Burritos with Avocado Crema

Here is an awesome recipe you should customize and make. I like to pop up here every once in while and put a recipe up. We have made this about 3 times. It's really good. I got fancy last night and made an avocado cream sauce which was finger-licking and plate-licking good.

I make a version of dry-baked burritos that use 10" tortillas that are stuffed with pinto beans, onions, garlic, potatoes, and 1 of the Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausages (or you could use Morningstar sausages). I've made this a few times and I never measure anything so here is an approximation. You can customize to whatever you have on hand.

Burritos with Avocado Crema
Yield: 4 servings

For burritos:
3/4 cup dry pinto beans, soaked for at least 4 hours, or substitute 1, 14 oz can of cooked pinto beans.
Olive oil
1/2 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 small waxy yellow or red potato
1 Mexican-Chipotle Field Roast sausage, crumbled
1.5 cups shredded cheese, like cheddar
8-10 10" tortillas

Avocado Crema
Yield 1 and 1/2 cups
Recipe adapted from the Hass Avocado Board here.

2 ripe avocados
1 lime
1/3 cup yogurt
some cream
water to thin
salt
Jalapeno, deveined and deseeded (optional)
Recipe follows in main directions

For garnishing finished burritos:
Thinly sliced lettuce, like Romaine
Chopped cilantro and spring onions

Directions:
1. Cook pinto beans and potato together in the pressure cooker. I use the smaller fry pan. Place soaked beans in cooker, and add enough water to the 1/2 indication level. Place whole, unpeeled potato on top of the beans. Cover, heat over high heat, and bring to high pressure. Cook 14 minutes on high pressure turning the heat down to maintain high pressure.

Since a potato has been added to the pan, watch the pressure cooker to avoid pressure falling once it reaches pressure.  Once time is up, use the natural release method to let cool. Once cooked and cooled, drain the pinto beans and peel the potato once cool enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 º F; Lightly grease a large baking tray that is 9 x 12".

2. In a wide and deep saute pan, heat up olive oil and saute the onion and garlic together. I usually wipe out the pressure cooker fry pan and use the same pan to avoid using too many pots. Add in the Field Roast sausage crumbles and then cube the potato and add it in. Taste for salt and add some if it needs it. Turn the heat off and stir everything together to combine it well.

3. Set out the tortillas and cheese on a plate. Taking 1 tortilla at a time, add 1-2 tablespoons of cheese and spoon about 1/4 cup or more of the bean mixture in the center of the tortilla. Take up the sides, and center it by pushing up then down. Fold the sides in from the middle and roll the burrito up tucking the sides inside so no filling spills out. Put seam side down in pan. Repeat with all burritos. Once done, set burritos in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes watching that the tops don't get too brown.

4. In a blender, add the flesh of the avocado, the juice of the lime, about 3 tablespoons of water, and the yogurt, and the jalapeno. Blend. If too thick,  thin with water and then add the cream. Adjust for salt and lime juice. You want it creamy but not too thin. Once done set aside.

5. Now to plate everything: Place 2 burritos on a plate and smother them with the avocado crema. Top with cilantro and spring onions and lettuce. Serve immediately.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some leftover burritos to devour. Happy Spring - almost Summer!

Pinto beans with green chilies

Last year I bought myself a pressure cooker. I use it all the time. I tell everyone about the glamorous lifestyle of cooks that own pressure cookers. I talk as if I'm an expert. Here's a list of why I love them:

• Pressure cookers (PCs) are fast. The cooking time for just about everything is reduced, sometimes by a third, and sometimes by half. 
• Beans cooked in a pressure cooker almost always taste better than any other method.
• I don't have to soak beans before cooking.
• Pressure cookers allow cooks to multitask seamlessly. 
• The new, or second generation, cookers don't have the loud hiss or the jiggle top pressure release. They are quiet.

Used daily they really do change the way you start to see ingredients and the time it takes to make things. The PC hasn't replaced everything in my kitchen, but it surely gets used at least 4-5 times per week.

Pinto beans cooked in a pressure cooker come out very creamy. This element of creaminess is great when paired with a little heat from the green chilies, and some acidity from fresh lime and cilantro. This is an excellent side dish, when paired with black bean veggie patties, or it can be served as a soup with some tortilla chips on the side. I won't judge.

