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I went to a buffet at a friends right after she returned from her first visit to Rancho La Puerta spa, right over the border from San Diego, California, in Baja, Mexico. The spa, opened in the 1940s, was run according to the founder's research into the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which focuses on man's good deeds. It is reputed to be almost as old as Shiva Tantra and had its greatest following in Persia, right next door to Ancient India. Ranch La Puerta is known for their organic vegetarian food prepared from their own gardens and earthy home baked whole wheat bread in an outdoor oven. There are all sorts of old photos of famous health conscious movie stars (since it is so close to Hollywood), down to detox, shoveling the risen rounds of dough loaves into the wood fire oven. My firend served these quesadillas cut into quarters on a small platter. They looked so humble, so who could have known how tasty. She had brought the recipe back from La Puerta and I got her to recite the directions as I was greedily eating one after another. Good thing I did, for not long ago I reminded her about the recipe and she had never written down the proportions and hence, forgot.

Makes 4 servings, 2 quesadillas per person

5 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium zucchini, diced

1 plum tomato, seeded and diced

1 1/2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari

1 teaspoon dried crumbled oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

12-ounces firm tofu, drained and diced

2 cups (8-ounces) shredded part-skim or whole milk mozzarella cheese

8 fresh whole wheat tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400º. Line a large baking sheet with foil. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, tomato, soy sauce, herb, and few grinds of pepper. Cook 5 minutes to soften and brown slightly, stirring a few times. Add the tofu; gently stir to combine and warm. Remove pan from the heat.

Lay out the tortillas on the work surface and divide the filling equally between them, spreading in an even layer on the lower half of the tortilla. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the vegetable-tofu mixture and fold over to make a half-moon shape. Place on the baking sheet. Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl and lightly brush both sides of the quesadillas with it. Place in the oven and bake until hot, crisped, and cheese is melted, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately, 2 quesadilla halfmoons for each persons, and cut into halves or thirds, if desired.