black bean quesadillas

originally i planned a pumpkin quesadilla out of last month's bon appetit but that seemed like a lot of work for a dish that might go over like a lead balloon and since we served five (FIVE!) kinds of beer and only two were less than 6% abv, i kinda wanted to make sure people ate up.

(what did we do before trader joe's?)

ingredients:

• shredded cheese blend of your preference (or you could, like, shred some cheese yourself)
• roasted green chilis
• tortillas (um, 8? i think i made 8.)
• one white onion, diced
• one can of black beans, rinsed
• spray oil

prep:

• dice onion
• make sure you have everything ready, this goes fast

actual cooking:

• preheat crepe pan (or flat-bottomed frying pan) to medium
  

• spray lightly with oil
  
  

• add tortilla
  

• spread chilis
  
  
  

• add a handful of beans
  

• and some onions
  

• and a handful of cheese-- don't skimp on the cheese!
  

• flip over the empty half and press down
• cover and allow to cook until melty and delicious
  
  

(ali & alex agree, augustus is nearly as delicious as black bean quesadillas.)

mu shu vegetables

mu shu vegetables is about my favorite meal currently, up there with veggie fried rice and veggie lo mein, so i had to take a stab at making it. in fact, i stabbed so close to the mark i just may have to stab and stab and stab until i get it right.

ingredients:

• 1 small shredded carrot
• 1 head of cabbage shredded
• (or a bag or two of cole slaw mix)
• 1 small onion in thin wedges
• (optional: handful of mung)
• (optional: sliced mushrooms)
• (optional: handful of chopped green onion)
• (optional: 2 beaten eggs)
• flour tortillas and/or rice
• hoisin sauce
• water

prep:

• slice & dice until everything is more or less the same size

actual cooking:

• (scramble eggs, set aside)
• (set rice to cooking. 1:2 rice to water, pinch of salt, bring to a boil, lower to a loooooow simmer and cover)
• saute carrots in a little water for 2-3 minutes
• add cabbage, continue sauteeing 2-3 minutes
• add mung, onions, green onions, mushrooms, whatever else (not egg), saute for 2-3 minutes
• allow liquid to evaporate
• add 2 tbs hoisin sauce, cook for 1-2 minutes
• add egg back in, stir
• warm tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds each

we ate this with trader joe's chicken egg rolls (which you want to pierce all the way through before baking, and spray with oil), which are a staple in my asian cooking and will probably stay that way since last week's spring roll experiment was a massive FAIL.

it was a little sweet, and i'm thinking... soy sauce? garlic? i don't know. maybe i just need to use bok choy instead of the pre-shredded cabbage. it was still good enough that the leftovers are my lunch today.