Volcano Wraps

On our honeymoon, we went volcano boarding at Cerro Negro in Nicaragua. It was a challenging hike given the strong winds, and overall a petrifying experience. The rewards of this adventure came in the form of a gash in my left shin caused by fallen volcanic rock, black ash lodged firmly into every crevasse of my body, a wind-designed hairstyle that impenetrable by brush, comb or fingers, and a delightful lunch made by our guide at Quetzaltrekkers. This meal tastes extraordinarily good devoured while sitting on a hammock, sipping on a Toña cerveza, but tastes just as good now that we're back home, reminiscing about the goodtimes in Nica. 

Going down the side of Cerro Negro
as slowly and fearlessly as possible. 

Victory meal for volcano boarding survivors.

Makes 4-5 medium wraps. 

Nica journaling

• 3 large carrots
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 ear of corn (use frozen if fresh isn't available)
• 1 very small onion (more or less to taste)
• 1 squeeze of lime
• salt and pepper, to taste
• soft, medium, whole wheat tortilla wraps
• 14oz squeeze pouch Ducal refried beans (canned variety is close enough if you don't live near any Mexican & South American grocery stores)
• topping: spicy nacho Doritos

 

Peel carrots, then shred through large-hole shredder of your grater. Place shredded carrots into large salad bowl. 

Wash cucumber (you only need half), then quarter lengthwise before slicing thinly. I prefer thin slices, but you can make chunkier if it suits you. Add sliced cuke to salad bowl. 

Wash tomato, slice in half, then remove seeds and slime. Dice, then add to bowl. 

Shuck the corn, then take a sharp knife to slice the kernels off in swaths. I lay the corn flat on a large chopping board instead of holding it vertically so the kernels don't fall everywhere. Add kernels to salad bowl. 

Dice as much onion as you'd like and add to the mix. I use most of a small onion, because although I don't mind the taste of raw onion, it is not meant to overpower the salad. 

Add a squeeze of lime, salt and pepper to the salad, then toss to mix. 

Wrap assembly can be done however you like, but this is the order I like:  Squeeze a good dollop of refried beans into the center of the wrap. Pick up the wrap and fold lightly to evenly distribute beans. Re-open the wrap, crush a few spicy doritos into the beans, then pile high with salad mix, before topping off with a few more crushed spicy doritos. Hot sauce can be added if you are a fan of goodness. Fold up, enjoy and repeat as necessary! 

Chipotle Chicken, Black Bean & Corn Wraps

Mmm I love the smoky heat of chipotle peppers.. so uniquely different from the taste of raw jalapenos! I like to bring out the smokiness even more by adding a smoky BBQ sauce to the mix. And since the mix is quite juicy, I pair this with a Spanish rice to help absorb the sauce and make your meal a little less messy! If you don't like Spanish rice, plain rice or quinoa works well too. 

These healthy wraps are quite filling - I'm good with one for dinner, B has two. This recipe yields 4-6 wraps depending on how much you stuff them! 

Yield 4-6 wraps

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 

• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (I like smoky chipotle or Bull's Eye Guiness)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne 
• leaves from 3-4 stems of kale (spinach works too, the point is just to get some greens!)
• 1 onion, divided
• 1 cup long grain white rice (2 cups water)
• 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp chili powder 
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 1 15oz can black beans
• 3 green onions
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
• grated cheese for topping (I used colby-jack, but cheddar or mozza will do)
• 4-6 tortilla wraps (I like La Tortilla Factory's Smart & Delicious, Low Carb, HighFibre)

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into small chunks. 

Mince chipotle peppers, keeping some adobo sauce to use for the marinade. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, mix and set aside. Marinade and refrigerate well in advance if time allows so the flavor really sets in. 

Wash kale and rip leaves from stems/ribs. Set aside to let dry. 

Dice the onion, sectioning off 1/4 for the Spanish rice, and 3/4 for the chipotle chicken, black bean & corn mix. 

Heat a small amount of olive oil in frying pan with lid over med-high. Add 1/4 diced onion and stir for 2min. Add 1 cup long grain white rice and let toast for 2min. Add cajun, chili powder and ground pepper, and stir to mix for another 3min. 

Add tomato paste and 2 cups of water to the rice mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low-med and cover with lid for 20min or until all liquid is absorbed. Once the rice is ready, remove from heat, and let stand 5min before fluffing. 

