Mexican Pumpkin Burrito

Blogging takes discipline. It's been almost one month since I last posted. I was (and still am) feeling lazy to blog although I haven't stopped cooking since I came back from KL 3 days ago.

Firstly, I was surprised to see the refrigerator stocked with foods and fruits the morning after I came back. Then there, in the kitchen, stood my handsome husband, with knife on one hand, chopping board on the other. He pulled out some mocked crab meat, sun dried tomatoes, rocket pesto (that I made before we left to Oman, which I had forgotten, and astonished to see he had been cooking with while I was away!), eggs, cheese, etc, and made me an omelet! There's also the mixed fruits smoothie that he's very proud of - came with this super awesome date honey that we bought from Oman.

As I tasted the foods cooked by my loved one I was overwhelmed by a sense of joy and happiness, which was contradicted by a sense of loss: like a mother who just realized her child is no longer her baby. LOL. You know that ain't gonna happen. He will soon realize what he did was mere child's play. WAHAHAHA!

We were discussing about dinner. Adrian mentioned a pumpkin taco recipe that he saw (somebody has been doing his homework). I couldn't find anything good from the internet, and hence decided to piece together bits and puzzles from different sources.

I started by putting pumpkin, orange chili pepper and red bell pepper into the oven for roasting. Remember to check on the chili pepper. I pulled mine out on the late side and it turned out a little burnt. I was going to use Jalapeno pepper but couldn't find them at Central Silom. I blame it on the red-shirt protest, which forces the Gourmet Market in Paragon to close (for weeks now!) I seriously need them to dissolve so I can get back to my normal grocery shopping. Anyway, this orange chili pepper was the only pepper available other than Thai chili and green chili. It's actually quite hot. I chose to remove the seeds to keep the hotness low.

One complaint I have about being, and cooking vegetarian: too much chopping. Since this "project" is the brainchild of Adrian, I made him did the hardest part: onions. I wish I had video-taped his teary eyes.

Adrian did the chopping and mashing of the guacamole. We used orange chili pepper (with seeds) and a green sweet pepper for taste. The roasted pumpkin seeds added an excellent touch to the taste and texture.

It happened that George was coming for a game of chess. "Is there enough food for George?" asked the chess maestro's protege - Adrian Cox. OF COURSE, and it's always more fun to cook for more people (no more than 4 at a time though).

As I laid the foods down on the table, I announced we were going to compete and make our own best burrito with the ingredients available: flour tortilla, guacamole, sour cream, rocket leaves, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, cheddar cheese, roasted spiced pumpkin, roasted spiced red bell pepper, and red kidney beans and corn mix.

The touch of white sesame seeds was something I learned from May-Kay Dee in Khao San. You can cook the red bell pepper without roasting; it's a request from Adrian that I dutifully complied. We weren't sure how long it would take to cook the dried black beans, hence the use of canned beans. The corns though were fresh from the cob.

Adrian looking proud of his burrito that which he wouldn't have its photo taken. George took the contest seriously. I was mostly teasing and laughing at Adrian.


George's vs mine.

Adrian refused to let me take a picture of his burrito. For reason you can think of. It was a very close call between George's and mine. I think mine looked pretty but I have to give it to George because he's our guest :p Prize? George got to finish the last bite of everything! I thought I had made too much for three persons, but turned out everyone had rather good appetite this day. Hurray for Mexican!

Happy eating people.

A good meal is never complete without dessert. For something quick and easy, I made pudding using this Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pudding recipe from my first post. Instead of chocolate, I used organic black sesame paste. It was surprisingly better than I thought it would be - it's delicious and taste healthy. I thought of Tam as I made this because she was begging for some the last time I made it for Adrian.

Ingredients:

(serve 3)

For the Veggie Filling:

• 2 roasted red bell pepper, skins and seeds removed, julienne
  
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Sea salt to taste

1. Saute onions and red bell pepper with a pinch of salt. Add spices and cook until well coated and fragrant.
2. Keep warm in the oven at 100C.

For the Pumpkin Filling:

• 1/2 roasted pumpkin
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• White sesame seeds
  
• 1 roasted orange chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 can organic red kidney bean
• 1 corn, niblet only
  

1. Scoop pumpkin out and mash to a smooth consistency. Saute pumpkin, with the remaining ingredients until it becomes golden in color. Taste and adjust with sea salt. Sprinkle with white sesame seeds.
   
2. Keep warm in the oven.
3. Use the same pan to cook together red kidney beans and corn niblet. Taste and season with sea salt.
4. Keep warm in the oven.

To Assemble:

• Arugula leaves
• Sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 cherry tomatoes, diced
• Guacamole
• Sour cream (lemon juice + Cream)
• Toasted pumpkin seeds
  
• Flour tortilla
  

1. Wrap tortilla with aluminum foil and warm in the oven at 180C for 10 minutes.
2. Make your own burrito using all the ingredients above!