I Can't Follow Recipes: Vegan, Not-vegan Butternut Squash Enchiladas

For some random reason, I decided to abandon meat this week.  Well, not entirely, I did have two pieces of general Tso's chicken that Matt gave because I was really craving protein.  Or meat.  But that's just me trying to  listen to my body and what it wants.

However, this recipe I found on the internet when looking for things to do with squash and pumpkins.  And oh man, y'all are in for a treat.  Why can't I follow recipes?  I did not feel like buying canned tomatoes pumpkin if I had most of a butternut squash lying around.  Since it wasn't enough for the recipe, I also added a sweet potato.

The colors go, it's okay.

The rest of the filling, I kept the same. Wait, that's a lie.  I have a pecan allergy, so I added almonds because I think those are similar in texture.  I also don't have spinach in the house right now, so I skipped those.

Almonds are the best

Sixteen tortillas went into this meal.  Six were Trader Jose's and ten were La Banderita.  The La Banderita tortillas help up a lot better after filling and wrapping, so I might exclusively buy those from now on.  Layering was creative because those 16 did not neatly fit in a row.

GUESS WHICH ONES ARE LA BANDERITA

Since I also could not come up with a pounds of salsa verde, I mixed it with some hot goya salsa to make the 16-ounces of salsa.  It tasted so good though, highly recommended.  Before popping these into the oven, I sprinkled some non-vegan shredded cheddar.  Hence the non-vegan part of the meal, but honestly, those could have been omitted all together.

Look at my food, my food is amazing.

Put a dollop of sour cream.

And now for the outfit.  I always associate vegans with edgy-dressed girls who may or may not like other girls, I tried to emulate that look with some cargo pants and combat boots.  I thought this look was awesome.  Except for the people who asked about my cleavage.  Screw you guys.

Shirt (American Eagle), red shirt (Abercrombie), pants (uniqlo), and boots (doc marten's)

On Sunday, I might not get around to blogging because I'll be out of town (Ithaca-town), but regardless, the entry will be about navigating cuisines that are inherently not gluten-free (I'll be at a Ukrainian restaurant for brunch and those meals are typically sandwich and flour-heavy).

Keep it yummy,
Jo

I Can't Follow Recipes: Turkey, Quinoa, and Green Snap Pea Salad

Before I left to come back to campus, my parents decided to roast a turkey. The turkey was delicious but there were more leftovers than two people (my parents) could eat before it goes bad, so they gave me some.  It made eating the actual day I got back a whole lot easier, but then for dinner, I wanted to be creative, but did not have the energy to follow the exact recipe.  So I heavily modified the Chicken Quinoa Salad from Jane Hornby's Fresh and Easy book.

Quinoa, vegetable broth, frozen snap peas, an onion, turkey (in aluminum foil), agave nectar, lime juice, thyme, garlic paste, salt.

I  love cooking quinoa in vegetable broth.  I, for some reason, prefer the taste of vegetable broth, mostly because it isn't as salty to me.  But first, we had to cook some onions and garlic for the most aromatic of flavors.

Onions caramelizing (by onions, I mean, half an onion)

Cooking quinoa in vegetable broth.

My dressing before mixing: olive oil, lime juice, agave nectar.   YUM.

I'm starting to learn that I am becoming a big fan of self-made, oil-based dressing for salads and the such.  It's lighter, full of omega-3's, and does not take away from the dish itself.  Most of the reason why I have an aversion to Chicken Caesar salad now is how gross the dressing tastes to me.

Threw in some snap peas.

A dish, to me, always has to include some kind of vegetable.  I don't know how I made it through my childhood eating not too many vegetables.  Snap peas live up to their name by giving a nice change in texture to the grainy quinoa and soft onions.

"I've watched enough Food Network to know what good plating is" - Matt

I mixed the dressing and then added it to my dish.  I then elegantly layered the turkey on top of it, which soon turned into a mash-up of all components that got ferried into mouth with a fork.  It was so delicious though, I can't even begin.  Not reheating the turkey added a great textural difference, though I'm sure it tastes awesome with some freshly roasted meat.

Onto the fashion.  It was around 0 degrees F at the time this meal was being made.  And the entire week following.  I'm so happy I got a bunch of sweaters for Christmas and located my fingerless gloves that turn into mittens that keep my thumbs warm.  I went with this sweater to mimic the brightness of the snap peas and the brass tones in the necklace match the quinoa.  I wore thigh-high socks under my pants and combat boots make pretty awesome snow shoes.

Sweater (thrifted), pants (BDG), boots (Doc Marten's), gloves (urban outfitters), and necklace (bought at BronyCon) 

I like working with leftovers.  It makes the most of your food and prevents over-eating, which is a win-win.

Keep it yummy,
Jo