Pinto beans with green chilies in 10 steps
Yield: serves 4 generous servings

Ingredients:
1 cup dry pinto beans, (see Step 1 of Directions below) 
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (see Step 3 of Directions below)
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a large or medium onion, diced
2 bay leaves
2 and 1/2 cups no-chicken or vegetable broth, or water
1, 4 oz can diced green chilies (such as La Victoria fire roasted diced green chilies)
1 tsp salt

For garnish:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
the juice of 1/2 of  lime

Directions:
Step 1: We are going to check out the awesomeness of the pressure cooker by preparing dried pinto beans but using the quick soak method of the cooker. Place 1 cup of dried pinto beans, 4 cups of water, and 1 tsp salt in the pressure cooker (OK to use the smaller fry pan with a 2.5 quart capacity). Close the lid and bring the contents to high pressure which is indicated by the second red ring. Cook for 2 minutes at high pressure, and then use the water release method to remove pressure. This means as soon as the time is over, place the cooker in the sink and run water down it's side to remove pressure and stop cooking. Remove the beans from the pressure cooker in a drainer, allow the water to drain away, and wipe out the cooker bottom. Proceed with the recipe. This is called quick soak. This can be done to any beans and then used in the recipe (This step replaces the usual soak and rest time for beans). *see my note below. 

Step 2: Heat the pressure cooker over medium heat (OK to use the smaller fry pan with a 2.5 quart capacity). 

Step 3: Add the whole coriander seeds and toast until fragrant about 5 minutes. Do not walk away because they go from toasted to burned very quickly. Remove the toasted coriander seeds to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.  

Step 4: Turn the heat on the burner to medium low. Add olive oil or butter to the PC. It will melt quickly since the pan will be hot. Add the onions right away and stir. Cook the onions until they are just translucent, about 5 minutes. 

Step 5: Add the bay leaves to the PC. Stir.

Step 6: Add the drained pinto beans to the PC. Stir. 

Step 7: Add the broth or water along with the diced chilies. Use water to get any residual chilies. Trust me, the flavor for this really is pulled together with the chilies. 

I did not forget the salt or spices - you add it at the end after the PC is done cooking! 

Step 8: Stir everything together, close the pressure cooker with it's lid, and bring to high pressure (the second red bar). Once the cooker reaches high pressure, cook 12 minutes. Once the timer goes off, turn off the heat, and move the PC to another burner. Use the natural release method; this is the method where the cooker sits and rests to come down to pressure naturally without doing anything to it.  

Step 9: Grind the coriander seeds and add the ground coriander to the cumin, set aside.

Step 10: When the cooker is ready, open up the lid, and taste for salt.  Add 1 teaspoon salt, the spices, and squeeze in the lime juice and cilantro. Give a quick stir and taste for salt. Remove the bay leaves. Serve with extra lime slices and cilantro to be passed at the table. 

*Note: You may omit Step 1 by using beans that have already been soaked and drained. 

Top Shelf Margs

Is there anyone else that gets super annoyed when ordering a margarita at an upscale dining restaurant and then served a super-sized syrupy drink made from lime juice concentrate? I'm less offended, and much less picky, when it involves patio sitting and nacho eating. However, a good margarita should have some bite from the tequila and only use freshly squeezed lime. 

So that covers at least two of the key ingredients: tequila and fresh lime juice. Many recipes feature triple sec or Cointreau (a fancier French triple sec), ice, and salt. I'm a bigger fan of Cointreau, as it lends a dry, just sweet enough finish, but I think any triple sec will do.  Salt or no salt? I prefer no salt, it is not bringing out any flavor essences, or adding depth. The addition of salt to the rim of a glass is often zealously overdone. On one too many occasions, I've scraped the salt off the rim of the glass to find it measuring out to about a teaspoon. Salt is good for a lot of things, but in my opinion, keep the salt out of these top shelf margs. 

I recently picked up a bottle of Don Julio Anejo, which is a quite good sipping tequila. Armed with my Williams and Sonoma Bar Guide book, a new Boston mixer, and the proper ingredients I have been attempting various versions of a classic margarita (more to come). My suggested pairing is for serving these margaritas whilst waiting around for the Tex-Mex chili gravy enchiladas (you're welcome, Sara Wobs). 

Margaritas

Adapted from Williams and Sonoma The Bar Guide

Yield: 1 drink, approx 3.5-4 oz

Ingredients:

2 fl oz tequila such as Don Julio Anejo

2-3 tbsp triple sec, such as Cointreau

freshly squeezed lime juice from about 1/2 a lime (depends on size)

ice

mint or basil for garnish along with a wedge of lime. 

Directions:

1. In a Boston mixer, or other cocktail mixer, mix all ingredients together except garnishes. When I did not have a mixer, I just used a Mason jar that I could shake the crap out of.

