At about the time this edition of Andy’s Corner is being posted I should be on the second leg of the Wild Rivers Bicycle Tour with forty other wacko cyclists from the Santa Rosa Cycling Club. As you are reading this I could be struggling over Etna Pass, which according to the ride description is “a huge beast of a climb” that “seems to get harder the higher you go.” Don’t ask why I am doing this.
Hence in this edition of Andy’s Corner I will be brief and will draw from my earlier post, “Existentialism, Doorstops, and Breakfast Burritos,” which has both culinary and philosophical relevance for Ann’s “Two Bucks, Chuck, and my Bro” blog. Plus, as a bonus I am throwing in a proper recipe.
The culinary relevance part is pretty obvious. My breakfast burrito is simple with just a few key ingredients and tastes terrific. The philosophical part is less obvious, but it has something to do with Soren Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy. To help with that, here are some excerpts from the earlier post:
I was hoping that Soren would have something to say about the existential meaning of food and cooking. You can imagine how very excited I was to come across this quote:
“Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy — to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work” (Emphasis added; see more about this quote here).
Despite the politically incorrect, gender-biased prose, this comment resonated with me. I definitely can appreciate the ridiculousness of being “brisk” about food, work, or for that matter, almost anything else. In fact, I like to think of myself as one who excels at plodding along. I’m not sure what this has to do with existentialism, but I am going to run with it – or better yet, plod with it.
Even better yet, all of this this applies to my breakfast burritos:
Even though I probably have made a hundred of these same burritos over the past several years, I continue to enjoy the minutia of the preparation. Just seeing the finely diced zucchini – skin side only – and a carefully seeded and diced jalapeño pepper gleaming on the cutting board next to a perfect pile of grated cheddar and queso fresco cheese brings me great joy. [editor’s note: I have now switched to cotija cheese in place of queso fresco.]
The burrito itself or its consumption is almost incidental to this existential experience of creation (whatever the hell that means).
In the end, my hope is that I may nudge others to occasionally abandon their brisk impulses by engaging in the simple pleasures of plodding along in the kitchen.
After having said all that, here’s the recipe:
Andy's Breakfast Burritos
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten, salted and peppered to taste
- 2/3 cup combination of grated cheddar and Mexican cotija cheese
- 1/4 cup zucchini, finely diced, skin side only.
- 1 tsp finely chopped serrano or jalapeno chili pepper (note: chilis vary in heat so be cautious)
- flour tortillas (preferably 10 inch size)
- 1 tsp butter plus a drizzle of olive oil for cooking
- sriracha or other hot sauce for garnishing after ingredients are on the tortilla (optional, but recommended).
Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and then add the finely diced chilis, mixing thoroughly. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the diced zucchini and continue cooking for about 2 additional minutes. Pour in the slightly beaten eggs and stir until the eggs are no longer runny but still glistening. Add and mix in the grated cheese and take off the heat immediately and set in a warm oven or under a heat lamp.
Over an open gas burner or on a hot dry skillet, heat the tortillas on both sides until you can seem them slightly puffing up and turning brown in places.
Place half of the egg mixture in the center of each of the tortillas, drizzle on the sriracha (or other hot sauce of you choice) and roll into burritos.
Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.[/recipe-notes]
The breakfast burritoes
are the best!!! We’ve enjoyed twice. Thank you jack
Hope went well on your ride.
Glad you liked the burritos. Although a struggle, I managed both to complete all of the ride stages and to have a great time. Good thing it wasn’t a race.