Asparagus and Mushroom Quesadillas

For the past while I have been baking my own bread. I have yet to perfect it however, and have not been able to slice any of my homemade bread into slices good enough for a sandwich, for example. The bread I have been baking is an oatmeal molasses bread from Good to the Grain. The bread is delicious, and I am perfectly fine eating a jagged chunk of bread (with peanut butter of course) until I perfect the kneading, rolling, rising, and folding process to make a perfect loaf of bread. This has inspired me to try and bake my own bread from now on though. I want to try making all of my favourite baked goods like bagels, english muffins, and tortillas. Since my last stint with making chickpea tortillas did not go so well, I was discouraged and purchased some tortillas at the market on the weekend. Tortillas are notorious for having the longest ingredient list of all, but these ones were the lesser of many evils.

I had many options for ways to use these tortillas. I opted to not go for my usual tortilla/pb/banana sandwich, which is my favourite combination ever, and made quesadillas. Believe it or not, I had never made this really easy meal before. I actually really like quesadillas, so I have no idea why I had not attempted this in the past. This isn't your typical quesadilla as I used ingredients I had on hand, but it was a winning combination.

Asparagus and Mushroom Quesadillas
Serves 2 (meal), or 4 (with a side)

8 white mushrooms, chopped finely
asparagus, chopped to 1-2 cm in length, enough that is about equal to that of the mushrooms in volume
1/2 cup pinto beans
2 green onion
4 tortillas
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tsp hot sauce
salsa and sour cream to serve with

1. Sautee the mushrooms on a dry pan over medium heat.
2. Once they begin to soften, add the asparagus, and sauté until cooked. Remove from heat.
3. In the same pan, place tortilla on pan, add half of asparagus mushroom mixture, half the green onions, 1/4 cup pinto beans, half the hot sauce, and half the cheese.
4. Place second tortilla on top and press down to anneal the quesadilla. Heat until cheese is melting, and bottom tortilla is crispy. About 3-6 minutes.
5. Flip and cook for another few minutes until tortilla is crispy and all cheese is melted.
6. Repeat with the other half of the ingredients.

These were really good, especially with some good salsa and sour cream. I will definitely have to make quesadillas more often. I think I might wait until I land on a successful tortilla recipe. In the meantime, I am still plugging away in the kitchen finding a perfect recipe to use chickpea flour for. I almost found it yesterday. Let's hope it isn't too long before I can share something with you.

3 Layer Bean Dip

Does anyone know what day tomorrow is? May 5th! Cinco de Mayo! Basically, a perfect excuse to eat Mexican food, which I love. This recipe comes at a perfect time then. I made this dip about a week ago to have with the chips I bought at Whole Foods. It is comprised of "refried" beans, guacamole, and salsa. This dip can easily be prepared with pre-made versions of the three layers, but can also be made from scratch fairly quickly. I opted for a store bought salsa however.

3 Layer Bean Dip

for the "refried" beans
1 can black beans
~2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped

for the guacamole
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 jalapeno minced after seed removal

salsa

1. Combine ingredients for bean layer in food processor and process until smooth.
2. Combine ingredients for avocado in food processor and pulse until combined with some chunks still present.
3. Layer into a dish. Top with salsa.

It is really that simple. My dip was a bit bean heavy (as you can see in the picture) so I would probably layer less next time. This is my favourite guacamole recipe and the salsa I used was very flavourful and tasted fresh. Because of this, I was forgiving of the fairly bland bean layer, since the guacamole and salsa made up for it. This was my first time using black beans to make a dip, and next time I think I would kick it up a notch with some garlic or seasonings. The beans had a great texture though.

This dip went will with chips (obvi), carrots, and even spread on some toast.  It is incredibly versatile and would make a great addition to any Cinco de Mayo spread. Along with some lime margaritas of course.

Mexican Fiesta!

Here I go again with the Mexican food. It wasn't my idea this time I swear! Will said he was bringing avocados to make guacamole and tortillas to make homemade chips. You cannot avoid wanting some beans and rice to with.

We decided to make a Bean and Corn Chili Salad as well as Mexican Rice. I used these recipes as a guide to get the desired Mexican flavours. Will had seen a recipe for the Avocado Salsa Verde and the homemade tortilla chips and started off with that. I am working from memory here and these dishes were made almost a week ago. I hope I get the avocado salsa verde recipe right, although, you can't really mess up guac.


Avocado Salsa Verde

3 avocados
1 small bunch of green onions
2-3 jalapeno peppers
1-2 limes, juice only

Add everything to the food processor and blend until creamy smooth. To make sure leftovers to do not brown, sprinkle some lemon juice on top.


Whole-Wheat Tortilla Chips

tortillas
olive oil
salt and pepper

Cut the tortillas into triangles like a pizza. Brush with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a 400 degree F oven until crispy and lightly browned.

These were absolutely delicious! While not the healthiest dipper, they are quite a treat and are much better than store bought corn chips. I could see adding different seasonings such as cumin and cayenne to these to get great flavoured chips!

After we devoured the appetizer, it was time to make our main dishes.

Mexican Rice, adapted from allrecipes.com

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 jar of stewed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
salt to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups water

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Saute the onions until they are soft. Add the rice and stir to coat in oil. Add the rest of the ingredients in order. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

While this was pretty good, I think it could use some improvements. The end result was rather saucy, and I think next time I would leave out the tomato paste and maybe use less stewed tomatoes. I would also add more cumin and chili powder. Other than that, I love using different liquids to cook rice (such as tomato) and will definitely make this again (with modifications of course).

While the rice was cooking we made the bean salad which is SO easy to put together.

Bean and Corn Chili Salad, adapted from allrecipes.com

3 tomatoes, diced
1 can black beans
1 can white kidney beans
1 can low-sodium corn
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
cilantro (optional)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse canned beans thoroughly, and mix with corn and onion. Into a seperate bowl, wisk together lime juice, oil, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper. Add to bean mixture and toss to coat. Garnish with cilantro or mix in if you like.

Since cilantro and I are not friends, I photographed Will's plate for the full experience (cilantro and all). I really enjoyed this salad and wouldn't change a thing. It was even better the next day! You can really use any beans you like but I would always keep some black beans in there.

The highlight of this meal was definitely the salsa verde. My Mom loved it, and it is now the recipe of choice in this house. I have been able to do a lot of cooking and baking this weekend. Tomorrow I'll post about a meal I made with my friend Jenna that contains some some of the cutest produce at the Hamilton Farmer's market, as well as three recipes we have been dying to try!