Aug 16, 2010

quesadilla

I realize how important consistent posting is - having learned this not only from my son who makes YouTube videos of unabridged anime, but also from my own experiences of times when I could hardly wait to see the next food being posted on a particular blog. Not that I am trying to elevate Weekly Vegan Menu to any undeserving status; I am merely sympathising.

This past week has been challenging. After a year of living in our current home, having moved across the country, I am beginning to (maybe) foresee us staying here for a while.
Over the past month I have come to embrace our present location and the need to put things in order - sort of a 'summer cleaning.' I have organized, scrubbed and cleansed all possible surfaces. I have culled unwanted or unneeded items. In other words, I have readied my home as best as I can for the coming year.

In addition to all the hard work and exhaustive effort, over the weekend practically the whole family came down with a cold. What is worse  - I did, too. There is not many things worse than the caregiver to also get sick. Plain old sick. 

I am not someone who is intense about keeping my family germ-free. I feel it is important to expose ourselves to germs to allow our immune system a chance to fight off the invaders and learn from it. Our bodies cannot form antibodies without having previous knowledge of the bugs to fight off. BUT, I am not a doctor, so this is all my opinion and not to be taken any other way. **Disclaimer.

Anyway, we got sick and I didn't blog because we just ate whatever we got our hands on, including take-out. 

I am happy to report that a few days was enough for me. Having a strong immune system does not mean you do not ever get sick - it could (see Disclaimer above) mean you get better faster. I attribute that to our lifestyle and diet. 

Since the kids are not in any mood to cook - which I am sure is also due to the idea of it still being summer and they are still out of school - I will be messing around in the kitchen on their cooking days this week.

Because I love to support vegan chefs, and since Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero has just come out (please use my link to Amazon through Vegan.com so Erik gets the commission), I have dedicated most of the menu this week to recipes from that cookbook. They sound enticing and simple enough to prepare. I love Latin food and it is great that someone has created and organized Latin recipes into one convenient format. Now I can at least stop searching and veganizing this ethnic cuisine!

Today's lunch (not from Viva Vegan!) was a simple quesadilla with a fresh tomato salsa. It was excellent!

Cost Breakdown:
tortillas: $3
pepper and mushroom: $3
tomato: $1
lime and onion: $1
Daiya: $.50
Total to make 4 servings:
$8.50



   

5 comments:

  1. Quite possibly my favorite dish. Yours looks spectacular! Nice and simple and most importantly fresh! It's funny you should post about this particular subject. We too have been going through our own blahs and bugs. My computer totally crashed, I lost everything important to me technilogically speaking, and we have all been sick. I agree with you completly about the immunity thing. I am a true believer of living naturally as possible and the payoffs involved. ( and I'm in the medical proffession shhhh).

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  2. Yay! Can't wait to hear what else you make from viva vegan!!! I love that cookbook to death! Her Red Seitan is the bomb as well as the Empanadas and Red Chile- Seitan Tamales I posted on my blog! Hope everyone is feeling 100% soon :)

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  3. Aww I am sorry you and your family got sick. I agree with you on getting better fast, vegan do have stronger immune systems in my opinion.

    I am so happy you'll be cooking from Viva Vegan. One of my favorite books at the moment, can't wait to see what else you'll make! : ]

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  4. Glad you are feeling better. The salsa you put on top of the quesadilla is nice and chunky, just how I like it. What is Daiya?

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  5. Thank you, Gwen. (I won't tell anyone about your secret.)

    Amy, great job on those Viva Vegan! recipes. I'll make sure to cover something you haven't :)

    Thanks, Jacklyn!

    Thank you, Tender Branson. Daiya is a vegan cheese that melts and is actually stringy. Every Whole Foods is supposed to carry it.

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