Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

This recipe book belongs to my wonderful sister Bethany and her husband. They got their hands on this book a few years ago when they were working on a local organic farm in central Pennsylvania. As you can guess by the cover, the recipes are organized by the four seasons so that your meals can be made with fresh local ingredients - that are in season. While I've been living with Bethany & David the last few weeks, we've tried out a number of different recipes. On one recent autumn evening, I came home to them cooking up one of their tried and true favorites: Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos.

MMmm! How do you make this??

Step 1:
3 cups (750 ml) sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)
Saute in large frying pan with 1 Tbsp oil just until tender.
Add water or apple juice as needed to prevent sticking.

Step 2:
2 cups (500 ml) cooked black beans (this is probably about one can)
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Add and cook until heated through.

Step 3:
[the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese]
8 flour tortillas
Divide bean mixture [and cheese] among tortillas and roll up.
Place in 9 x 13 inch / 3.5-L baking pan. Lightly spray with olive oil if desired.
Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes.
Garnish with [sour cream], salsa and fresh cilantro.

Here they are, fresh out of the oven:

We dipped them in some nice spicy salsa.

I would never have thought to put cinnamon in a burrito recipe... But cinnamon does go great with sweet potato. And sweet potatoes make a great burrito filling alongside black beans. So it's no wonder it tasted great!

Vegan Camping - Day 2 of 2

Ahh, warm and dry under the canopy of my tent's rainfly, snuggled in my sleeping bag, with the sound of the river lulling me to sleep... the great outdoors! Ok, so I did "hear" (translated: "imagine") bears and men in boots tromping through the woods outside my tent approximately ten times... and the rain did wake me up another three times. But what is camping if it doesn't include a small portion of irrational fear of the dark and numerous rolling-overs throughout the night!

Also surviving the rainy night were my adventure companions who slept four feet above the ground in their own nest. Soon after we awoke, David got breakfast started by heating up some water...

...and we all enjoyed a hot breakfast of instant oats. I tossed a big handful of trailmix into my bowl to give it some extra crunch, chew and hardiness.

Bethany and I had made this trailmix by buying nuts and raisins in bulk at Wegmans, an excellent chain grocery store that she has nearby. Peanuts, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews and raisins. (She and David added M&M's to their pouches, but I left them out of mine because they're made with milk chocolate.) We all munched on our individual bags of trailmix on and off throughout the hike. I don't think anyone of us actually needed too much food beyond our filling and fulfilling meals, but I'll speak for myself in saying that most of the times I ate a couple handfuls of trailmix, it was more for the mental motivation! A minute of indulging in nuts and raisins is such a simple pleasure, a small reward after a quad-aching ascent that helped to keep me moving!
The instant oatmeal also came from Wegmans; it's their own brand of oatmeal. I have to say, I really appreciate a lot of the product options at Wegmans. Not only do they have a "health food" section that includes lots of organic and cruelty-free options (food, household, daily care products and more), but they label all their own products really well. Just as a random example, here's a jar of their chunky peanut butter.:

So yes, it's not like peanut butters usually contain gluten, lactose or any animal products. (And Wegmans' peanut butter also does not contain high fructose corn syrup.) But their cereals, canned goods and most everything else are also labeled like this, with allergy warnings by the ingredients list as well. Thank you Wegmans!
(Just incase you wondered, I did not carry this heavy jar of peanut butter on the hiking expedition, but I did spread a good heavy portion of it on Day 1's sandwich!)
One last note about my morning oatmeal. I ate two packets of the regular (non-flavored) packages that came in the variety pack. Interestingly enough, the "regular" packs had a more nutritious punch than the flavored ones (Apples & Cinnamon, Cinnamon & Spice, Maple & Brown Sugar, and Raisin & Spice). Per pack, "regular" oatmeal has 45% DV of Iron (vs. 20% in the others), less than half the sodium of the others, no sugar added (the others are as high as 16g per pack), and equal or more protein than the others (4g. Two flavored varieties have 3g and two have 4g).
That said, we were all quite satisfied with our breakfast. So we broke camp and filled up our bladders - thanks to Bethany and David's awesome filtration system!

We also used this cool fresh water to wash the dishes, wash our faces, and brush our teeth. Very convenient! And I couldn't help myself, before we left the campsite, I had to take some more mushroom pictures for your viewing enjoyment! Man! I wish I knew which ones were edible!

This one reminded me of the coral I've seen while scuba diving.

This blob of a fungus did not remind me of anything in particular, but as did most of these mushrooms, made me realize just how many different types of fungi there are!

 Delicate and transluscent, emanating its own sunny color.

 Oh! And a toad!

 Rain-catcher.

After my camera was filled with fungus (well... something like that), we set off once again, feeling a bit confident that we could walk our way through another 7+ miles, as we had been so proud of ourselves for doing the day before! We estimated that our packs started out at about 30 pounds each, but today mine was a little lighter (minus two baked potatoes, trailmix, oatmeal; and I decreased my water supply to 1.75 Liters, because the 2 Liters I started off with on the first day was more than I needed and was very heavy!).
Some places were a bit wet and slippery, so as I focused on my feet, I spotted plenty more mushrooms!

