On the Shore of Lake Michigan with Collene's Summer Salsa

Recently I had the pleasure of spending a weekend at the home of my very close friends, Collene and Jeff. They live on the west side of the state, and we spent the days lazing away in Lake Michigan, riding the waves and soaking up the sun. One night after the beach, Collene threw together some salsa for the quesadillas she had on the menu. Their quesadillas included chicken and cheese, but she made a veganized one for me, filled and topped with her beautiful salsa.

I took pictures as she whipped up dinner and planned to write out the recipe, though with the colors of the ingredients and Collene's delicate hands, I felt the pictures were lovely enough to speak for themselves.


1 large tomato, 1 large onion


1 red bell pepper


Jalapeños to taste




Salt and pepper to taste


Garlic powder


Fresh cilantro








Juice of 2 small limes








Assembling my veganized quesadilla!

Read more »

Lazy Lazy Hot-as-Hades Quesadillas

I’m not a summer person. Actually, that’s an understatement. Summer is to me as high noon is to Nosferatu. Once the mercury inches above 80°, I turn into a whining, pasty, squinting complainer. We’re in the middle of a heat wave right now, with the heat index above 100°. I want to hide in the dark with a fan on my face. What I don’t want to do is cook.

So here’s my concession to the heat. It took about 10 minutes from start to finish and I spiced it up nicely (that’s the kind of heat I like). The “Buffalo wings” I used, especially made this way, are pretty darn indiscernible from the real thing.

The pictures aren’t great because, like I said, it’s hoooooooooooooooooooot, and I’m feeling lazy lazy.

Quesadillas


For the quesdadillas:

1 package Smart Wings, Buffalo style
1 red bell pepper, sliced and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon jalapeño pepper, diced (optional. I say go for it!)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Any hotsy-totsy stuff you like (cayenne pepper, Tabasco, Frank's Red Hot, etc.), to taste
Daiya Vegan "Cheese" (I used Mozzerella and Cheddar)
1 package flour tortillas, burrito size
Tofutti "sour cream"
Picante salsa of your choice
Lazy Guacamole (recipe follows)

1. Add a tablespoon of oil to a skillet and heat it on medium-high. When oil is ready, add peppers, onion and cumin and sauté until glistening. Remove from skillet and set aside.
2. While the peppers and onions are cooking, grate Smart Wings in a food processor until shredded (see picture). Toss the shredded Smart Wings into skillet (add a little oil if needed) and allow it to heat through and start to carmelize a bit (this is a good time to sample it and add some spicy to taste). Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. Assemble your quesadillas. Place one tortilla either in bottom of a quesadilla maker or in the same skillet you've been using. I always brush the outside of the tortillas with a little bit of oil so they get some nice browned parts. Top tortilla with some peppers and onions, some shredded wings, and cheese. Pop another tortilla on top of that and heat the whole thing until it's all melty and gooey like God intended, flipping once to brown both sides. You'll make 4 or more quesadillas, depending on how much you put in each.
4. Serve topped with salsa, sour cream, and some form of guacamole (like my lazy version below)

Lazy Guacamole


1. Get the ingredients in my picture and put them all in a bowl.
2. Mix them up, adding more or less of everything to taste. There you go. Told you it was lazy!

Read more »