Drain and rinse black beans. 

Wash and dice green onions. 

In a separate frying pan with lid, heat a small amount of olive oil over med-high. Add remaining 3/4 of diced onion and stir for 3min. Then add marinated chicken and fry together for another 4min, stirring often. 

Add black beans, corn, green onion, and BBQ sauce to the chicken and onion. Stir to combine, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15min. 

If you like warm wraps, heat them in the oven for 5min, wrapped in foil. 

Grate as much cheese as you'd like. 

Once everything is ready, it's time to assemble the wraps! I like to start with kale as the base of the wrap so the heat from the rest of the ingredients wilts the greens. Next, I do a layer of Spanish rice, then the chipotle chicken mix. Top with cheese, then wrap it up and enjoy! 

Chicken Nood Wraps with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Whenever I answer the question, "what's for sups?", with the question, "what do YOU want for sups?", the answer is usually immediately: nood wraps! Last night was no different. 

Nood wraps are high up on our list of go-to meals and I have to give Brian credit for what I thought would be an awkward combination of foods that turned out pretty delicious! It all started at one of those choose-your-own-adventure delis in Kelowna last summer when we decided to share a wrap and I let Brian go wild with the ingredient selection. Impressed, I attempted to recreate the wrap at home with some tweaks of course. For me, "tweaks" are most often defined as extreme flavor bursts that tend to involve some heat. I wasn't sold on the deli's drippy chipotle lime dressing, and went with a thick peanut sauce instead, which I think is pretty key, so I strongly suggest a heavy hand when saucing the wrap. 

Yield: 3 wraps 

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 



chicken & marinade

• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp cayenne*
• 1-2 squirts of sriracha*
• Spicy thai peanut sauce: 
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• at least a 1-inch section of fresh ginger root (sometimes more), minced
• 2 small chilis, minced, seeds included for extra heat (I've got dried tien tsin chinese chilis used for hunan dishes, but have also used fresh red thai chili peppers)*
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1-2 limes) 
• 2/3 cup reduced-fat peanut butter (I use creamy/smooth, not chunky)
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp cayenne*



dried egg noodles

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 large whole wheat wraps (I prefer La Tortilla Factory's wraps for their low-fat, low-carb, high fibre options) 
• 3 bundles of oriental style dried egg noodles (can be fresh or dried, as long as it's not fried!)
• fresh, washed spinach
• grated cheese (marbled colby-jack pictured above) 
• fresh chopped cilantro

* This is not recommended at all, but if you really can't take the heat... reduce/omit the cayenne, sriracha, chili peppers and basically all things fun :)

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into small strips. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, mix, and set aside. Feel free to marinade hours in advance to really let the goodness soak in.

spicy thai peanut sauce

Prepare peanut sauce. Start by mincing the garlic, ginger and chilis. Heat a small amount of olive oil to a small frying pan over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and the edges of the garlic turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat and set aside. 

Juice lime(s) and pour into small sauce pan with lid. Combine all other peanut sauce ingredients, including the cooked garlic, ginger and chili peppers with lime juice in sauce pan. Cook over low heat til peanut butter melts. Stir frequently to mix and prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Remove from heat, cover with lid and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 C. Place wraps in aluminum foil and warm in oven for 5 minutes. Feel free to skip this step if you don't need warmed wraps. 

Boil enough water in a separate pot to cover noodles. Dried egg noodles cook in 2-3 minutes in boiling water (or per package instructions). Drain cooked noodles in colander. 

Add small amount of olive oil to the same small frying pan that was used to cook the garlic, ginger and chilis. Stir fry chicken over high heat til cooked. Remove from heat. 

Chop fresh spinach up a bit if they are not baby leaves. Grate as much cheese, and chop as much fresh cilantro as your taste buds desire. 

Build your own wraps!  I arrange all of the prepared items on the kitchen counter in an assembly line so you can customize wraps with as much or as little of everything as you like. As previously mentioned, a solid helping of peanut sauce is crucial to tasty times, so don't be afraid to start with an initial coating of sauce as a base layer, followed by some generous dollops to top the pile off before you close the wrap up. 

Note: My eyes and stomach are always bigger than the tortilla. I pile things high and end up having technical difficulties with wrap execution, so maybe don't go overboard if you want to keep things elegant. Enjoy!