I work for a community college as a student recruiter. Lately my days have been spent driving down winding rural roads out to the far ends of our district giving presentations to students and parents while trying to hawk my goods: education. If I were a salesperson, this product would be the easiest sell, but we’re dealing with 17 year olds here. That’s right; they’re for the most part still awkwardly doggy paddling through the murky soup of adolescence reeking of unwashed hair and Axe body spray. If they’re the least bit excited about life after high school, you wouldn’t have the slightest idea. So then it’s my job to drag the horse and pony show into their stale smelling choir room during first hour in order to inspire some post secondary delusions of grandeur. This morning, while giving a truly inspired power point presentation highlighting our college’s whatever program, a haggle of pimpled teenage scum began to snicker and laugh.  So I had the following rational conversation with myself…

EMMA 1

Oh mother fudge, are those kids laughing at me?

EMMA 2

Is your fly open? Do you have something on your butt? 

EMMA 1

Welp…I didn’t check to see if my pants were clean when I pulled them out of my hamper. I can’t remember the last time I washed them in all honesty…

EMMA 2

“Ahhhh! So you’re telling me that there very well could be something stuck to your bum?”

EMMA 1

“Mmm… affirmative”

[Stifled laughter coming from the horns section ]

EMMA 2

“Well maybe if I keep my back to the board then no one will see my backside…”

[awkwardly reaches across her body to advance the slide without showing her backside]

Yeah, that’s it!

[more laughter]

EMMA 1

GENTLEMEN!  PLEASE!

[silence]

…

I never did check those pants…

It’s been fun driving deep into the armpits of south central Wisconsin, but a girl gets hungry on the road and cannot live on gas station coffee and granola bars alone. So I’ve been making these mini burritos on Sunday nights, taking one out of the freezer each night and devouring it on the road at room temp each day. They’re awesome heated up for a few minutes on the grill or in a pan on the stove. These puppies are delightfully flavorful, filling, nutritious, and capture all the tastes of fall to accompany the pretty awesome show that nature’s been putting on for me out on the road.

Recipe notes

Have fun with the flavor combinations with these and turn up the heat as much as you want. I made very mini hand burritos with 10” tortillas with this last batch, but feel free to go as big as you can stand.

 

What you’ll need

Black beans

Roasted root veggies

Garlicky kale ribbons

Roasted poblano pepper sauce

Flour tortillas

 

Seasoned black beans

2 C black beans (canned or homemade)

(I used some of my flavorful extras from here)

If you choose to use canned beans, you can always dial-up the flavor by sautéing white onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, salt, cumin, and pepper in olive oil and add to beans. Finish off with a healthy squeeze of fresh lime.

 

Roasted Root Veggies

1 rutabaga

1 medium-sized turnip (size of baseball)

2 parsnips

1 medium-sized sweet potato

1 medium/large-sized beet

4 T coconut oil (heated to liquid form)

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cayenne (or more if you like heat)

Salt & Pepper

Directions: Dice all veggies into small ¼ inch dice cubes. Toss with coconut oil and spices and roast in 425-degree oven until browned and soft. I have a terribly old and cold oven that takes forever, so start with 30” and go up from there.  I like the extra small pieces so that there is more browning and flavor in every bite.  The small size is great for filling as well.  

 

Roasted Poblano Walnut Sauce

2 small-medium poblano peppers

3 cloves of garlic (roasted)

1 C walnuts (soaked in water for at least one hour)

juice of ½ lime

salt & pepper

Optional additions for richness:

splash white wine

cream/coconut milk

butter/vegan butter substitute

 

Garlicy Kale

1 large bunch of kale (any variety will do)

2 T coconut oil

2-3 cloves of garlic (I like it über-garlicky )

dash salt

Directions: Wash, dry, and trim stems from kale. Cut into thin ribbons and sautee with coconut oil and garlic. Season with salt.

Putting it all together

Now that you have all the parts of the burritos made, set yourself a nice area to put them all together and get to it. Make sure to warm up your tortillas on the stove or in a microwave so that they are pliable and don’t rip on you. Pile the ingredients and wrap those puppies up.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Emma