I actually remember seeing this exact variety as a kid growing up in western Pennsylvania. I remember the coral color and little tan patches on top, and picking and arranging them into a "bunch."

In spite of the slippery walking conditions, I did not lose sight of my surroundings, for looking up yielded its own majesty.

Being surrounded by trees is truly incredible. I have to say, completing a 16-mile hike was pretty momentous for me. But you do have to stay on the move. There's time to sit around and relax at night, when it's dark. But there's not much time during the day. Meal breaks are much-deserved and vista-appreciation-moments are well-taken, but we definitely weren't able to schedule in afternoon meditation sessions! I hope to do more hiking and camping this fall, and I'm planning to incorporate some more sitting during the daylight hours. Can you imagine sitting under a canopy of trees like this, tuning in to the scents and sounds of nature and just meditating for awhile?

There was one place, though, at which we stopped for longer than anywhere else. At around mile 11.5, we followed a trail tangent to get to this far-stretching view that made our arduous pace all worth it:

The mountain ranges were three, four deep. Of course, if we can see that many ranges, that means we're higher than all of them. Right? :) We stood here for a long while, trying to imagine how far we had hiked, and wondering if there were any other people within our view.

And then we ate!

 We each had two tortillas and a bag of fillings.

Slices of avocados, black beans, slices of raw zucchini and red bell pepper, and hummus. The veggies were in a separate bag. The whole thing survived being in our backpacks for 30-ish hours without being too mashed.

 It was a a pretty fantasmagical combination of flavors!

Yeah, we pretty much saved the best meal for last!
I also had dessert with this meal. I know, fancy!

These handy bars are a great choice for vegans and non-vegans alike. All the different varieties of Larabars have 9 or fewer (whole foods) ingredients (Cherry Pie is made with unsweetened cherries, dates and almonds. That's it.).  All the bars are vegan - even the ones with chocolate chips - but the packages can't be marked to note this because the chocolate chips are technically made in a line which also processes non-vegan chocolate chips. Check out Larabar's website for more info if you want, but what I'm trying to say here is that this fruit and nut bar company is a winner! ($1.29 each at Walgreens.)
Shout it from the mountaintops: YODELEHEEEEHOOOOOOO!!!

........... hehoooooooo..........
Whoa, the mountain tops shouted back.
What a surprise it was to realize that our lunchtime perch was smack in the middle of an immaculate echo launchpoint! We definitely spent a good ten minutes here, taking turns yelling out across the vast canyon. The clarity of the return echo was beyond any I had ever heard. Syllable for syllable. And just around the bend from where David is standing, the wait time for the echo was THREE SECONDS! Not kidding. It was so long that we almost missed hearing it because we didn't wait long enough! And I wonder, if there was anyone within earshot, would not they certainly have given a holler back, just for fun? But we heard no one except ourselves. I really think we were the only people with a view of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon that afternoon.

Vegan Camping - Day 1 of 2

Perhaps I haven't properly introduced myself in this blog... Maybe you already know me! But if you don't, I can sum up a decent portion of who I am with four phrases: I love people; I love to eat; I love to cook; I treasure time in the outdoors; and I'm a vegan. All these objects of my affection have been part of my life at various points over the years. But it wasn't until recently that I had the chance to synchronize their benefits and enjoyment in a purposeful singular experience. Thanks to my sister (Bethany) and brother-in-law (David) for celebrating my birthday with me by planning a great hiking and camping trip for us! Where did we go to celebrate and commune with nature and each other? To the mountains, trees, creeks and trails of the Tioga State Forest in north-central Pennsylvania. It's not surprising that my beloved home state offers an endless number of forests; "sylvania" comes from the Latin word "sylva," which of course, means "woods." We've got William Penn to thank for giving this state such a topographically fitting name. Pennsylvania has a total of EIGHT state forests, but what drew us to Tioga State Forest (besides its proximity) was Pine Creek Gorge - the huge cavern that cuts through it. So vast is this gorge that its nickname is "The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania." I'm sure it doesn't receive as many visitors as "the" Grand Canyon in Nevada, but I'm proud to have this national landmark in my own state, and we certainly didn't mind the absence of other noise-makers - err, um, people - tromping through the area with us.

Quiet, serene, and often mystically beautiful, hiking miles and miles up and down this green and brown landscape quickly reminded me that it had been awhile since I'd spent this much time in secluded wilderness.  I was stunned and humbled by the minutia and grandeur. True, the more you look, the more you'll see. But it seemed like every few minutes I encountered a seemingly effortless presentation of unique sights, colors and natural treasures. Just a sample...

A fern-and-moss-infused fallen tree trunk:

Black coal hills and trails. Cool.

