Whole Grain Veggie Quesadillas



in between Green Valley and Big Bear

       Today was the prefect overcast, thunder storms looming on the horizon kind of day to bust out a hard core workout. I can say that after a week of, well, sitting on my ass, sipping white wine.

at Big Bear

   It might make me sound lazy, but I hurt my knee last week over doing it with the P90X most likely. I have been doing Cardio X hardcore, so many lunges and Plyometrics. My thirty one year old knees had enough. And running up to four miles a day doesn’t help the situation. I need to make my way down to Clarks Nutrition to stock up on supplements. I’ve heard bee pollen and amino acids can really help maintain strength and endurance during a work out. I think I will be adding bee pollen to my granola bars, recipe to come soon.

    So I spent this ass bust’in morning hiking my way through a pine forest with Alicia, watching the thunder heads brewing on the horizon near Green Valley Lake. As we hiked the dirt road that connects Green Valley Lake to Big Bear, we didn’t see a single car…. That’s because unlike last time I blazed down this road in a four wheel drive Bronco eight years ago, the road was recently closed to car traffic. A wildfire raced through here a few years ago, and forest service officials are still taking out the damaged trees.
    The forest is starting to grow back a little bit, and even though we did this hike in early September there were a few seasonal streams and some wildflowers growing along the road. We hiked about six miles total and by the time I returned home I was absolutely starving.  I quickly whipped up a batch of veggie Quesadillas

Jason’s Veggie Quesadillas

whole grain tortillas
1 egg plant
1 heirloom tomato
1/4 cup onion
1 jalapeno
8 crimini mushrooms
coconut oil
feta cheese

Slice the eggplant and cover the slices in a generous helping of salt. Let sit half an hour. In a sauce pan cook the diced mushrooms in the coconut oil. Add the eggplant, now diced also. Let cook for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes, jalapenos and onions. Let cook a few minutes and layer in between the tortillas, putting feta on top of the veggies. With a pastry brush, brush the tops of the  quesadillas lightly with coconut oil. Serve with hummus

Mountain Hummus

1 head garlic, roasted
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup tahini
juice of 1-2 limes to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
smoked chili powder
pine nuts

Put the beans, garlic, tahini and lemon in a food processor, as it mixes, add in the olive oil. When it is smooth put in a bowl, sprinkle cayenne and pine nuts on top.

You can also make other variations, use different types of chili’s, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes or olives