Rocks. Chick'n. Quorn....

This weekend, we were supposed to be in southern Illinois. We were supposed to be camping in the rugged Trail of Tears State Forest, at the southern end of the Ozarks. We were supposed to be eating eggs cooked in a cast iron skillet over a camp stove. We were supposed to go without a shower for three days and smell like nature. However:

The forecast was for rain...and lots of it. As far as I know, it is STILL raining as I write this Sunday evening. As you might have guessed, we ended up staying in Chicago.

Not that it was so bad....but yesterday we tried to console ourselves. We could have been hiking through beautiful terrain and drinking late night wine in the forest. Instead, we found ourselves measuring concrete once again with our hiking shoes as we passed Starbucks. Ugh. And we made up a ridiculous song about rocks, chick'n, and quorn. Every verse was the same....

A bright little shiny part of our weekend (literally) is our new tabletop gas grill. This means that grilling on our super windy deck is now possible! Our beloved charcoal grill just wasn't going to cut it anymore for a time-efficient evening meal. Tonight it is perfectly cool outside and we are both happily remembering that we have tomorrow off. We're grilling quesadillas and inhaling guacamole.

Black Bean Quesadillas
1 15-oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 bell pepper (red or orange), chopped finely
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
1-2 c shredded cheese (we used pepper jack)
5-6 12" flour tortillas
vegetable oil (for grilling)
Combine ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Season with salt & pepper.
To make quesadillas, brush one size of tortilla with vegetable oil. Turn over, and spread a layer of filling on one half. Fold in half, and place on a hot grill. Grill 1-2 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. We usually cut each of these into 3 wedges for easier eating.

Guacamole
2 avocados
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lime
1 T chopped red onion
1 tsp sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 Roma tomato, chopped finely
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
Mix all ingredients together, and keep the avocado pits in the guacamole to maintain that beautiful green color. Chill (if you can wait) and serve.

After tonight's meal, we came to the conclusion that this may just be the first of many hot weather staples.