A cornucopia of mushrooms, of which this was just one:

All this was before lunch. Lunch? Oh yeah, food! Our first lunch was pretty simple: sandwiches, mine being a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Like I said, pretty simple. Simply delicious, that is! Lots of thick peanut butter and globs of elderberry jelly smushed between two dense and chewy slices of homemade bread. At the altitude of appoximately 1600 feet, after a few hours consisting mostly of ascents, I ate this sandwich with glee. After eating and relaxing for a few minutes, we checked out some of the crevices in our dining area.

 Watch your step!

 Some of these cracks in the earth were up to eight feet deep.

This little diversion didn't last too long, because we were set on getting more than halfway through our 15.7-mile hike before dinner.
A little while later, we paused for a few minutes to hear David read a history lesson and try to imagine how stones were transported and stacked to build this edifice:

We guessed that this stone foundation was originally part of a loading and unloading platform for the coal cars that once passed through this mountainside. Off to both sides were large stone columns that presumably  carried the weight of the train tracks. It was hard to imagine the loud clackety-clack of steel and wood that must have echoed along this mountain pass years ago. Now, I could hear the sounds of my legs brushing past weeds, dirt mushing beneath my feet, and even my own breath.
And breathing did we do. You can see from this elevation profile that we had ventured on no easy trek (the difficulty rating was 144):

Stamina, mutual encouragement, inspiring views and a little bit of stretching propelled us forward. Well, up, down and forward... and through. At the 7-mile mark of our hike, we came upon Stony Fork. We knew we would encounter this river, but really had no idea how deep it would be, given that our trail guide was recorded about five years ago. But we figured, best case scenario, we would traverse by hopping from rock to rock. In a nearly-as-easy scenario, we would take off our shoes and splash across. In the case that all the spring rains had flooded the river above knee-height, we'd go naked, carrying our bags on our heads. And in worst-case scenario, if the the river was impassable, we would turn south and hike along the river on level ground back down to the road and settle for a one-day hike.

Fortunately, the water was not quite knee-high. With our bare toes alternately gripping and slipping on stones, we all arrived on the opposite bank dry. Rejuvenated by the crispy cool water and knowing we were close to our camp (and dinner) site, we dried ourselves off and continued on.
We didn't go far, because we wanted to have water access for washing up ourselves and the dishes, as well as reloading our water supplies in the morning. While we were looking for a good place to set up camp, we saw this lagoon-colored portion of the river.

It's deep enough for jumping into.... but too cold this time of the year! And it would be a bit of a jump down!

So not far from the "lagoon," we found a clearing with flat ground for my tent, and well-spaced trees for Bethany and David's hammock.

While the fire was getting started, I took advantage of a few free minutes to get pictures of mushrooms!
I'd been seeing soooo many different kinds of mushrooms all throughout the day, but I barely took more than a second to take any pictures because I didn't want to slow down the trio. We kept up a great pace! So I plunked my tin-foil-covered dinner in among the flames and coals...

... and set off without the burden of my backpack to get some pics of toadstools!

I must have seen more than 20 different varieties of mushrooms in the span of eight hours! I wish I had a clue about mushrooming - finding edible mushrooms - so that I could have had some for my fireside dinner! Oh well, at least I did come prepared. The night before, I baked two potatoes in the microwave, sliced them open, and scooped in black beans, fresh basil and some spicy red pepper salsa.  

I was hoping that it would taste good after a long day of hiking. I was not disappointed. I knew the baked "potato" would be a pretty reliable flavor, but I had no idea that the smoky goodness would permeate the black beans as well. What a serendipitous twist to my well-loved black bean flavor! Each spoonful of mashed up potato and savory black beans was like eating a whole new food. That, plus the red pepper kick, and the basil gave the whole package an extra bit of charm. I have a Welsh friend I met three years back, Lou, to thank for this dinner. She introduced me to the concept of "Jacket Potatoes." In the U.S. we have a limited menu of traditional baked potato "toppings" - butter, salt, maybe brocolli and cheese or bacon bits. None of that was gonna do for this vegan camping trip. But thankfully Lou had opened my eyes to putting pretty much anything inside a baked potato - I mean "jacket potato" - that you might think of putting on a sandwich, in a wrap, with rice, or with chips. So I came up with this smoky spicy black bean and basil jacket potato.

It was heavy to carry two of these babies in my backpack (I ate one and a half - Bethany and David happily ate up the rest), but they pulled their weight in nutrition and energy. One large baked potato, eaten with the skin, delivers 63g carbohydrates (21% DV), 7g Dietary Fiber (26% DV), 7g Protein, 4% DV Calcium, 48% DV Vitamin C, and 18% DV Iron. Carbolicious... and beyond! Just what I needed to refuel for Vegan Camping Day 2 - post coming soon!
Happy World Vegetarian Day and first day of Vegan MOFO (Vegan Month of Food)!!  I'll be doing my best to blog as much as possible about vegan eating, vegan shopping and vegan living this whole month!