Vegetable Love

[[The Back Story]]

When I saw Fat Free Vegan's post about a V-day competition to create a vegan, relatively low-fat, V-day inspired recipe, I almost ignored it. I hate low fat food, and I figured everyone would make their veggies into heart shaped creations. Which is ok, but I don't think I could make something terribly inspired that way.

But I sort of kept the idea in the back of my mind to keep my eye out for inspiration. In a starbucks brainstorm with the hubby, we first came up with hot sex chimichangas. I was stoked to use a deep fryer. Then, I remembered that minor detail about fat, and figured that was the wrong way to go. [[They would have been so good, though!]] So, we decided to create some messy, hot sex enchiladas. They're baked, we can control oil amounts, and they're hot! This was a very time intensive test-kitchen, with many parts-- but it was a learning experience.

[[Intro to Jack Fruit]]

So-- here's the strange, hard to find, but totally worth it part, jack fruit. It's this funny, pineapple looking fruity, chunky stuff. It doesn't taste sweet though, or much like anything really, and and it falls apart like pulled-pork. It's a lot like tofu, in that it takes on all the flavors you marinade and season it with. And the best part-- it's 30 calories a serving and zero grams of fat! Andy had some pulled-pork inspired jack fruit sandwich on his cross country travels and recreated it a few months ago-- and it was totally delicious. I believe Vegan dad and a few others did a jack fruit sandwich as well.

You have to special order it on online [[go here]], and it's cheap, unless you have some super duper, awesome Thai or other asian market where you're from that provides such obscurities like jack fruit-- but for the rest of us, you order it online and wait 3-5 business days. **What's super important is that you get young green jack fruit in water, any other kind will not work.


You want to drain and rinse it in the sink, and then once your sauce is prepped, just plop it in there and slow cook it for 30-45 minutes. Also, once you've cooked them, avoid the pitted parts that don't pull, those don't taste as good-- they have a strong jack fruit flavor.

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[[Messy, Hot (Sex) Jack Fruit Enchiladas --The Recipe]]

Like most good things in life, these are messy, kind of spicy, and really delicious. First, I'll post recipes for the various components, and then I'll give you an assembly method you could use, or could not-- do whatever you want with it. The part I care about is the delicious jack fruit.



Adobo Marinated Jack Fruit

* one orange
* one lime
* one can chipotle chilies
* 1.5 tsp. garlic
* 2 tsp. cumin seed
* 1 tsp. black pepper
* a few dashes of salt
* ¼ cup red wine vinegar
* one can tomato sauce
* two cans of young green jack fruit, in water [[this is SUPER important!]]

* Drain two cans of jack fruit and rinse.
* Blend together all ingredients, keeping chilies whole (I ended up removing a bunch of the chilies because the sauce was so hot, so taste test it, see if it’s manageable, the spiciness cooks out a lot, but not completely). Heat sauce over medium heat, add jack fruit and completely coat them in the marinade. Let them cook for 12-15 minutes covered. Uncover them, and try jabbing at it with your spatula to see if they come apart. They should start to pull apart like shredded beef or like a splintering piece of wood. If not, cook a little longer and keep checking on them. Once they pull apart, cook for 10 more minutes, taste test them to see if they’re tender, then remove them from heat and set aside. If you overcook them, add a little oil or water-- mine got a little dry.
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Enchilada Sauce

* ½ cup No-chicken broth
* One can of tomato sauce
* 3 Tbs. of tomato paste
* Olive oil
* 1.5 tsp. garlic
* ½ an onion
* 3-5 Tbs. Chili powder
* 3-5 Tbs. Ground Cumin
* Some dried parsley
* Black pepper
* Salt

* Sautee garlic and onions in some EVO. Add tomato sauce, paste, and no-chicken broth. Add spices, and heat for a few minutes. Set aside.
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Smokey Cheddar Cheeze Sauce

This is an Isa Recipe that I'm re-posting for you-- I added some liquid smoke to it to give it a smoky cheddar flavor.

* 2 cups vegetable broth
* ¼ cup AP flour
* 1 table spoon EVO
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* Pinch tried thyme
* Fresh ground black pepper
* 1/3 tsp. turmeric
* ¼ tsp. salt
* ¾ cup nutritional yeaste
* 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
* 1 tsp. yellow mustard
* Liquid Smoke



*Combine broth and flour until fully dissolved. Heat oil and garlic. Don’t burn garlic. Add thyme salt, and pepper. Cook 15 seconds. Add broth mixture, turmeric, and nutritional yeast. Stir constantly. Allow to thicken, raising heat. Add lemon and yellow mustard.
* For a smokey flavor, add a few dashes of liquid smoke, until you reach your desired smokiness. Set aside.

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[[Assembly Method]]

To make them super delicious, I fire roasted some red peppers [[which was really cool to watch]]. It's winter, and I have a gas stove, so I used my broiler-- 4-5 minutes on each side. Or, you can just buy a can. I also sauteed some spinach in lots of red pepper and cooked a can of vegetarian, fat free refried beans.



To assemble, I spray-greased a pan, and fried some whole wheat tortillas on each side. Added a little beans, lots of jack fruit, some peppers and spinach, and touch of cheesy sauce, rolled them up and made about 6. Then, I smothered them all in the enchilada sauce with some left over cheezy sauce and baked at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. Take out, cool, and eat.



I know, I know-- they look like poop. But they're messy and sexy, and very delicious. Hence the name. Get it now? Plus, I was hoping the romantic candle would help spice up the romantic side of this messy concoction. I swear to you, it's really good.