• Salsa of your choosing

DIRECTIONS

Toss quinoa and black beans in a small pot with the taco seasoning packet and a bit of water (the amount you use will depend on how liquidy-ish you want the end results to be). Cook until heated through and the water has cooked down some. Removed from heat.

Turn on broiler. Place three taco shells in some sort of casserole-dish where they can all stand upright. Fill the shells with your quinoa/black bean mix. Top with "cheez." After broiler has heated up, place tacos in broiler. In a minute or two (or three), open broiler, gasp at the fact that your tacos are on fire, blow them out, and remove from broiler.

Break off the ridiculously burnt parts of your shells. Top the quinoa/black bean/cheez innards with lettuce, avocado, and salsa.

Enjoy.

(Makes enough for one hearty serving.)

PS. Do not hold me responsible for catching your house on fire if you are a big enough tool to actually intentionally try this at home.

A Not-So-Julian-Casablancas Black-Bean Casserole

So you know how there's foods that perhaps don't send you barrelling into an alternate universe of a explosive orgasms and million-dollar lotto-wins and a veganized America and endless Julian-Casablancas-involved orgies, but do offer up a solid, simple, relatively healthy meal that (I suspect) even kids would dig? Well, this is one of those recipes.

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine came up to me and said, I made this really good black-bean casserole last week for me and my boyfriend, and it calls for sausage, but you totally couldn't taste the sausage at all anyways, so I think you could probably easily veganize it. And the next week she brought it in for me.

I know not from whence it came, but I *DO* know that the photocopy has it listed in a chapter called "Family-Approved Meat Dishes" which for some reason makes me feel a bit blorfy. But yes, the damn thing is so basic, so easy, and requires so few ingredients that it was a cinch to veganize.

Next time around, I'm gonna try adding this little thing called "spices" that the meat-filled cookbook apparently has never heard of, but rest assured--the fake-sausage adds enough muscle in the way of flavor that you won't be lacking even if you DON'T add anything extra.

It makes an assload too, which is nice if you have a big family. Or if you can use it for dinners all week. Or if you like to fill your bathtub up with strange casseroles and lay around in them.

INGREDIENTS:

• One tube of Gimme Lean (Fake) Sausage


• Two 14.5-oz. cans of Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
  (you can alternately use plain and spice them up some with--what who where--spices, or you can use them ones with the basil and oregano in them, which I think is what I accidentally ended up using myself)


• 2 c. cooked brown rice (or white rice)


• Two 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped


• 1/2 c. shredded vegan cheddar cheez


• Vegan sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, cook the sausage until brown and a bit crispier (this is important because mine was not-so-crisp and it sogged up in the oven quite a bit). Stir in the tomatoes, cooked rice, black beans, and sweet pepper. Mix, and spoon into a large baking dish (around 3-quarts or so).

Bake, covered, in a 350-degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheez. Place the casserole dish uncovered in the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheez has begun to bubble and melt.

Let stand five minutes before serving. Top with vegan sour cream, if you so choose.

Makes 8 servings.

Sweet Potato/Black Bean Corn-Tortilla Wraps

Redemption from my not-so-fantastic Sweet Potato and Bean Enchilada Casserole (and my not-so-fantastic Tuesday--ah stress and lack of sleep and perpetually-twitching left eyelid) came in the form of a dinner I whipped up using leftover ingredients that I'd bought for that original recipe.

I now say to you: Ignore that enchilada casserole recipe, and put the ingredients to better (and more scrumptious) use with this one instead. You will make them much much happier.

