Butternut Squash Burritos

If this is your first time logging onto this blog please refer to the blog of 12-17-12  titled Chronicles Of A Food Junkie to get up to speed.

So, here is my butternut squash burrito recipe below. I used the last of the chicken sausage that I cooked up the other day for added protein.

I'm enrolled in a pilates program, and it's going to kick my ass. I can now check that off my 2013 things to do list. We shall see how it goes.

Short blog today. Great recipe below.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War


Food consumption: 1-31-13

Breakfast: 1 piece of Geri's banana bread, cereal w/soy milk, large glass of orange juice

Lunch: yogurt, a little chicken and 1/3 of chicken sausage link

Snacks: nuts/raisins, 2 piece of Geri's banana nut bread w/butter this time.

Dinner: 2 burritos just like below minus the squash because it magically disappeared. There's a ghost that lives here and steel things.

Exercise: 6.5 miles walking.


Butternut squash burritos: (makes 3 burritos)

Ingredients:
1 corn on the cob
green onions chopped
1 plumb tomato
1 pint diced butternut squash
1 small container plain yogurt
cilantro chopped
tortillas...I used whole grain tortilla by La Tortilla Factory
3 chicken Parmesan sausage diced fine
salt
olive oil for cooking
1 can organic black beans
1/2 cup brown rice

1) After you take the skin off the squash, remove the pulp and seeds, cut into 1/2 cubes, and steam for 5 minutes. In a skillet with a little olive oil saute them until they are nice and brown all around, put aside. See photos on blog dated 1-25-13 titled Squash & Pasta or some damn thing like that.
2) Shuck & clean corn cob. Cut the cob in half steam the corn for 5 minutes, let cool and remove the kernels with a French knife.
3) Cook your meat whatever it may be. Mince, dice, chop, pull.
4) Dice the tomato, and put into a China cap  w/ a little salt to drain excess liquid.
5) Chop the cilantro and scallions & add to the tomatoes, and  corn. (that's the salsa).
6) Drain and rinse the black beans, add a little water and heat on the stove.
7) Cook the rice till it's al dente.
8) Heat your tortilla in a cast iron skillet or crepe pan.
9) Roll your burrito...1) add beans and rice, 2) meat, 3) yogurt, 4) squash 5) salsa (tomatoes & scallions and finish with cilantro.
10) EAT

Note: I take the yogurt out 1 hour before preparing the meal so it's room temperature. You can put it in a sifter or cheese cloth if you want to drain the excess water, but come on, whey is good for you. Eat your curds and whey.
Also notice that I didn't include any lime or lemon in this recipe because the yogurt puts the ting in tang.

I ate two of these because they were so good. Best of all it's simple and good for you.. Like they said in college,  "KISS."
Keep It Simple Stupid. That's me stupid. Enjoy.

No idea where the friggin squash went to. Disappeared fr: fridge

I ate two...hey I did 6.5 miles walking today

Michael David Evans almost ate his whole burrito

Pilates, Pile On, and Fuck

Updated 1-31-13

This was a poor attempt to explain how important the word fuck is to me. I'm glad this is a forum where we can write things that adults can read, uncensored if you will. I will have to return to this topic at a later date for future analysis, stories, and comments. It's a deep word that deserves volumes of critique.

Published 1-30-31

Today I start a pilates class at an attempt to strengthen my core. This is an item on have on my things to do list for 2013. Without going into my long boring medical history I had back surgery on a disk about 4 years ago. I had another flare up last year that sent me to the hospital in excruciating pain. I had an appointment with different surgeon, and had another MRI. The doctor's recommendation was to join a pilates class.

I haven't done well with physical therapy in the past. Like changing my eating habits, replacing the new healthy eating habits with the old ones, I now have to incorporate another routine into my life. Work, home repairs and maintenance, cooking, shopping, exercise, cleaning, taking care of our animals, school classes, and now pilates. Fuck. How much more shit can we pile on ourselves. When does it ever slow down.

