Spicy Mexican Carrots

I'm making burritos for dinner again tonight! Last time I made them, Lucas and I were eating burritos for lunch and dinner for almost a week! I made real spicy carrots this time though - thought I'd post a picture.

(for about 5 medium sized carrots)
Slice carrots and as many chilis as you want (I use two serrano) , bring to simmer with (about) 3/4 cups of vinegar (any kind is fine), 3/4 cups of water, a couple of bay leaves, 6 or so black peppercorns and salt. Let that simmer for about 3-4 minutes, then transfer everything into a small bowl and chill. These turned out great! The black beans for the burritos are almost ready and I can't wait to give my carrots a try!!

Burrrriiitos

Since there are NO good burritos in New York (as far as I know), I decided to make some of my own tonight. Originally they were just going to be bean and cheese burritos but something made me want to add some spanish rice to the mix. First, I soaked the black beans overnight. When I was ready to cook them, I chopped up an onion, added a ton of bay leaves, tomato paste, a tiny bit of olive oil, dried oregano, some dried smoked chilis and then covered the beans with a combination of vegetable broth and water. I let that simmer for about two hours until the beans juuust started to fall apart. For the rice, I sauteed half of a small onion in olive oil and then added about a cup or white rice to toast up. After a few minutes, I added about half of a large can of tomatoes and some water. I also attempted to make some spicy pickled carrots but opted not to cook them first. I chopped a serrano chili, about three carrots, and then added in salt and pepper, a few splashes of vinegar and a bit of olive oil. Finally, I chopped up a ton of lettuce and cilantro and served the burritos with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream. Cholula is my hot sauce of choice. I wish I had an avocado!