I really thought I had defined all airport archetypes, but alas, I continue to be surprised.

To preface, I’m not judging my fellow travelers, I’m simply observing their habits with a keen eye, taking as many mental pictures as I can and recording all my data and research so I can one day compile a book on air travelers, simple.

My most recent discovery is really a matter of etiquette. Allow me to pose a question: What foods are OK to bring on a plane?

I’ll admit I’m personally lenient on the issue. Like, I’ll bring an everything bagel onto a plane, noooo problemo. No one makes small talk with onion breath Rachel! Burgers, sammies, burrito bowls, I’m really fine with it. Peeps gotta eat, right? I’m on a plane yesterday, snacking on some almonds, reading my book, when I get a whiff of something stank. I’m accustomed to passenger foot stank as I know some folks are super pro-shoeless-flying, but this was different. It was definitely food. And it was definitely fish. On a plane. Like snakes on a plane, except more frightening? Idk. At first I was like, I am definitely making this up. No one brought fish on this plane. I turn and see a gal just going to town on a tuna salad and owning every bite. I couldn’t be upset, I could tell she was loving her dinner and living her best life up there at 30,000 feet. In the end, are my onion bagels so different from her tuna salad? No, I say, no, they are not.

To my fellow pungent food plane eaters, I applaud you for living your truth.

 

 

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled + cubed
• 1 package of soyrizo
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed + drained
• 1 cup of quinoa, cooked
• 1 cup of roasted corn
• Avocado, for serving
• Cilantro, for serving
• 1 tbsp. of chili powder
• 2 tsp. of cumin
• S+P, to taste
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil

How to:

• Preheat oven to 400
• Arrange butternut squash on a lined baking sheet + drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil + sprinkle with chili powder + 1 tsp. of cumin + S+P
• Roast 20-25 minutes, tossing once
• Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
• Add onion, cook 3-4 minutes
• Add soyrizo, cook 5-6 minutes
• Add jalapeno, cook another 2 minutes
• Meanwhile, heat black beans in a lil pot over low-med heat with remaining cumin + S+P
• To serve, add some quinoa + squash + soyrizo mix + beans + red pepper + corn to a bowl and top with cilantro + avocado, serve hot
• Light up your pumpkin candles, swaddle yourself in scarves + sweaters + sit by the fire, delicately eating your burrito bowl + being the basic autumn queen you are