vegan tortas and black bean enchiladas

for some reason i have a vivid memory of this woman saying, gardenburgers -- yeah, that's what i eat for dinner when my husband is out of town. as if the frozen patties are not real food, just something to indulge in when you're all alone and no one's watching. so after kyle left for CO, i bought some vegan gardenburgers, got home and had the terrible realization that i didn't have any buns, or any bread at all. vegan lunchbox (around the world) to the rescue! i made a batch of jennifer's burger buns and used them for burgers, vBLTs, and these yummy tortas.

vegan tortas

• ripe avocado
• toasted hamburger buns or fresh bolillo bread
• medium-hot pepper (or hot sauce)
  
• veganaise
• salt
• black beans
  
• cilantro

assembly is crucial here. spread veganaise on one side, smoosh the avocados on top, and sprinkle with salt. the other side gets mashed-up black beans and chopped serrano pepper. top with cilantro sprigs and the avocado side and enjoy. make two because one is never enough.

the next night i really wasn't in the mood to cook but i needed to fulfill my enchilada craving. so i dragged out the half-used can of black beans and threw together a small but delicious batch of enchiladas.

black bean enchiladas

• 1 can black beans
• 2-3 tsp. adobo sauce, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• small bunch of chard or kale
• half a red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• salt
  
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 can green (tomatillo) enchilada sauce
• crumbly cheese (optional)
  
• cilantro
  

preheat oven to 350 degrees. simmer the beans with adobo, salt, and cumin. meanwhile, saute the chard in olive oil with red onions and garlic. microwave the tortillas in a damp paper towel. then pour half of the enchilada sauce into some kind of baking dish. assemble enchiladas using two small corn tortillas for each enchilada. spread beans and chard mix on tortillas and roll into enchilada. this double-tortilla method produces 6 enchiladas. cover with remaining sauce and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. after removing from the oven, garnish with onion slices, cilantro, and crumbly cheese.

the cheese i used was a goat feta and it was perfect. we had deliberately stocked up everything BUT meltable cheese, which in retrospect seems like a brilliant decision. it's like replacing milk chocolate with dark chocolate bars that are meant to be savored one small square at a time.