In contrast to Katie, who’s blog might be described as “the habits of highly effective chefs”, my posts will be more along the lines of “quick cheats for lazy goof offs”. They will largely consist things I make from ingredients that happen to be available, using pre-seasoned ingredients or, incorporating leftovers from one dish into another. As such it doesn’t make a lot of sense to follow like a recipe and buy ingredients to create something I describe here, as this is antithesis to my technique.

Today we had Kale that needed to be eaten. It’s best not to let it sit around too long. By far the simplest tasty way to make kale is to simply steam it and repeatedly coat it in Bacon Salt. The hickory flavor tastes great, completely vegan and has much less sodium than normal salt. On Kale you really can’t add too much of it. I like to coat it fully three times during cooking.

The other major ingredient is Soyrizo, which is one of my favorite foods. I always keep some around and use it frequently. Everything else was what was available, and could also be cooked in the one pan. The quinoa and could have just have easily been rice and beans or the recipe could have been served over leftover noodles instead of wrapped in tortillas.

While I don’t frequently make grains  –they take a while to cook and require a dedicated pot– when I do, I make a lot because they preserve well and are versatile enough to get used quickly.

Soyrizo, Quinoa, and Kale Burritos with Bacon Salt

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup roughly chopped onion
• 3 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into bite size pieces
• 1/2 of a 12-ounce package of Soyrizo (or 6 ounces)
• 3/4 cup leftover cooked quinoa
• 1 Tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
• 2 large tortillas
• vegetable oil
• Bacon Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Salsa, guacamole, and/or non-dairy sour cream to finish

Method

Heat a 12-inch skillet to medium heat, add 2-3 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Add mushroom and onion and season with some Bacon Salt. Cook until onion is translucent. Thoroughly wash kale and add to pan wet. The extra moisture will help it steam. Season with Bacon Salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook until kale is fully wilted and season twice more with bacon salt, once during cooking and once more when the kale is fully cooked.  Season to taste with black pepper. Remove from pan on to a plate and cover.

Reheat the skillet to medium heat. Add 2-3 teaspoons of vegetable oil and the Soyrizo. Cook for three to four minutes while breaking up with a spatula. Add the quinoa and cook for five to seven more minutes until thoroughly cooked. Add the Liquid Aminos and stir well. Remove this to the same plate as the kale.

Wipe out the skillet and warm two burrito size tortillas in the pan. Once warm, remove tortillas to separate plates and spoon the Soyrizo and Kale mixtures into the tortillas. Top with your favorite salsa, guacamole, and or non-dairy sour cream and roll up like burritos.

Editor’s Note: I’ve been nervous about submitting to my partner’s cooking once a week for a month. But this wasn’t all that bad. There are some slight changes I would make, as I don’t always agree with Tom’s methods, but overall, it was relatively tasty. I do recommend it with some sort of sour cream substitute. I feel it needs a bit of acid to balance the Bacon Salt. And I have to apologize for the photos. Tom cooks far too fast for me to take pictures of him with my phone camera. So I will have to switch to my SLR for the next Tom Food post. Inconvenient for me, as my phone uploads my photos to a server automatically, but the quality will be much higher. –KateB