These wraps managed to absorb the proper balance of flavors that the enchilada casserole was missing, and they were much much simpler to make. Plus, they look prettier. And they're LOW-FAT! You can't beat that.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 vegan corn tortillas


• 2 large sweet potatoes


• Juice from one lime


• 1 T. brown sugar


• 1/2 - 1 can black beans, drained


• 1 onion, sliced


• 1 t. vegan sugar


• Pine nuts, toasted


• Cilantro


• Agave nectar

DIRECTIONS:
Heat up a small pan. Spray with non-stick spray oil. Toss your onions in and heat them until they're starting to get soft. Once they start to get soft, toss in the vegan sugar and mix. Cook the onions until they've turned a deep, rich caramel color. Set aside. While the onions are cooking, you can cook your sweet potatoes until they're soft (I use a steamer, but you can just as easily use the microwave or boil them). Once they're done, place them in a bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the juice from your lime (and you can also toss a bit of lime zest in there, if you're feeling overzealous) and your brown sugar. Set aside. Heat up your black beans (I used the microwave, but you can use whatever the frick you want, really). Finally, heat up a nice big pan and spray it with non-stick spray oil. Toss in your corn tortillas, three at a time, until they've softened up and will be pliable enough to roll up. Repeat with the remaining three tortillas. Place the six on two plates.
SERVING: Evenly distribute the lime sweet potato mash, black beans, and caramelized onions between the 6 corn tortillas. Top each with some toasted pine nuts and cilantro, and then drizzle with a nice healthy portion of agave nectar. Roll them up, and chow down.

Serves 2

This recipe seriously takes no more than a half-an-hour at most to make. And it packs a punch of sweetness when it comes to flavors, especially with the bit of added oomph the agave nectar gives it. Good good stuff.

Sweet Potato and Bean Enchilada Casserole

I've been all nerded-up lately about the arrival of fall weather, so I decided during the week that I was gonna cook some more fall-friendly food this weekend, now that it's been delightfully cool in the evenings and I can use the oven without making my apartment a sweltering heat-pit. But of course, as always, the weather had to be ornery and peak in the 80's this weekend, effectively ruining the fall spirit of all the food I made.

Nonetheless, I *did* end up making a fantastically yummy cold-weather dinner on Saturday (despite the sweltering humidity) which I will post about tomorrow. I also ended up making this "nothing-special" dish on Friday night, unfortunately. It's not terrible, and I've been eating left-overs all weekend and will continue to during the week. But it's definitely not worth writing home about.

So next time around, I'm *DEFINITELY* tweaking it so it's a bit more flavorful.

INGREDIENTS:

• 18 vegan corn tortillas


• 2 cans vegan enchilada sauce


• One 12 oz. pack of vegan ground-beef crumbles


• One packet of taco seasoning


• One small can of black beans, drained


• One small can of red kidney beans, drained


• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled


• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced


• Some nutritional yeast


• 2-3 cups of Fritos


• Cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

Steam the sweet potatoes until they are near to soft and then dice them into smallish chunks--the oven will take care of the rest of their cooking process. Mix the frozen "beef" crumbles, jalapeno, and taco seasoning together and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375. Take out a large, deep pan (I am bad with dimensions--it's the size that'll fit 2x3 corn tortillas in it, with just slight overlap). Coat the bottom with half a can of enchilada sauce. Layer on 6 corn tortillas. Add the sweet potatoes and all the beans. Pour another 1/2 can of enchilada sauce over this layer. Add 6 more corn tortillas. Top with the fake-meat mixture. Add another 1/2 can of enchilada sauce. Layer on 6 more corn tortillas. Top with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, top the casserole with the Fritos, and return it to the oven (without the foil) for about 10-15 more minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

The problems with this casserole were that a) it was too dry--the lack of, say, vegan cheese made the enchilada sauce absorb into the corn tortillas without retaining the moistness of the sauce like enchiladas normally do, and b) the flavors were a bit too confused--the bottom layer was yumtastic, the sweet potatoes adding a nice sweet touch to the meal in contrast to the saltier beans, but the fake meat threw the rest of the casserole off a bit too much by being too overpowering and spicy-tasting. The next time around I will probably contemplate using vegan cheese in each layer, though I don't think it is *necessary* to make this a good dish. I think I will also try to play up the sweetness of the dish more, eliminating the meat layer and perhaps replacing it with a sweet-corn and diced mango layer instead. This would also call for an adjustment to the enchilada sauce as well, but there are plenty of tomatillo enchilada sauces or tomatillo salsas that could make for a much tastier topping.