Last year I had maybe 20 days off, besides our 12 day vacation to Paris. I don't mean 20 days off plus every weekend, holidays and sick days. I mean total 20 days. Most people work about 240 days a year. I'm averaging around 328 days a year. I think I'm getting burnt out.

I worked in a restaurant in Connecticut back in 83'. Every Monday the owners and the managers had their weekly meeting, and there was always something they needed to go over with the cooks after the meeting. This one particular Mon. the theme was swearing in the kitchen. Apparently the foul language was filtering out onto the dining room floor. Specifically, the word FUCK was mentioned, and we were told we couldn't say fuck in the kitchen any longer.

We all just kinda looked at each other like----what the - - - -. I stood up and said, "It's been fun working here, but I can't work in this kitchen without saying fuck." I got up, took off my apron, and then Gary DeMarco said, "If he's leaving so am I." And down the line it went with the rest of the the kitchen staff, till Richard, the manager said, "OK, OK, just keep the volume down."

Of course we never did keep the volume down. We yelled, we fought, we played, we threw pots and pans, we got drunk and high together, people had affairs with each other, we laughed, we cried, but we got the food out. The food was first and foremost, and the word FUCK stayed in our vocabulary.

You go to any foreign land where no one speaks English, and they'll know the word Fuck. Give someone the finger in Thailand and see what happens. It's universal. No other word in the human language coveys such a meaning.

Burritos tomorrow. I'm too busy today to do recipes.

Breakfast: 1 piece of dense brown bread,

Lunch: 1 1/2 chicken sausage links, brown rice and a small salad w/lettuce, olives, evoo, fresh lemon, orange juice

Snacks: nuts/raisins what else, fresh mint tea from the herb garden

Dinner: Turkey burgers with gouda cheese, big salad

Exercise: 5.5 miles walking

Tuesday 1-29-13 The Wall

I feel like I hit the wall today and it hit back. All I can think about is food. It's extremely frustrating. I'll have to power through it, that's all. I feel like a very weak man, and an old one at that.


Breakfast: Orange juice, a couple of sips of black coffee, 1 piece of dense seeded dark bread,  1
                 hard boiled egg, small bowl of cereal w/soy milk

snacks: vanilla yogurt, nuts/raisins

Lunch: Leftover chili and short grain brown rice cooked in vegetable stock...gave me the runs

Dinner: Chicken sandwich with brown bread and mayo, green salad w/black olives, evoo, fresh lemon juice, s & p

Exercise: 4 miles walking
Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Monday 1-28-13

Included are just 2 photos from the 60th birthday bash for San Francisco's own Mike Dingle. He was a butterfly all day, fluttering from one flower to another, being his ever elusive self. I had a great time, and there were a lot of old acquaintances in attendance.

There were also hundreds and hundreds of oysters being eaten raw and BBQ ed. They were eating them anyway you could eat them. I was stoned, and Mary Jane has the complete opposite effect on me. I don't get the munchies when I'm high. Maybe I should stay that way all the time.

There were 12 musical acts I believe listed to play. Everything from surf music to the Conspiracy of Beards were there this Sunday.

I let my own beard down at this event for sure. I was good about food intake yesterday, but the 4 beers I  slurped down most likely negated my efforts at weight control. While I was having fun catching up with old friends my wife and our friends Charley and Michael slipped off to N. Beach to grab a slice of pie at Tony's. She could have brought one to go back for me, but no.

My wife Geri is not the person to take to psychedelic rave or an all night Dead show. Last year we went to Wavy Gravy's 75th birthday party at the old Richmond Jeep plant. The party was just getting going around 11:00 PM when she and our friend Guy, who calls himself a hippie, anounced that they were "tired" and wanted to leave. It was the same thing yesterday. I was just getting a heat on, and I'm sure the best acts were coming up, and it's let's go now, I'm tired.

Everybody's getting old.

