These burritos taste great, are easy to prepare and are perfect to keep on hand in the freezer for simple meals. Preferably use home-cooked beans, however canned ones will do as well. If using canned, make sure to thoroughly rinse them before adding to the pot. Also, cook the rice in advance. We prefer brown rice, however white would out work as well.

To roll up a burrito properly is a bit tricky, however after you've done it a couple of times, you really get the hang of it...

8 burritos

Ingredients

• oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 3 tsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• sweet vermouth
• 3 cups cooked pinto beans (or other beans)
• 3 cups cooked brown rice (or white)
• 1 pound shredded cheddar cheese (or Monterey Jack)
• 8 large flour tortillas
• sourcream and salsa to serve

Method:

Start with heating up the oil and sautéing the onion and the pepper for 10 minutes or so. Add the salt to release their liquids. At this point add the garlic and the spices and continue to saute for a few more minutes. De-glace with a few splashes of sweet vermouth.

Now add the beans and the rice and let cook for about 5 minutes on low heat until everything is coming together. Taste, and possibly add a bit more salt, or even some chili powder. Also, if it's a bit on the dry side, either add a few tbsp of water or another splash of sweet vermouth.

Now assemble. Take out a piece of aluminum foil. Put a flour tortilla on it, add a scoop or two of the rice-and-bean mixture off center. Add some shredded cheese, and fold the burrito together. Start with folding in the sides, and turning the longer sides around until you have a neat little package. Wrap in aluminum foil.

Repeat the process with the rest of the burritos.

Now you can either heat these up in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes (keep the foil on), alternatively stack them in the freezer. To reheat from the freezer, place them frozen in a 350 degree oven and cook for about 40 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Falafel makes a great vegetarian meal and can be served in numerous ways, such as part of a mezze table or inside a pita bread with tahini sauce. Even people who don't normally eat chickpeas can probably be swayed into eating these falafel balls because they really taste nothing like chickpeas, and they're so tasty with a bit of a crunch.

To make your own falafel is not hard at all, in fact it's rather easy and it's really fun. The quality of the falafel you can produce at home in your own kitchen is just like the one you would buy at your favorite Middle Eastern cafe, and once you make a large batch of these you can keep them on hand in the freezer. Authentic falafel is made with dried chickpeas which have been soaked, not cooked. This might seem weird at first, however it's not. The soaked chickpeas are quite easy to work with, however we do recommend you use a food processor to chop everything up.

Large batch of falafel (40 balls or so)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1 large onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• 6 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 4 tsp salt
• pepper
• juice of one lemon
• half cup of chopped herbs - parsley, cilantro, oregano, mint
• neutral oil to fry in

Method

Run everything in the food processor in two batches, or three if you have a small one. Chop until everything is processed and comes together into a rather fine mass, but don't grind into a paste. Store everything in a bowl and combine well. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge a few hours, or over night.

Heat up two inches of oil to 370 degrees. Form falafel balls, about the size of a walnut, press them firmly with your hands to make compact balls. Fry about 8 at a time, or less if you have a small pot, for about five minutes. Make sure to turn them halfway through.

Let cool on paper towels. Make sure to let the oil come back up to temperature before frying the next batch.

Eat right away or store in the freezer. Serve with pita breads, tahini sauce, lettuce and hot sauce for a great meal.

Tip! If you store them in the freezer, we like to utilize the same technique as we usually use with beans as well as sliced breads where we first freeze the falafel on a sheet pan before storing them in a plastic bag. That way they won't stick together and you'll have an easy time taking a few out of the freezer when you want to heat some up, and not all of them!

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• thyme, oregano, basil
• splash of dry vermouth or white wine
• 3 tbsp of adobo sauce
• 1 28 oz can of good diced tomatoes
• about 4 cups of cooked large white beans (such as lima)
• about 4 stalks of kale, swiss chard or some other hearty greens
• cheese (we used queso fresco)
• panko breadcrumbs (or homemade)
• about 5 tbsp of good pesto (we used basil)
• salt & pepper