Vegan Ⓥuesadilla

Posted on by jeffreylatty


Spontaneous cheffing is often extremely successful for me. Spontaneity isn’t for everyone and often kicks my ass, but not all the time. I had a long day at work and got off around 2000 (8:00pm) and commuted home and broke my THIRD damn spoke in two months and had an urge to buy beers and good food.


And out of know where, I had the idea of making Ⓥegan Quesadillas. Here is my shopping list (not premeditated):

  • 6-pack 16oz. PBR
  • 12oz. Funky Pumpkin
  • Bomber Thunderstruck IPA
  • Daiya ‘Mozzarella’
  • Daiya ‘Cheddar’
  • Hummus
  • Guacamole
  • Fiesta Pico de Gallo
  • Buns
  • Whole Wheat Tortilla
  • Lightlife Smart Dogs
  • Chipotle Seitan
  • Gardein Fishless Filets
  • Woodstock frozen Grilled Eggplant
  • (2) Vegan Nugo Dark Chocolate Pretzal



Ⓥuesadilla ingredients:

  • BrownRice/Lentils/SpiltPeas/dicedNonGMOfrozenGrilledEggplant:)
  • Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicAmpersandOnionP/ONEBayLeaf/ChiliP
  • Whole Wheat Tortillas, pre grilled
  • Daiya, yellow and white-mmmmm
  • Pico De Gallo, strained
  • Hummus, spreadily readily
  • Guacamole, readily spreadily
  • Chipotle Seitan or Fishless filets (sliced) or party hard and do both!


40 ounces to freedom:

  • Quesadilla makers are for cowards and T-Rex armed godzillas (not that they would have weapons shooting T-Rexs, just their ARMS BEING SHORT)
  • Cook Legumes and Brown Rice with the seasonings below where I mentioned above? Throw diced Eggplant in, also.
  • Grill Tortillas before hand, the tops on both sides and the bottoms just on the inside. Cast Iron with a Grill?
  • On the inside (grilled side tortilla), smear hummus, Legumes/Rice/Eggplant then add Daiya, Seitan or Fishlessness, Daiya, Pico De Gallo
  • Place completed Quesadilla on non stick surface and cook readily. you could even build the Ⓥuesadilla on your non stick pan. I did cover with a lid to help melt the Daiya. I cut with my sharp ass chef knife into four.


DO NOT CUT YOURSELF ON ACCIDENT


Also, hopefully not in person, planned. (I became a little tipsy last night and again couldn’t finish a blog)


Last year I bought a low end FatBike. It was a Corsa Mammoth. I bought it for like $650. I basically rode it into the ground. It’s existence made it almost 1,000 km. And now I plan on either eventually fixing that FatBike up and buying a new one or selling it for cheap, but still buying a new one. And I think I’m gonna go with a Charge Cooker (pronounced Koker). I just need to get some cash together. A FatBike brings permit-smiles and winter cycling easier.


Happy weekend! Be safe! Have fun!

Vegan Tacoisms

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
I am absolutely in love with this trifecta of Tofu, Soyrizo and Tempeh. I decided to mad scientist together Taco.

  
Password is Taco.

  
Perhaps it won’t be as entertaining as Frankenstein to most or as sweet as Willy Wonka’s Chocalote Factory, but Gene, it’s wild and almost Wilder..

  
If there is a such thing as a past life or multi universe, I’d be a Mexican culinary artist with a big mustache, painting edible masterpieces on people’s plates. Garnishing with cilantro, of course.

I have decided to not do any fantasy football this year, but to do a The League marathon instead. And have THAT being my fantasy football. If you ever get a chance, FIND and WATCH Safety Not Guranteed (2012). It is an outstanding flick starring Mark Dupless and Aubrey Plaza and also produced by Mark and his brother Jay.

Safety Not Guaranteed

Has anyone seen these Chicago Cubs lately? Has anyone ever seen the Cubs dominate and click with chemistry like this club?

   
 I have made tacos in the past with store bought hard shell tortillas and they never fulfilled what I needed. I saw somewhere someone making hard shell from soft tortillas and I had to try it. I made two before even making any tacos. I also just ate them as is and they were delicious. I wanted them to open bigger so i cranked the heat and made the mistake of making four.

  
They cooked and hardened, but were basically closed. I draped all of these tortilla attempts over an oven rack and baked until golden brown.

  
I brainstormed for a minute and concluded that they need to open wider and so I made four draped over two oven rack grills. The results gave me a permi-smile.

  
I made tacos with hash browns that I had leftover uncooked from a past concoction. I also made a taco salad with the untacoable shells.

  
Ⓥegan Trifecta Taco w/ HashBrowns ingredients:

  

 HashBrowns ingredients:

  • Potato, hash brown style (homemade or store bought)
  • Onion, diced
  • Carrot, sliced halfly
  • Celery, sliced
  • Lentils/SplitPeas/BrownRice, cooked at once
  • Broth/BalsamicVinegar
  • ChipotleP/OnionP/GarlicP/SeaSalt/Pepper
  • Corn/BlackeyedPeas, canned
  • Cilantro, fresh and chopped
  • Oil

I did not have any fresh garlic or I would’ve used it.