So yeah, I wouldn't recommend this recipe enough to even put it in my sidebar recipe-links, but I think with some definite toying with the ingredients, it may end up there down the road.

Until then, I blame the humidity for f-ing it up.

BRING ON AUTUMN PERMANENTLY ALREADY, MOTHER NATURE!

Sheesh.

Fast, Cheap, and Easy Taco Salad

Apparently some of you like things that are fast, cheap, and easy (*rowr*), so here's another recipe that's such a damn cinch, it'll make your toes curl.

INGREDIENTS:

2 jalapenos, deseeded and diced
One small can of black beans, drained
TVP
Water
Chili powder
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Season salt
2 heads romaine lettuce
Salsa
Black olives
Fritos

DIRECTIONS: Throw your jalapenos into a small sauce pot with a tiny bit of water (like enough that you can carry over to the stove in the palm of your hand and throw in there--you know you do that too!). Once they have softened a bit, add your black beans, TVP, and some water. I have not specified quantities of TVP or water as it's mostly just a matter of taste--toss whatever amount of TVP looks good to you in there, and then add enough water while stirring that it looks like it's started to absorb it pretty well. (If you're not familiar with how to reconstitute TVP, read more HERE.) Then mix in all the spices listed above to taste--again, it'll depend on how much TVP you use. Plus, I just shook stuff in there without measuring, so I'm moreso just being lazy and not wanting to guesstimate. While your TVP reconstitutes on low heat, slice up a couple heads of romaine into two bowls. Once your TVP is soft enough for your taste (I don't like to reconstitute mine for very long--and I use less water--because I like it a bit firmer), remove from the stove. Scoop a generous mound into the center of each bunch of salad. Top with salsa, black olives, and Fritos (just make sure to add the Fritos last, otherwise they'll get soggy).

Eat while making little orgasimic-y exclamations about how you really *do* like things that are fast, cheap, and easy. (*Double-rowr*)

Black Bean Romaine Wraps

Inspired by the romaine wraps my friend dorklepork posted ever so long ago, I reached into my hat on Thursday night and quickly whipped up some of my own. This is a nice and very quick nibblin' of a recipe, nothing gourmet, but it'll make your gullet smile. (Realizing that I'm not technically sure what a gullet actually is--ah well.)

When I got home Thursday, I was craving beans. I realized I'd picked up a can of lime refried black beans at the grocery store last week (I'd been eyeing them for months and finally caved), so I figured I'd try them babies out. I also had a few ears of corn left over from Ye Old Vegan BBQ, so I figured I should probably try to use those up as well. After I mixed all the filling stuff together, I found myself desperately craving some sort of crunch to the mix. Normally, I am unhealthy and toss in Fritos, but I had none around and didn't feel like dragging my ass down to the corner store.

And then, like an angel from the heavens, it came to me: why not use the crunchy romaine lettuce slowly rotting away in my fridge! And voila, black bean lettuce wraps--fantastic on crunch and flavor and only a fraction of the calories!

INGREDIENTS:

1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
2 ears of fresh corn, sliced off the cob (or 1-2 cups)
1/2 can refried black beans
Romaine lettuce
Finely diced tomatoes
Salsa
Vegan cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Fry up the jalapeno and corn in a pot until the corn is a bit scorched. Add in the black beans and worry about the fact that it looks like a giant blob of baby poo. Stir and stir until everything's heated through. Rinse and dry 2-4 pieces of intact romaine lettuce. Scoop the bean mixture into each piece of romaine, taking care not to fill them up *too* much otherwise you won't be able to easily pick them up and eat them. Top with finely diced tomatoes and plain salsa *or* a fantabulous mix of salsa and vegan cream cheese (which gives the salsa a kind of sweet creamy flavor).

Chow.