2. Shake back and forth until well mixed. Pour into a chilled glass, add a few ice cubes, and garnish with some lime slices, and mint or basil if you wish.

Side note: do you ever buy mint or basil from the market or grocery store to add to a few dishes, and then it gets piled under several other things, and it comes up later black and moldy? I often add them to drinks as a garnish. 

Rum Swizz

Yesterday, I was scanning my reader sipping on a huge glass of water chock full of crushed ice, when I came across David Lebovitz's ice post. His musings on expat life in Paris always draw me in, and his recipes are fantastic, but his post was hilarious to me because it was a post totally on the novelty of ice. The comments generated below his post show a fierce defense of ice all the time, or bewilderment. Ice, a problem, really? I had to appreciate the care and awareness in which he writes after acquiring an icemaker.

When abroad, ice was something to miss. There are few countries like the US that have such a married love affair with ice (and lots of it) + beverage (of your choice).  Ice, in cubed or crushed form, was one of those things that were annoying to miss because it's convenience and luxury were never noticed until the freezer revealed your stash as a dozen teaspoon sized cubes. Now, I appreciate how novel unlimited ice feels.

Which brings me to my next refreshing, porch-sitting (and in those cute shoezles pictured above), watch the sun go down, and feel the heat let up a bit cocktail: the rum swizzle. And make that with lots of ice.

Rum Swizzle
Yield: 1 drink poured into a Collins or pint glass. A Mason jar would showcase this drink nicely.
2 oz of dark rum
freshly squeezed juice of half a medium lime, plus a lime round for garnish (can sub in lemons)
1 tbsp Cointreau or triple sec
1/2 cup ginger beer or ginger ale

Fill a cocktail shaker 2/3 full of ice and pour the rum, lime juice, and Cointreau over the cubes. Shake together a few times. Pour this mixture into a glass, filled to the brim with ice cubes. Top with a lime slice, ginger ale, and give it a quick stir with a swizzle or straw. Serve immediately.

p.s. I have my eye on these ice cream recipes. Shoezles. What?! It rhymes with noodles.

Cherry Limeade

I'm writing up this post a few days after drinking this, and just the thought of the tart refreshing beverage is making me very thirsty. I do not make drinks excessively sweet, so adjust to your taste. I had some leftover canned cherries (packed in the their own juices) which I used up here. Skewered grapes and cherries would make a fun garnish.

Cherry Limeade
Yield: 1 drink served in a low ball glass, or a half-pint mason jar. 


Ingredients:
1/2 of a fresh lime, or more to taste; a thin lime slice for garnish.
1-2 T cherry juice such as that found in canned cherries, or try just regular cherry juice.
2-3 cherries (canned or maraschino); I used canned ones leftover from crepes and it was tart and refreshing
mint, optional
1 tsp sugar, or splash simple syrup
ice
sparkling water

Directions:
Squeeze the lime juice into a low ball glass or a half-pint mason jar and dissolve the sugar into it. It will likely still be grainy, but we're going for a refreshing beverage that is not soda-sweet. Stir in the cherry juice and cherries. Top with ice and fill the rest with sparkling water. Garnish with a lime slice and quaff immediately.

Optional: muddle in some mint or basil.

Lemon and limes

It's been a challenging few months. From Belgium to Barcelona, I have decided to move again. This time, I took it home stateside. I can't really complain too much. I'm camped out near a beach with warm sunny weather. I have been on a role with the sparkling sunny weather beverages. Lest anyone be confused that I only drink Belgian beers (imo - the world's best), I love lime and lemon based sparkly mocktails.

Owning a SodaStream has been the inspiration for nearly all of these fine sparkly beverages (fine bevy of beverages, too much?). I use the device to make sparkling water.

I'm sitting on a patio wearing a seersucker jumper and making notes to myself to not have dairy. If you can digest lactose, fresh ripe cantaloupe and vanilla-bean ice cream blended with a bit of milk is a delicious milk shake. I've had so much fun reading all of the lovely bloggers that show up daily/weekly in my reader, sometimes I really do feel like I should lay this whole thing to rest, but you give me so much inspiration from gorgeous bags, to more lemon-lime yummies, to ex-pat travel delights from Germany, and vidalia onion soup which has me remembering how cold it could be in Belgium, to new cookbooks I am looking forward to ordering.

I did, upon returning, rejoice that I would be reunited with my kitchen appliances, and to that effect, I've decided that to root myself to a place for a while, I'm going to do some variety of canning adventures to bring the Americana back in me. Stay tuned and hopefully suntanned (somewhere).

