Collard Wraps

I've been on a bit of a greens kick ever since visiting my mom a couple of weeks ago. Mustard greens are common vegetable side in her house and she's even growing them in her garden this year! (Along with a few other select spices and squash upon my request.) It's great to have parents who garden when you live in an apartment. I got this recipe from Fat Free Vegan. It was simple, delicious, high in protein, and pretty healthy. That is what we call a quadruple whammy. A delicious quadruple whammy. It only took about an hour to prepare and and cook if you have your beans and brown rice prepared. The recipe is supposed to yield 12 wraps, but I got an awful bunch of collards and 3 were damaged to the point that they could not hold the rice and bean filling. Hopefully now that Spring is picking up, you'll have better luck finding some suitable greens.

P.S. Susan moved her site, so everyone should be sure to keep up with the new one!

Bean Burritos with Spanish Rice

Hai frandz. Long time no post. I haven't been doing a lot of cooking lately mainly due to the fact that I have been in the process of moving/settling into a new apartment. On with the fewdz.

I developed a love/hate relationship with these burritos. I loved them because they were forking delicious and simple to make. I hated them because I stuffed my face so hard that it made drinking later that night miserable and damn near impossible. :(

These burritos were completely improvised which means the measurements aren't exact, but rough estimates. I initially intended on making black bean burritos, but after realizing I had failed to buy a can of black beans during my most recent Kroger excursion, I resorted to that pound of pintos I had sitting in the back of my cabinet. Still. So. Good.

Bean Burritos with Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb pinto beans
6 cups water (for hydrating beans)
1 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbs paprika, cayenne, ground cumin
tortillas of your choosing
salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste

If you are planning on making these burritos, I recommend preparing beans the night before. In a medium saucepan, boil the water and add the beans. Let boil uncovered for about 30 minutes. Add garlic and spices. Reduce heat and cover. Let beans cook for another hour. I prefer to let them sit over night in the refrigerator so they build up the right consistency. After they have sat, add the bell pepper. What you do next with them is entirely your choosing. You can either mash them with a potato masher for refried beans or you can add about another 1/2 cup water and reheat them on the stove top.

For the rice:

Ingredients:
2 cups basmati rice
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 tsp turmeric, or a thread of saffron if you're fancy like that
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin, plus more for the rice
black pepper to taste

Prepare basmati rice as directed on packaging, (usually 4 cups of water to 2 cups of rice with 1-2 tbs of Earth Balance, plus 1 tsp cumin.) After you uncover the rice when it is nice and fluffy, turn of heat but leave saucepan on burner. Add spices first because the tomato paste makes it more difficult to work with and incorporate the spices well. Enjoy!