Tour de Fleece and Ravellenic Games: Fuel Up

Hello all, and Happy Friday!!

So, the end of the Tour de Fleece is in sight; just 7 more days of spinning. I don't know about you, but I haven't quite met all of my goals yet for this TdF, so I'm hoping to spin like a maniac in the coming week, ha ha!

Right on the heels of Tour de Fleece, we'll be gearing up for The Ravellenic Games. Wahoo! I'm planning to knit myself a sweater this year, and that's going to be the main project I focus on along with a few little designs if I can get to them. I'm planning to knit the Rivel Cardigan using yarn that I bought on clearance at MDSW about 5 years ago! It's about time, right?

If you're looking for a team, feel free to pop on over to the Storied Yarns group. We'd love to have you! And even if you don't join our team officially, I'm still going to be offering prizes for anyone who uses Storied Yarns yarn, fiber or patterns during the Games. So make sure you post photos in our official thread (that goes for Tour de Fleece, too)!

Anyway, for today's post I thought I'd do something a little different. In our BohoCrafty TdF team, we've been sharing recipes. I shared one of my own recipes, too, which I call Jess's Jumping Beans and Rice! I suppose I should technically call them Mike's Mexi-Melts since the recipe was my husband's invention, but he's not on Ravelry so I took the credit, HA!

Anyway, if you're going to be participating in some marathon crafting you'll need the fuel to keep you going, right? This dish is filling, delicious and vegetarian (with an easy vegan alternative). The meat-free ingredients are pretty cheap, so it's perfect for cooking dinner on a budget, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Jess's Jumping Beans and Rice (aka Mike's Mexi-Melts)

Ingredients:

- 1 small to medium onion
- 1 green pepper (or the color of your choice)
- 1 can black beans
- approx. 1/2 can corn
- taco sauce (can substitute salsa/picante sauce)
- 1 cup dry rice
- shredded taco/cheddar cheese (vegan alternative: soy cheez)
- 1 tomato (optional)
- 1 hot pepper (optional)

Directions:

- Chop up your onion and green pepper into small, bite-sized pieces. Toss them together in a skillet over medium high heet until the onions start to get translucent and the peppers start to brown.
- Add one can of drained/rinsed black beans and 1/2 can of corn. Mix together.
- Pour in a heavy tablespoon of taco sauce OR approx. 1/4 cup salsa. Mix some more.
- Optional: Some like it hot, so if you're one of those, add a chopped up spicy pepper.
- Simmer over medium-low heat to allow the flavors to blend.
- Meanwhile, cook 1 cup of dry rice according to package directions. I use brown rice but white is also fine.

Serving Options:

- Option 1: Spread the rice onto a plate. Add the skillet contents and sprinkle with cheese (or alternative) on top, then add a diced tomato (also optional). Season with additional salsa or taco sauce as needed. Eat with a fork.
- Option 2: Follow directions for Option 1, but eat with tortilla chips.
- Option 3: Put a flour tortilla on the plate first, then stuff it with the ingredients from Option 1 and eat it like a burrito.

I hope you enjoyed my little off-the-beaten-path post today! Also, if you happen to need more fuel for your spinning and knitting, there's plenty of fiber in the Storied Yarns Shop. (Ha ha, I couldn't resist!)