The infamous Mike Dingle 

Entertainment line-up

That's mt story for today. Wednesday I'm doing a recipe for butternut squash burritos. We had half a squash left over, and I think it will pair well with brown rice, black beans, some plain yogurt to substitute for sour cream, and a simple mild salsa. That's what's coming this Wed.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption today:
Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy,  1 small Yukon fried potato, plain black tea, orange juice

Lunch: Pulled pork sandwich w/BBQ sauce and the last of the collard greens. Love those collard
            greens.

Dinner: Short grain brown rice with 2 pieces of chicken sausage, salad of spring veggies, black
             olives, red bell peppers

Snacks: Large handful of nuts/raisins, Chocolate fusion chocolate bar 240 calories

Exercise: 6 miles walking

Sunday 1-27-13 Great Day

The moon last night was incredible. We took our 2 mile stroll after dinner. It was a beautiful bright night out. You could see the moon in the bathroom window this morning.

It's a clear day in N. California. I'm hoping we've seen most of the rain for the year. I can't wait to get back to cooking out in the back yard. I'd like to do some pop ups out back with other chefs cooking and Geri and I acting as support and hosting. This way I don't have to do any cooking. Get some young blood in here.

Caught these shots at the Bay View Boat Club on Mariposa, San Francisco.  Got a $62.00 parking ticket on a Sunday. I thought they weren't giving those out till Feb. Times have changed for sure. Almost all the rough edges have been smoothed out in SF. Nothing's fucking free is SF, you pay, pay, pay. Hey SF, you could get more revenues if the meters operating 24 hours a day. It's a bourgeoise town.  And people wonder why I live in Oakland.

Doggie Diner

Doggie Diner Dogs

More tomorrow about the Bay View Boat Club party for birthday boy Mike Dingle. Happy 60th Miehael. I'll be there soon.

Breakfast: Cereal, banana, 1 piece walnut toast w/butter, plain black tea

Lunch: lamb wrap, samosa

Dinner: Steamed rice, collards greens, big salad with fresh spring greens, S & P, olive oil, fresh lemon, black olives and red bell peppers, short grain brown rice.

4 beers....Alice B. was back again today.....

Exercise: 5 miles on the trails w/the DOGS

Saturday 1-26-13 Pizza on my mind & Soap Operas

I have no great words of culinary wisdom to report to the world at large, or the four or five people who read this stupid blog on a regular basis. It's Saturday, and I don't much care about blogging this weekend. Thank you for following.

I like the fact that I'm being accountable for my food habits. This blog keeps me honest. I'm loosing weight, I can feel it. My waist line is shrinking, but I still feel like a beached whale, a big white one. The urges to eat ice cream when I go past the local ice cream parlor, which is run by a couple of hippies from Philadelphia, are still there. Pizza is always on my mind.

I had to make pizza when my friend Chris came out from Mississippi because of that disgusting pizza I had a at the new Parkway theatre in downtown Oakland, plus he requested it. I mean, if I have to limit myself to pizza once a month, it's going to be my pie or the best pie I can find. It's worth a trip to the city to get Tony's pizza, but that would lead to a couple of cannoli around the corner on Columbus Ave. Firing up the pizza oven, and having a party is the best option for me. Call over some friends and neighbors over, and make a bunch of pies. Have a friggin' party.

I'm going in for a colonoscopy in 9 days. I got a nice blog for that day, and maybe some good photos too.  These fucking blogs are like soap operas.

Love ya, mean it. Hate that show, mean it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption: 1-26-13

Breakfast: 2 pieces of brown bread, 2 eggs over easy, 1 small potato hash browns, orange juice

Lunch: 1 piece of hard tack whole wheat bread and peanut butter

Dinner: Short grain steamed brown rice, collard greens w/fresh garlic, fresh lemon, s & p, herbs of
             Provence, white wine, olive oil, 1 1/2 pieces of walnut bread from Arizmendi bakers (mall
             piece had Maytag blue, the big piece real butter) pole beans steamed and then sauted in evoo
             w/s & p, and white wine, 2 small piece of fried chicken.

Extra: Alice B paid a visit today. Chocolate bar 240 caliries

Exercise: 3.5 miles walking.

Butternut Squash & Pennoni Pasta

If this is your first time logging on to this blog welcome. I started this blog as a way of documenting my struggle with food addiction. My goal is to loose 70 pounds this year. This is my present to myself for my 60th birthday. To begin at the begining scroll down to the blog titled Chronicles of a Food Junkie, dated 12-17-12.

Butternut squash provides an abundance of vitamins and nutrients that help us prevent a variety of serious diseases. One look at it's deep golden color and you know that this vegetable is packed with beta-carotene, an important antioxidant that assists in reducing the risk of a number of life threatening conditions. This vegetable is high in fiber, low in fat, easy to cook, and has a sweet nutty flavor that's irresistible.

Because of it's high fiber content butternut squash helps aid in digestion. If you're watching your fat intake, like I am, this is a super food to help fight the bulge battle, and it aids in combating heart disease and diabetes.

Some other benefits of this beautiful gourd is that it's full of potassium, which helps lower blood pressure, combats cardiovascular disease, aids the nervous system, provides relief from joint stiffness due to arthritis, helps manage headaches and migraines, helps in healing cuts and bruises.

How the hell can you go wrong eating this vegetable? Butternut squash is one bad ass vegetable.

Here is a nice recipe I make with butternut squash. Of all the dishes I cook Geraldine goes wild when I make this one, and she is just about the healthiest person I know, so it must be good. I use whipping cream, Asiago and Roman cheese to make an Alfredo sauce, Italian chicken sausage, pasta, crushed black pepper, fresh mint from the herb garden, herbs of Provence, and julianne red bell peppers. I cube the squash, steam it for 5 minutes, and saute it with evoo until it's nice and crispy. Because of the whipping cream and the sausage I have to watch how much of this dish I eat.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Pennoni Pasta with butternut squash

Ingredients:
1 pound Pennoni pasta
1 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon herbs of Provence
1/8 pound grated Asiago cheese
5 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese + more
1/2 julianne red bell pepper
crushed black pepper to taste
salt to taste & for cooking
1/2 butternut squash cleaned and cubed 1/2 inch
1 pound Italian chicken sausage
1/2 cup of mint medium diced
Olive oil for cooking

Directions:
1) Cook the sausage on medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, 4 turns 5 minutes each turn. Let cool and then rinse under hot water to remove excess fat. Slice on the bias about 1/3 inch thickness.
2) Clean the butternut squash. Cut the skin off with a French knife, remove the pulp and seeds with a table spoon and dice into 1/2 cubes. See photo above right.
3) I a small steamer cook the cubed squash for about 5 minutes or until al dente. Make sure to not overcook it.
4) In a saute pan with a little olive oil, salt, and crushed black pepper saute the butternut squash. See photo above right. Set aside.
5) In a large 6 quart pot with boiling water and salt cook the Pennoni pasta till al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain after cooking.
6) While the pasta is cooking, in a medium sauce  pan bring the whipping cream almost to a boil and add the grated Asiago and Romano cheese until fully incorporated. Add extra cheese if it is not thick enough. Stir constantly during the cooking process. See photo above to the left.
7) Clean and slice the red bell pepper and mint
8) Incorporate the pasta, the Alfredo sauce and add pepper and salt to your desired taste, then add the mint, the squash, the sausage and garnish with the bell pepper. I don't saute the bell peppers, I add them raw for some crunch. Add additional Romano cheese on top.

Food Consumption: 1-25-13

Breakfast: Home fries, 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece whole wheat toast, 1 banana

Lunch: 1 chicken sausage link, two pieces of whole wheat bread, large glass of orange juice

Dinner: Large bowl of leftover pasta

Snacks: handful of nuts and raisins

Exercise: 6 miles walking