Frozen Burritos, Tomatoes, and Mortality

Every now and then, it occurs to me that I'm going to die-- not in a casual, "everything that lives must die" kinda way, but in the profound sort of way where the light on everything suddenly looks different and you can see the subtle nub of the fabric on the throw pillows and every piece of dust glinting in the sunlight looks like its own self-contained world-- that kind of way.

Sometimes these moments are initiated by the death of a loved one.  Maybe it's an intense pang of love that jolts you into such a state.  But whatever the trigger, these moments lead to some sort of physiological change.  In this state, you realize that your time really is limited, that you must choose what to do with this time (laundry?), and who you want to spend it with (facebook?), and that if you want to go to Paris before you die, well, you better start saving up now.

I think there's a good reason that these sorts of "altered states of perception" can only be maintained for a limited time.  Can you imagine the difficulty of forcing yourself to submit verification of a doctor visit to the insurance co. if you were constantly aware of the preciousness of time and compelled to make every moment 'count?'  It would be really hard to not tell scores of bureaucracies to go take a leap.  That would not turn out well.

Hm...  Well, this is getting too serious.

One of the ways that I have battled my over-awareness of the ever after is by entertaining the notion of cryogenics.  Did you know that Walt Disney isn't frozen after all?  I found that very disappointing as I was certain that he was, and of course if he did it, it must be a good idea.  But, I digress.

Wouldn't it be awesome if they could just thaw you out and you could wake up in the future (where everything is solar powered, fixed, healthy, and smooth sailing) with all of your friends and family waiting for you ready to get on with an easy breezy immortality?  (I guess some people call that heaven, but for the sake of where I'm going with this, we'll refer to it as the future.)  That would be the best!

It would be nice for my burritos, too.  In my little patio garden, right now as I type, are at least 50 little tomatoes that will soon be ripe and quite literally ready for the picking.  Alas, that is not currently the state of affairs.  In my fridge, though, are all of the wonderful ingredients for burritos that I fear will not survive the length of time necessary for the ripening.  I have an idea.  I will freeze the burritos for the future.  Things may not all be solar powered when I defrost them, but the tomatoes will be waiting for them all the same.

Frozen Burritos

Ingredients:

2 C of leftover pulled pork (or ground beef, or shredded chicken, etc.)

2 tbs of olive oil

1 diced onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 ts of cumin

1 ts of chili powder

1/2 ts of salt

1/4 ts of pepper

1 can of black beans drained and rinsed (rinsing them gets rid of most of that crazy salt they add)

2 tbs of chopped cilantro

1 C of salsa

1 chipotle w/ adobo (I had leftover ones in the freezer-- sweet!)

2 C of cooked rice

2 C of shredded cheese (Monterey jack, cheddar, some fancy Mexican cheese, etc.)

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet an add onion.  Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, add garlic and saute for additional 2 minutes, add cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.  Cook for one more minute.  Add beans, chipotle, and salsa to skillet.  Cook for about 5 more minutes over medium high to evaporate some of the unnecessary liquid.

Let everything cool for about 15 minutes

Assemble burritos:

So, this made 6 gigantic burritos and I imagine it would make about 8 of the regular size.  Divide bean mixture, rice, and cheese evenly among tortillas.

Roll up burritos.

Wrap in foil.

 and freeze for the future (Don't worry; they'll be okay.  It's just like sleeping for them.)

When the future finally gets here, microwave about 2 minutes per side on medium high heat (power level 7/10).  Serve with tomatoes, lettuce, and sour cream.  Eat it while your flying car drives itself.  It is the future, after all.