Limeade with mint and blueberries
Yield: 1 serving, in a lowball glass (or another)

Ingredients:
half of a fresh lime
few mint sprigs
1 tsp sugar (optional)
ice
sparkling water
blueberries for garnish

Directions:
Squeeze half the lime in a glass and add 1 tsp of sugar. Stir to dissolve (will still be grainy). Muddle in the mint by crushing the mint sprigs with a spoon with the lime-sugar juice. Place ice cubes in the glass, and top it all off with some sparkling water. Give a quick stir, garnish with blueberries and serve immediately.

A simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water heated in a small sauce pan to dissolve all the sugar) can be made ahead of time and placed in the fridge.

Black bean salsa with avocado and cukes

This is a simple healthy fresh black bean salsa. It's perfect with chips or as a side. If using cucumbers, it stores up to 2 days. The cukes add a nice crunch, but can be omitted (I'm sneaking in more garden produce). The avocado hits the spot. This recipe changes with whatever I have on hand. Tomatoes, a combination of bell peppers, or corn can be used as well.

Ingredients:

Yield: approx. 2 cups

1/2 cup or more of dried black beans, soaked and cooked, or 1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped fine, about 1/2 cup

1/2 of a small red onion, chopped, about 2 T

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 small lemon cucumber, seeds removed, chopped fine, or 1/2 red yellow bell pepper chopped

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 canned whole jalapenos, chopped, or 1 jalapeno seeded and diced.

chopped cilantro to taste

1 tbsp or more of fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 of a ripe avocado, small dice. I like to cut all the way around the avocado, peel apart the two sides and gently make dices in the avocado flesh. Then I use a spoon to scoop them all out. This works well with ripe avocados.

Directions:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add in cooked black beans, the chopped red peppers, onions, garlic and cukes (or yellow bell peppers if using). Stir to combine.
2. Add in apple cider vinegar, jalapenos, lime juice, salt, and cilantro. Stir together and adjust for lime juice, heat, and salt.
3. Gently stir in avocado cubes, and fold gently to combine all ingredients.  

Potato and Black Bean Burritos with Fresh Salsa

Belgian Burritos! So not really, but I'm really missing Mexican and Tex-Mex foods. I even bought a casserole dish just for this. Well the casserole was advertised as being on sale, but I couldn't understand the Dutch well enough to read that I needed to have 8 Carrefour (the local grocery chain) stamp/tickets to get the "sale" price. Sara - You would LOVE this dish. Miss you lots.  Make the salsa first so the flavors can steep.

Ingredients:

For the burritos

1 large baking potato (or 2 medium sized ones, or 4-6 small ones), diced and cooked. Sweet potatoes are even better in this dish than regular potatoes.
2 cups black beans cooked, or 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package 8" tortillas (this made enough for 8 burritos)
1 cup shredded cheddar, you can use more or less if cheese is your thing (use monterey jack or whatever yummy US mexican cheese blend you can find)
1/2 cup onion, chopped (you can use the other half in the salsa)
2 cloves garlic, chopped and divided (1 clove in the potatoes, the other in the black beans)
2 tsp cumin, divided (1 tsp in the potatoes and the other in the black beans)
1 tsp ancho chili powder or regular chili powder, divided (yep, same as above)
pinch cayenne
salt to taste
1/2 of a lime (probably one of the halves used to make salsa)

Ingredients for the salsa

3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 T chopped onion
1 large garlic clove chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined, and chopped
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F, and oil a casserole dish.
2. Cook potatoes either in microwave or boil them. Once done cooking, add in 1 tsp cumin, salt, pinch cayenne, 1/2 tsp of ancho chili powder, and 1 garlic clove. Mash together and set aside. Adjust seasonings if necessary. You can reserve some of the cooking water to make the mashing easier. 
3. In a saucepan, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat and add onion and the other garlic clove. After 5 minutes, add in cumin, salt, and ancho chili powder. 
4. Next, add in black beans and stir to combine, adding water if it gets too dry. Squeeze 1/2 a lime over the black beans, stir and set aside. Adjust with salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Meanwhile, set out tortillas to warm in the oven to soften them up. Once warm, like a burrito, layer the tortilla with potatoes, cheddar cheese, and black beans. Roll up and place in casserole dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes. 

For the Salsa

1. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, lime juice and salt. Mix well. You may need more or less lime juice, so squeeze in 1 lime, then taste and adjust. 
2. Stir in cilantro and avocado. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
3. Serve with burritos.

And one last pica:

Luggage Duds: