Black bean and corn quesadillas

On July 3rd we welcomed our second daughter, Fiona Marie, into our family. It has been an amazing, challenging, joy-filled, sleep-deprived 8 weeks and we wouldn't trade it for the world. However, let's just say I haven't been cooking much... salads, wraps and BBQ have been our go-to meals.  Wonderful friends of ours came over with their two kids in the midst of new baby craze-haze, and they brought the ingredients for black bean quesadillas. Not only was it a huge blessing, but we loved it so much that we added it to our regular menu rotation! They are easy, healthy, and most importantly; delicious. I have yet to convince our almost two-year-old that black bean paste is not evil... she eats a deconstructed quesadilla - a "deconstradilla" I call it - without the beans. 

Ingredients:

4 wraps

Black bean paste - about 1/2 can (recipe below)

1 bell pepper (colour of your choice - red is prettiest)

1/2 cup corn (fresh or thawed)

Cheddar cheese

Salsa

Sour cream or plain yogurt

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Black bean paste recipe  

(Feel free to double the recipe and use a whole can of beans. 

The paste will keep about a week, or you can freeze it)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 can black beans, with liquid

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp pepper

Salt to taste

Directions

Heat oil in small pot or skillet. Fry onions until soft and golden, add the spices and beans and cook for 5 minutes. Mash with a potato masher, or if you like a smoother texture use a food processor (just be careful, it's pretty hot) 

Voilà!

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Directions for quesadillas

Spread some black bean paste on half of the wrap, sprinkle with corn, chopped peppers and cheese.

Fold in half and place in pan to heat up until cheese is melted and the wrap is golden. 

Serve with salsa! (and sour cream or plain yogurt if you have it) 

I can see including avocado or sliced tomato in a variation of these. And I bet guacamole would be great on top! Maybe next time... 

Guacamole

Holé guacamolé!  We used to say that all the time as kids as a term of exclamation.  Now I just say it with my eyes closed when I savour a mouthful of truly holy guacamole.  I take great pride in my guacamole.  My mother-in-law declared she didn't like guacamole and I said, "Here, try mine" and she said "Ooh I like this guacamole".  There you go.

I like my guacamole made with simple, fresh ingredients.  There are so many variations, but I love the combination of spicy garlic, tangy citrus and fresh cilantro with the buttery taste of the avocado.

Ingredients:
A nice ripe avocado
1 tomato (or a handful of cherry tomatoes)
1 lemon or lime
1 clove of garlic
Handful fresh cilantro
Dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.
Optional: pinch of cumin

Chop everything up and toss into a bowl.  

Top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and the lemon juice (or lime), mix it up well. 

I used to purée my guacamole quite smooth, but lately I've been leaving it a little chunky.  Mash to taste.

Eat it up with tortilla chips or pita chips!

Mexican pile-up and love

This summer it will have been 9 years since Jamie and I met, working at a summer camp called Camp Medley.  He worked in the office and I was a camp counselor.  I was seventeen, he was twenty-four, the handsome older guy who was way out of my league.  I had a crush on him all summer.  But, oh joy, he did eventually notice me.  There was some flirting.  

Jamie and I on backwards day at Camp Medley

Then one night we had "The Talk" out on the picnic table under the stars, and floated our way through the last two weeks of camp before we started officially dating.  The first time we held hands was while walking down to the wharf for fireworks on the last night of camp. The rest is history!  

One hallmark of that summer was a meal we had every week which quickly became everyone's favourite: Mexican Pileup.  All the deliciousness of tacos, all the joy and abandonment of a pile of food on a plate.  

For us this meal is a staple of our regular menu and it goes all the way back to that summer when we first fell in love.  Excuse me while I go reminisce...

Ah, young love.  He's my man and I love him even more than I did then.  Like a fine wine, love really does get better with time.  

So, back to the totally un-romantic recipe, making this meal is easy as making rice, cooking hamburger and chopping veggies.  It's essentially tacos but without bothering with trying to keep it all in the taco.  Everyone knows it all falls out anyway...  Its a losing battle. Just make it a Pile. 

Here is what you do:

Mexican Pile-Up

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil (use this spicy oil if you like)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb hamburger

3 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cup rice

1 green pepper, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

5-6 mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup grated cheese

sour cream

salsa

Optional:

refried beans

nacho cheese sauce

guacamole 

Directions:
Put your rice on to cook, however you usually do that.  Brown rice is healthiest.
Heat oil in a skillet, toss in the onions. Brown for a few minutes then add the garlic, cooking for about 5 minutes. Add beef and spices and mix well.  Cook until brown and deliciously taco-ey.
While your beef is cooking, chop your pepper, tomato and mushrooms. Oh and grate your cheese while you're at it.

There are those who prefer to put a layer of chips first, but my husband believes he has perfected the art of the pile-up by putting rice first, so it doesn't slide around.  I for one find the chips get soggy underneath and prefer to use the chips to scoop it up.  So, rice, meat, then cheese so it will melt a bit.

Now top with veggies. 

Generous dollops of salsa and sour cream complete this pile of Mexican awesomeness.

Jamie likes to mix his up.  I prefer the un-sullied look of a clean pile.  This really is a subjective science, but a science nonetheless.

Enjoy with tortilla chips or homemade pita chips like we did the other night!