Burritos, Chickens...But not chicken burritos

I want to tell you about a very good butternut squash and black bean burrito that I fixed for dinner the other night, but first: a chicken update.

In a bitter twist of chicken irony, Polly, the lone survivor of the massacre and former picker who was rehabilitated when I chucked a tennis ball at her, is being picked.

Ugh.

See that bald spot on the right bottom part of her backside?
Also, see that chicken on the right? I love how it looks like she's
about to take flight. In actuality it's the butt of another chicken.

Dear Readers, I ask you: when is enough enough? Should I give up my chicken dreams and sell the whole outfit coop, stock, and barrel? Because I just don't know what to do. NO ONE is earning their keep by laying any eggs around here. I CANNOT figure out who is doing the picking because I've never seen any of the four new chickens (who I call Natalie, Blair, Jo, and Tootie) be anything but scared of Polly because she is the queen bee and is rude to them (pecking at their heads and chasing them from the corn I throw on the ground, for example).

And even if I did see somebody pick at her I'm not sure I could pick the perp out of a lineup because:

Can YOU tell these birds apart?

I know it's all very entertaining but I just don't know if I can do it anymore. These girls better start laying some eggs STAT so I can remember why in the world I put up with this nonsense. 

And just so ya know? I did have to rub Vicks Vapor Rub on a chicken butt AGAIN the other night, and it didn't seem to do a dang bit of good. 

Let's move on to a happier topic: Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos.

We had an absolute bumper crop of butternut squash in our garden this year. It was fantastic! I planted seeds from a squash I bought at the store, and the plants went absolutely nutso. Do you know how expensive butternut squash is? You see it at the store and you're all, "Oh, 99 cents a pound! That's not so bad!" and then you roll over to the register and the sucker weighs 4.75 pounds and you pay almost five bucks for your squash! They are HEAVY. 

When someone in this house asks what veg we're having with dinner, it's a pretty safe bet it's going to be butternut squash in some form: roasted, mashed, soup, and now in a burrito. 

And this is after we've been eating the crop down for a few weeks!
Good thing that these squash last a good long time.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and, (drum roll, please): I actually made it! This doesn't happen often. If you don't already follow me on Pinterest I suggest you do so: I pin fabulous, gorgeous-looking meals that I'm sure would be delicious if only I'd remember to make them. (Here is my Pinterest page, if you are so inclined: http://pinterest.com/sshobbs/boards/)

This recipe is courtesy of the vegan recipe blog Oh She Glows, which I was already aware of through Angela's Green Monster Movement site of delicious spinach smoothies. (That's right, I said spinach smoothies. Look into it!)

Since I have SO MUCH squash on hand, I was eager to try these babies out, and they did not disappoint. Drew liked them, and I'm sure Kate would have too if she hadn't been "in a mood." I even packed them in Drew's lunch the day after!

So, here's the recipe. Check out Angela's blog for many more great vegan recipes and pretty food. Enjoy!

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos

Yield: 4 burritos or 3.5 cups of filling

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed, & roasted
1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice (yields: 1.5 cups cooked)
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
One 15-oz can black beans (about 1.5-2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
3/4 cup Daiya cheese
4 tortilla wraps (large or x-large)
Toppings of choice: (avocado, salsa, vegan sour cream, spinach/lettuce, cilantro, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large glass dish with tinfoil. Drizzle olive oil on squash and give a shake of salt and pepper. Coat with hands. Roast chopped butternut squash for 45 mins. or until tender.

2. Cook brown rice (for directions, see here)

3. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, onion, and minced garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add in salt and seasonings and stir well.

4. Add chopped red pepper, black beans, and cooked rice and sauté for another 10 mins. on low.

5. When b’nut squash is tender remove from oven and cool slightly. Add 1.5 cups of the cooked butternut squash to the skillet and stir well. You can mash the squash with a fork if some pieces are too large. Add Daiya cheese and heat another couple minutes.

6. Add bean filling to tortilla along with desired toppings. Wrap and serve. Leftover filling can be reheated the next day for lunch in a wrap or as a salad topper.

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Workout of the Day

Focus T25 Rip't Circuit

Why does a 25-minute program wear me out so bad? I suspect it's because Shaun T is some sort of evil genius.

Adventures in faux meat

I've been cooking my way through my two new vegan cookbooks from Lindsay Nixon, The Happy Herbivore and The Everyday Happy Herbivore. So far my favorite recipes have been carrot cake pancakes and the black bean brownies.

And the best part is that I really appreciate how these recipes don't use up my eggs. 

Seriously, though, Lindsay does a fantastic job creating recipes that are simple, flavorful, and healthy. Many of them center around "faux" meat, also referred to as meat analogue. But I prefer the former, because faux meat reminds me of a nice warm fake-fur coat.

Last night I fixed TVP tacos, because I had about one cup of TVP on hand.

What is TVP, and why did I have TVP in my pantry?

TVP stands for Textured Vegetable Protein. It's a soy meat made from defatted soy flour; a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is quick to cook, with a protein content equal to that of meat.

I had TVP in my pantry because a few months ago Zach saw a menu item at the Spiral Diner that used TVP, and so he insisted that we get some at the Sunflower Market when I took him there. I knew nothing about TVP and was, quite frankly, very frightened of it. So it sat and sat...until I saw a recipe for TVP tacos in The Happy Herbivore cookbook.

Here's what TVP looks like dry:

 

Here's what it looks like wet:

 

Basically, TVP is like quick rice. You create a liquid base -- for these tacos it was beef broth (Lindsay has a way to create non-beef beef broth, but since I'm not a vegan, I didn't feel bad using regular old beef broth), steak sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and chili powder. Then you dump in the TVP, let it soak for 5 minutes and your "meat" is ready.

(Zach asked why I kept referring to the tacos' meat as meat. I told him that the air quotes were assumed.)

Are you thoroughly disgusted? Think you could NEVER stomach such a disgusting nightmare as Textured Vegetable Protein?

Chances are you already have.

Remember that hubbub a year or so ago about Taco's Bell's meat really only being 35% meat? Well guess what part of that other 65% is? Meat "extenders," also known as TVP. It's also commonly used in school lunches to make the meat go further. (And prisons, too.)

Have you ever wondered why the taco meat at Taco Bell is so soft, and the pieces of meat are so fine? You always strive for that consistency at home because it's so good, but you can never quite get there?

That's exactly how this TVP taco meat was. Soft with a very fine consistency.

Bottom line? I liked it! I thought the taste was good, and the stats are great. 115 calories, 0.6 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 13.5 grams of protein. I think TVP would be great in spaghetti or sloppy joes, both of which are featured in the cookbook.

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Workout of the Day

P90X2 V Sculpt