Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Smokey BBQ Sauce

"I feel like something spicy for dinner."
"Like Indian?"
"Like Mexican. Refried beans and rice in a tortilla with hot sauce or something. Like a burrito."

The simple suggestions from my token omnivore are often what get my culinary wheels turning. In my head I'm thinking - burritos are simple. But we can do better.

After a bountiful trip to the farmers market this weekend, I came back with some "perfectly" sized sweet potatoes that seemed to have been grown just for me. At grocery stores, I often see sweet potatoes on steroids... a big orange reminder of American portion control issues. The tubers at the market were dainty and a petite, so I snagged a few to cook up single servings throughout the week. Well they also happen to cook more quickly, and when thinly sliced, fit perfectly inside a tortilla.

Chipotle and sweet potato, according to my palette, were made for each other. The smokiness and spice of the chipotle pepper can only be fully appreciated when paired with something sweet to accentuate its flavor (there is a reason Asian food is laced with sugar - sweet takes spicy to a new level). So I whipped up a quick BBQ sauce using a dollop of adobo sauce from canned chipotles. With a killer combination of sweet potatoes, Russet potatoes, and smooth refried beans, only a pinch of Daiya was needed to give these a full fledged, indulgently cheesy texture and taste.

The recipe for BBQ sauce is an approximation, so taste as you go and adjust accordingly. I also used a pinch of makeshift taco seasoning in each quesadilla. Though I included a recipe, packaged seasoning will work just fine. Get your glass of water ready, cuz these are smokin!

Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Smokey BBQ Sauce
Makes 4 quesadillas
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 small sweet potato, pierced a few times with a fork
1 medium Russet potato, pierced

4 whole wheat tortillas
1 c. Daiya
1+ c. refried beans
1 T. taco seasoning (recipe below)
1/2 c. Chipotle BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
Safflower or coconut oil
Fresh cilantro and green onions, chopped

Directions

First cook the potatoes: fill a medium sauce pan with enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring water to a boil and add potatoes. Cook until potatoes feel tender but not mushy, about 10-15 minutes (you should be able to pierce easily with a fork, but not pull the fork out smoothly). Remove potatoes from water and pat dry. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

(While potatoes are cooking, prepare the taco seasoning and BBQ sauce.)

When cool enough to handle, slice the potatoes thinly into coin shapes, about 1/8 inch or slightly thinner. Set aside.

When ready to assemble, prepare one quesadilla at a time. Lay tortilla flat on a large plate and cover one half with a couple tablespoons of Daiya. Then cover cheese with a layer of alternating white and sweet potato slices. Spread the other half of the tortilla with about 1/4 cup (or 1/3 cup if you want a nice thick dilla). Sprinkle another couple of tablespoons of Daiya and a pinch of taco seasoning over everything. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce and fold carefully in half.

To cook, heat about 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add quesadilla when oil is hot and lower heat to medium. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes. Be careful with the first one, as the pan tends to stay really it hot and will burn the tortilla easily.

Garnish with another drizzle of BBQ sauce, fresh cilantro and green onions.

Taco Seasoning
Makes about 1 tablespoon
Prep time: 2 minutes

Ingredients

1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in small bowl.

Smokey BBQ Sauce
Makes 1/2 cup
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 c. ketchup
1 T. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. chipotle adobo sauce
2 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Couple shakes of liquid smoke

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover a microwave for 45-60 seconds, or until sugar is dissolved. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Fake Out Tuna Salad Sammie

Mock tuna salad? Yeah right, you can't mock tuna.

Having been immersed in the vegan cooking world for over 3 years, I've come across a recipe or two for vegan "tuna" salad. I had my doubts. The texture, the fishy taste, and the deli feel were not promising qualities from substitutes like chickpeas. A whole lotta love do I have for my gusty garbanzo friend, but I just wasn't enticed enough to try my own version.

Never underestimate these beans. I totally fell for it when I mashed this concoction up, thought it was tuna. Ok not really, but it was damn good. What inspired me to finally try this? My obsession with Veganaise. And Dijon. These two staples have been increasingly more prevalent in my everyday dishes and the thought of whipping in a dollop of Veganaise  into mashed anything makes me salivate. That thought would be SO gross if I were talking about real mayo, right? I do use the reduced fat version to cute extra calories and make myself feel better about smothering everything in fake mayo. It tastes just as good.

Pretty sure omnivores and veg heads alike will adore this recipe. I even think I can pass this off at the next company potluck without anyone branding it as a "vegan" dish. If you don't have seaweed flakes, no biggie. You could always crumble sheets of nori if you have it. The only reason I have them is because I fell for a sale at Whole Foods (it was a two-fer). Use quality Dijon though such as Maille and actual Veganaise rather than imposter soy mayo substitute (Noya - gag). You could also try yogurt for a low fat mayo replacement as well. Between some pita and greens, you're gonna wish they sold this at your deli.

Fake Out Tuna Salad Sammie
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 5 ish minutes

Ingredients

1 c. cooked chickpeas or canned (drained and rinsed)
1 large celery stalk, diced
1 stalk green onions, white parts included, diced
1 heaping T. reduced fat Veganaise
1/2 T. quality Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. dried kelp
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper

1-2 pita rounds
1 c. mixed greens

Directions

In a medium bowl, mash peas with a potato masher or pulse in food processor a few times until broken up but still chunky. Be sure to leave some hunks. Mix in remaining ingredients, adding more seasonings or condiments to your liking.

Slice pitas in half and stuff each half with greens and a generous scoop chuna salad.