  • Cook Rice/Lentils/SplitPeas in water seasoned with Sugar/SeaSalt/OnionP/GarlicP/Pepper, drain
  • Sauté Onion, Carrot and Celery in oil for a few minutes before adding Hash Browns and BalsamicVinegar
  • Season and add broth, simmer for a good 20 minutes
  • I did broil to add a little color.

  

    Ⓥegan Trifecta ingredients:

    • Soyrizo
    • Tempeh, diced
    • Tofu, crumbled
    • Lentils/SplitPeas/BrownRice, cooked
    • Corn/BlackeyedPeas, canned
    • Onion, diced
    • Celery, diced
    • Broth/Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/Honey
    • CajunSeasoning/Cayenne/ChiliP/Oregano/NutritionalYeast/Cumin/Paprika
    • Oil
    • Cilantro, fresh and chopped

    Break Dances:

    • Sauté Onion and Celery in oil before adding Tempeh and Soyrizo. Sauté for 7 minutes and add Sriracha/Balsamic and seasonings get hot add Broth, Tofu and Honey stir and cover simmering for 12-15 minutes.

    Other ingredients:

    • Tortilla, hardened by baking
    • Lettuce, Iceberg and chopped
    • Tomato, diced
    • Onion, diced
    • Cilantro, fresh and chopped
    • Vegenaise, mmmm

      

      Taco Construction:

      • When everything is prepared awaiting your constructing, life is good.
      • Construct how you think is best!
      • Same with the Taco Salad!
      • Enjoy and have a good week! Cheers 🙂

        

        Mexican Breakfast Ⓥiesta

        Posted on by jeffreylatty

        I’m going to attempt to blog this blog in one day, today! Do you think that I can do it!?


         It’s Friday and it’s going on 0830. It is also September 4th, 2015, incase you didn’t know.


        I took this whole week off of work. I needed to get some things done and I wanted to do some serious riding. I requested these days off in early August when I thought for sure it would be a nice low 20 C degree days, but good ol’ Illinois has been in the 30s C ALL WEEK. Which in our ridiculous style of USA measurements, it has been in the 90s F ALL WEEK. There, in my mind, is nothing more simplistic than zero degrees being freezing.


        I might be one of the few Americans who rides kilometers and gets their weather in Celsius. Celsiuses? Celsius’s? Celsius’? Google has helped me vastly in the transition. Anyways, I haven’t been getting a lot done and it’s a little too hot for massive riding, so I’ve been cooking more this week. I’ve been enjoying good beers too 😉


        I did ride a Strava Gran Fondo on Tuesday with temps in the 30s. I ran into a few really awesome roads, being exactly what I needed. It was a very mixed surface ride. The ride diversing from Road, soft gravel, hard ocean-like gravel, dirt, loose dirt, grass into small rocks. Truly being a large variety of riding surfaces.


          
        I’m doing an organized metric century in a few weeks. It’s my very first organized ride and I’m actually somewhat training for it. I will never be a just road cyclist. Where is the fun?


          
        I do have 200+ kms already for the month of September, so I’ve been riding a decent amount.


          
        Gran Fondo #ProveIt Strava 

         I started this Breakfast around 9:45 and went about it at a casual pace. And eating the breakfast for lunch around noon was still amazing and well worth it! And for the first time ever, I had a Ⓥegan Trifecta of Tofu, Tempeh and Soyrizo.


        Mexican Breakfast Ⓥiesta ingredients:

        • Lentils, cooked
        • Split peas, cooked
        • Brown (REAL) Rice, not instant-cooked
        • Corn Kernels, canned or frozen-slightly warmed (especially if frozen)
        • Blackeyed Peas, canned or dry-cooked
        • Celery, dicely sliced
        • Onion, julienne sliced
        • Habanero, diced
        • Garlic, diced
        • Tomato, diced
        • Carrot, sliced
        • Cilantro, chopped
        • Kale, I used NONGMO frozen 🙂
        • Potatoes, stringy hash brown-style (I used already prepared frozen)
        • Lime, just the juiciness
        • Tofu, strained
        • Soyrizo
        • Tempeh, sliced & grilled
        • DAIYA, mmmmm
        • Rye Bread, Grilled and cut at a 45 degree angle 30 or 60 degree cuts are acceptable
        • SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar/OnionP/GarlicP/BayLeaves
        • BalsamicVinegar/Honey/VeggieBroth/Oil

          

         The Decent with a Tailwind:

