Bats and Beans

Well, I just survived a scary experience. I was just standing on my porch on a nice, mild, Friday night in CoMo, when two bats decide that they would like to swoop right by my head. And again, and again, and again...... I was afraid to go inside for fear they would try to come in with me. Now I love all creatures, but that doesn't mean that bats aren't scary!

Anyways, Happy Friday to all. Brett and I went to the grocery store after I got off work today, and when we got home, I was truly impressed with how much food two people can fit in bookbags. Check it out:

Needless to say, I have lots of good ingredients to work with.

I noticed, browsing through (veg*n) food blogs (it's quickly becoming an obsession) that food is a bit like art. There is a lot of creativity that goes into it, not only preparing the dishes themselves, but also their presentation. Some of the food bloggers out there should consider photography as a profession. I am not one of those. My camera is ok, but as I stated before, I recently graduated from college, and as such, have only one set of dishes. They are some ugly brown, flowery things my Grandma so nicely gave Brett and I. Now, even though they are ugly, I truly appreciate them and am happy to have 'em, and I do like that they can go in the oven. Point is, the food may look good but get used to seeing those ugly plates, at least for the forseeable future.

Onto dinner last night. I made a fairly simple bean and rice wrap. I have a thing for taco seasoning, as I love spicy food, and it is evident in this recipe. Now, you don't have to use a packaged taco seasoning, you could always use, to your liking, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, corn masa, salt, cilantro, etc. But I found a good taco seasoning I like, so I just use that.

Without further ado:

Bean and "Taco Rice" Wraps

Taco Rice:
1 cup long grain brown rice rinsed (any other rice or would do too)
2 cups water
1/2 package taco seasoning (I like Simply Organic's Southwest Taco), or the above mentioned spice combination.

Add taco seasoning to water, bring to boil. Add rice and cook for 40-45 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes before fluffing with a fork

Wrap:
black beans
pinto beans
corn
more taco seasoning for the beans (optional)
Taco Rice
vegan cheese (optional)
flour tortillas
tofu sour cream
salsa

Mix beans, corn, seasoning, and rice. Warm tortilla and layer bean mixture, cheese, and tofu sour cream. Roll up and brown on skillet sprayed with oil if desired. Top with salsa.

A note about the tofu sour cream: I found a good recipe in the comments section of Primary Consumer's old blog. It's very simple and tastes great.

Tonight, I'm going to use the leftover beans and Taco Rice to make a quesadilla. I think I'll just sautee up some bell pepper, onion, garlic, and jalapeno, add black beans, corn and the rice, some cheese and tofu sour cream, top it with salsa, brown it on a skillet, and we'll be good to go.