Chick au Poivre with Frites

Every now and then, or maybe a little more frequently than that, my token omnivore and I enjoy a good veg session on the couch with a good movie and snuggle time with the pup. This usually involves a meal eaten in our laps at each other’s sides which makes the experience wholesome and special. Most meals have a way of doing that, don’t you think?

So this week, after the hype of the Academy Awards, I was itching to see Hugo. For one, it takes place in Paris and I love all things French (except the B.O.). Plus, with Martin Scorsese in charge now donned with a fresh Oscar, it sounded like my kind of flick. This of course led me to believe we must have something French for dinner. The options however didn’t sound that appealing as I ran through the list of basic ideas: ratatouille, crepes, cassoulet, some kind of tart. Boring. Until I came across a recipe for Steak au Poivre.

To be honest, I was enticed by the French Fries in this picture during my research. So I started thinking about a steak replacement. Leftovers from last weekend’s ski trip? That’ll work! Both the cooked pasta and canned chickpeas needed to be used up before sliming over in the fridge, and I recalled reading a veggie burger recipe somewhere with a secret ingredient of pasta as a binding agent. Can’t remember the source, but the idea sure stuck.

A picture for inspiration and some fridge-clearing creativity brought me to this fabulous meal. Complete with, yes, frozen French Fries. We don’t have to be classy all the time.

Chick au Poivre

Makes: 4 patties

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients

1 c. whole wheat or GF pasta, cooked

½ T. soy sauce, tamari or Braggs

½ T. vegan Worcestershire sauce

½ T. poultry seasoning

4-5 drops liquid smoke

¼ tsp. chick-un bouillon (optional)

1 c. chickpeas (drained and rinsed if using canned)

¼ c. tapioca starch

¼ c. rice flour

½ - 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1-2 T. quality Dijon mustard

1-2 T. vegetable oil

Red Wine Glaze (recipe below)

Directions

Place the pasta in a food processor and process for 20-30 seconds, or until pasta is well ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in soy sauce, Worcestershire, poultry seasoning and liquid smoke. Blend to incorporate seasonings. Add chickpeas to the mix and mash with a potato masher or fork to break up the chickpeas leaving some chunks.

Place tapioca and rice flours into a medium bowl and stir in your desired amount of ground pepper. Set flour aside for dipping.

Form the chickpea mixture into 4 circular or funky-shaped patties. Brush one or both sides with Dijon mustard and coat both sides well in the rice flour mix. Transfer to plate and/or refrigerate to firm up patties if desired.

Heat oil of choice in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add patties and cook until browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side.

Serve patties with a spoonful or two of Red Wine glaze and a good dose of French Fries!

Red Wine Glaze

Makes: about ½ cup

Cook time: 5-7 minutes

Ingredients

½ T. Earth Balance

2 T. shallots, minced

½ c. dry red wine

½ c. vegetable stock or broth

1/3 c. non-dairy milk or creamer of choice

Directions

In a small saucepan, melt Earth Balance over medium heat and add shallot. Cook 1-2 minutes or until softened. Add red wine and broth and increase heat to medium-high. Reduce by about half and add milk/creamer of choice. Reduce heat to medium again and cook the liquid down until sauce is nice and thick, using your judgment of when to pull the plug on the heat.

French Lentils with Apple Braised Brussel Sprouts

Red, yellow, green, brown: a rainbow of lentils. What's the difference? Without going into the delicate nuances of each legume, let's take a look at one that isn't in this color scheme. French lentils. Sometimes French lentils and brown or green lentils are synonymous names for the same bean, but the kind I'm talking about are the Lentilles du Puy. That's right, the fancy kind. And if you ask David Lebovitz, a reliable source of French cooking expertise, these puppies are the "caviar" of lentils.

Their flavor is more robust than other lentils, a trait Monsieur Lebovitz contributes to their volcanic environment (um sure ok, I'll take his word for it). Whatever the source of deliciousness, I am now including these as a pantry staple. Other lentils get mushy very easily, but these hold up well in texture and taste. Rarely can I eat lentils alone unless I'm in the mood for a nice cup of dahl, yet I scarfed down a whole bucket of these in this recipe. Maybe scarf isn't the appropriate verb, because it felt as though eating such a delicate pulse called for delicate means. So with a dainty fork in hand and pinky raised, I savored each bite.

Though I already talked about my current apple juice phase, here is another recipe using the same technique with the same fabulous results. Very simply braised brussel sprouts finished with a touch of jus de pomme and a petite smudge of moutarde. So light, so lovely. Serve under the lentils with a side of roasted fingerlings...Tres tres bon.

French Lentils with Apple Braised Brussel Sprouts
Makes: 2 servings
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Lentils
1/2 c. French lentils
1/3 c. yellow onion, diced
1/2 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 c. veggie stock or broth
1/4 c. red wine

For the Brussel Sprouts
3/4 c. veggie stock or broth, divided
2 c. brussel sprouts, stems removed and thinly sliced
1/4 c. apple juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Directions

In a medium sauce pan, combine all of the ingredient for the lentils except for the wine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium or medium low (depending on the stove). Simmer lentils at a slow boil until most of the liquid has evaoprated, about 25-30 minutes, covering the pot for about 5 minutes toward the end. When there is just a bit of broth left, add the wine and cook an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the lentils are nearly done, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and bring about half of the broth to a boil. Add brussel sprouts and lower heat to medium. Braise about 5 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated. Add another 1/4 cup of broth, apple juice and mustard. Cook until sprouts are tender and liquid is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.