        • I first prepared the Lentils, Split Peas and Rice. I cooked them together for around 25 minutes and seasoned with Sugar, Sea Salt, Pepper, Onion and Garlic Powder and a couple of Bay Leaves. I added the canned Corn and Blackeyed Peas for a few minutes before straining and setting aside. REMOVING BAY LEAVES. I’ll never forget that nightmare that I had of eating Bay Leaves…
        • I used a machine to dice the Garlic and Habanero together. Habanero on the hands is asking for discomforts…
        • Sautéed the Garlic and Habanero in Oil before adding Celery, Onion, Carrot and then covering sautéing for a few minutes.
        • Saute Soyrizo with everything. Add Lime Juice, SeaSalt/Pepper & Balsamic Vinegar and stir.
        • Add Beans/Rice/Corn, HashBrowns, Kale, Tofu, Cilantro, Tomato, Honey and cover and simmer for a good 15-20 minutes
        • Add VeggieBroth (not a lot, but a decent amount), stir and Add Daiya on top. I baked in pan for 10-15 before Broiling
        • Garnish with Tempeh and Toast, and Cilantro (if you live life on the EDGE)

        I made enough to eat a heaping serving for lunch and for dinner. Simply, yet complex, BUT Ⓥegan greatness all the same. Food and Cooking is fun and should never be taken seriously unless it is your job. Recreational Cheffing is a hobby that everyone should partake and enjoy. Whatever your level of cooking, it’s fun, others enjoy, it’s HEALTHIER and it provides excellent photo criteria. And when you throw in a good Beer or glass of Wine and progressively make it an art, it’s a Lifestyle. A FEEL-GOOD lifestyle.


         Just be careful when using Hot Peppers and Drink responsibly. It is easy to get carried away with confidence while chopping Romain after one too many Beers. Still better me than any animal:)


        Happy Friday!

        Comeback Kid

        Vegan Italian “beef”

        Posted on by jeffreylatty

        VeggHead BeerCyclist       05.02

        Began:    2211  Finished:   0943

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        ScrewUp:     Y    Edited:    Y
        Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, Netflix, wellness, lifestyle, music, photos, pics
        Title: Vegan Italian “Beef”
        Daily Ride:  Yes
          
        I recently had a Charles Bukowski binge and needed a mandatory detox. The detox excluded everything but water, food and vitamins. I didn’t have booze for 5 days, energy/caffeine for 3 days and Netflix is still going strong at like 12 days. 
          
        The Netflix breakup, as I do date Netflix and f*%hdhdhdjdjjdjd Netflix up the a*+=]hdhdjjdd, was due to (sorry) an inactive debit card that the bank told me to cancel because of a threat. I just didn’t update my Netflix account. And have since been watching free streaming on Crackle. Crackle bl^#*hdhdjd me good, but then there are those damn commercials…. Apologies for being a dirty person tonight, but this is the only way to describe my relationships with streaming. I am drinking barleywine! I need another beer. Barleywine makes me feel FINE. 
          
        I went for a ride to end up at my sisters for my seven year old nephews birthday party tonight. I had a water malfunction. I went to a bar with $3 and change and drank them out of water. I climbed 338 m in 58 km. I feel extremely happy about that. I had my Garmin on maps the entire time. And I just RODE. It is the greatest feeling. 
          
        Live free, ride a bicycle. 
        I need another beer. 
        I need more THRICE. 
        I made this vegan dish awesomely it just needs to be perfected. 
           

         

        Seitan ingredients: 
        -Corn Meal
        -Tomato Sauce
        -Vital Wheat Gluten
        -Herbs/SeaSalt/Pepper
        -BROTH
        -Non Dairy Cheese Cloth 
        -Fennel Seeds
        (Continued the next morning)
        Mix ingredients and wrap in cheese cloth and place in pan w/ Broth and seasonings and bake for two hours turning Seitan over after 60 minutes. And cool.
        I haven’t perfected slicing the Seitan for Italian “beef” yet, but slice it how ya want.
           

         

        Au Jus ingredients:
        -Broth
        -Brown Mustard
        -Crushed Red Peppers
        -Garlic cloves
        -Peppercorn
        -Sugar
        -SeaSalt/Pepper
        I sliced Red and Green Bell Peppers and an Onion and put into Au Jus with sliced Seitan and marinated for a bit.
          
        I used French Bread and toasted in oven before topping with Seitan, Peppers and “Cheese”.
           

         

        I also used Hot Goardiniera for one sandwich. I also pan fried Beefsteak Tomatoes. 
          
        The Barleywine that I enjoyed last night was a 2013 Kosmyk Charlie’s Catastrophe Ale from Central Waters Brewing Company out of Amherst, Wisconsin. It aged very well. And I drank it quickly. 
        The band Thrice is a post-rock, alternative and slightly emo/screamo (earlier years) band. I first and only, actually, saw them in Chicago for my 21st birthday. They were very good live and have put together great music from 1999-2012 according to Wikipedia. And are supposedly playing some shows this year? 
          
        Anyways, I hope I’ve inspired someone to cook, jam out to Thrice or go ride a bike. Take pics and have fun!