Asheville, North Carolina

This year for our wedding anniversary, Michael and I went to Asheville, North Carolina.  Since my parents moved to North Carolina last September, Asheville is a lot closer than Charlottesville, the town we visited to celebrate our anniversary the past couple of years.

Our major excursion for this trip to Asheville was the town's biggest attraction:  the Biltmore Estate.  We assumed that Michael wouldn't be able to eat there, but we were happily surprised that he was able to have the iced tea and Cobb salad.  Hooray for Southern freshly-brewed iced tea!  For lunch the second day we were going to go to Standard Pizza Company, but unfortunately they were out of their gluten-free pizza dough.  We were disappointed, but since we were quite hungry, we decided to try out plan B:  Posana Cafe.  I'm so glad the pizza restaurant was closed because this place was excellent.  They even had a dairy-free chocolate dessert!  I'd like to go back to Asheville just so that I can go to the Posana Cafe again to check out their dinner options.

I took the above picture when we went out to dinner at the Fig Bistro.  It's hard for me to pass up a restaurant that has duck breast.  This one came with raspberry sauce, wilted greens, and farro.  Wow.  Maybe someday I'll learn how to cook seared duck breast, but in the mean time I can think about going back to this restaurant and having it there again.

Tacos and Quesadillas

Michael and I both like Mexican food, but our bodies can't handle traditional Mexican food found at a restaurant.  (He can't eat the wheat and corn, and I can't eat the cheese.)  So if we want to eat Mexican, we have to do it at home.  Fortunately, about a year or so ago Trader Joe's came out with brown rice tortillas.  Now we can have soft tacos or quesadillas whenever we want.  I usually make tacos first and then freeze the leftover tortillas so that I can make quesadillas on a different night.

The other issue with making tacos or quesadillas is that most all taco seasoning packets contain wheat, corn, or dairy.  After some tweaking, I've come up with a homemade taco seasoning mix that we think tastes just as good as the packets in the store.  I also have included below my recipe for making refried beans from scratch (well, sort of from scratch since I start with a can of pinto beans).  There are a couple of brands of organic refried beans that are gluten-free and corn-free, but it's a lot cheaper to buy a can of organic pinto beans and make the refried beans myself.  And it only takes a few minutes.  Believe it or not, tacos and quesadillas are among my easy meals, the ones I make when I don't feel like cooking but still have to make something to feed my family.  And since they are two of Michael's favorites, he doesn't mind at all.

Tacos and Quesadillas

makes 4 tacos or 2 large quesadillas (to serve 4 adults)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 3 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 4 large brown rice tortillas (I get ours at Trader Joe's)
• iceberg lettuce
• Green Mountain Gringo salsa, medium (or another salsa that contains cider vinegar and no distilled white vinegar or corn products).
• Lindsay Naturals sliced black olives
• extra-sharp aged Cheddar cheese, grated at home (not pre-grated in a bag)
• sour cream.  Do not use low fat sour cream.  I recommend Daisy sour cream or another brand that does not contain dextrose or other corn products.
• 15-ounce can of organic pinto beans.  Or if you want to use a can of refried beans, buy a brand like Amy's Organic traditional refried beans or Eden Organic refried beans that does not contain corn products and is labeled gluten-free.  

Instructions for Ground Taco Meat:
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add a little canola oil so that the ground beef won't stick to the pan as much.  Add the ground beef, break it up into pieces using the side of a spatula or spoon, and cook, stirring frequently, until all of the meat is browned. Drain off any excess grease. Then stir in the chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, oregano, black pepper, garlic pepper, cayenne pepper, and sea salt.  Stir for about 1 minute to coat the meat with the spices.  Add 1/4 cup of water, cover the pan, and simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

Ingredients for Refried Beans:

• 1 15 oz. can of organic pinto beans (pinto beans, water, and salt)
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil (or bacon grease if you happen to have that on hand)
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika 
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions for Refried Beans:

Heat the canola oil in a medium pan.  Rinse the beans thoroughly under cold water.  Then add the beans to the pan and stir until hot.  Add the spices and stir.  Add the water, remove from heat, and mash the beans with a potato masher until they are the desired consistency.

Instructions for Tacos:

Serve the taco meat on brown rice tortillas.  To warm the tortillas, place a damp paper towel on a dinner plate.  Place one tortilla on the paper towel. Then place another damp paper towel on top of the tortilla.  Repeat this process for as many tortillas as you need, making sure that a damp paper towel is on the very top.  Microwave the tortillas on the plate for about 30 seconds, or until they are quite warm.  Then place a tortilla on each person's plate so that they can fill them with the taco meat, refried beans, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, sliced olives, and grated Cheddar cheese.

Instructions for Quesadillas:
(These instructions are for making 1 quesadilla, which will serve 2 adults.  If you want to make 2 quesadillas, there will still be plenty of room for both quesadillas on the same baking sheet.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a tortilla with canola oil and place the tortilla greased-side down onto a baking sheet.  Spread half of the warm refried beans onto the tortilla.  Sprinkle half of the cooked ground beef mixture (1/2 lb.) on top of the refried beans.  Sprinkle on sliced olives and grated Cheddar cheese, if you prefer.  Place the second tortilla on top.  Lightly grease the top of the second tortilla with canola oil.  Place the baking sheet on the lower-middle oven rack and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the top is lightly browned.  Serve with shredded iceberg lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.