I am on a blogging frenzy. I can't help it, I am not fully back in the work mode and I am temporarily free of research assignments. Temporarily free is the key phrase.
After my first day back at work was over I did some savory baking. I made tortillas from scratch, made calzones for the kids lunches using left over pizza supplies, chocolate puddings for their lunches and our dinner - Black bean and potato burritos. I used dried black beans, soaking and cooking them today, and I estimated that the 2c of beans used in the recipe cost me about 50-70 cents... for four of us. Love that! I expected resistance from the kids but the comments I got were:
G: "Actually these are very good!" and "There is nothing wrong with these!" (as if he assumed there would be something wrong with them - strange boy)
B: "They are quite good. And the best thing is that no animals were killed to make this meal so tonnes of animals were saved."
The last comment launched us into a conversation about fuels, emissions, the shipping of groceries, the benefits of buying locally from farmers using sustainable practices and the like. I also told her about the cost of the beans vs. the cost of her favorite dinner (roast chicken) and she was very impressed. She then proceeded to lecture me on my egg buying practices, of which I assured her that our eggs are bought from locally farmed, free range and organically fed places to which she added that sometimes when it says organic and free range it isn't really. Sigh. I think I feel a teenager coming on. She then springboarded to telling me that "some vegetarians drink soy milk" as if I was too dumb to know that. DH reminded her that soy milk travels great distances whereas organic milk does not. My kids have never forgiven me for switching them off of soy to regular milk and are constantly trying to convince me to switch back. B is showing a lot of interest in vegetarianism and I won't be surprised if she decides to convert one of these days. I'm not sure that she fully understands yet that her favorite meal of roast chicken will no longer be an option! I have no problem with the idea of returning to vegetarianism but I think my DH would be a bit sad. He likes it when I cook meat for him :-)
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3 comments:
Blogging frenzy indeed...loving it!
I also love the "There's nothing wrong with these", as if every other night you might need to watch out for poison or beetles in your food but that night it was alright;)
Oh M - can you send me that tortilla recipe? We use them all the time, I never thought of making them. I received a quesedialla maker (yes, they are easy enough to make on their own but MIL gave it to me so I'd better use it) for Christmas and thought I would crank some of these out.
PS: I love your blogging frenzy, even if I don't post on each one, I do read them all. :-D
Happy New Year!
For Mpuff:
These are the ones that I made but I found them a bit tough to roll out thinly so have included another version I found afterwards
4c whole wheat flour
1 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 c butter or oil
1 c warm water
combine dry ingredients in a bowl, work in butter or oil. Add enough water to make soft, pliable dough. Knead lightly on floured surface. Divide into 6 balls. Let stand, covered for 15 to 20 min. Roll into thin circles between sheets of floured waxed paper. Bake in ungreased, heavy skillet or griddle until brown specks appear on cooking side. Flip over and cook other side. Stores well in fridge or freezer. Yield: 16.
The other recipe, which I haven't tried is:
1 1/2 c unbleached flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 T baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 c hot water
1 1/2 T oil
Combine flours, baking powder and salt in bowl; mix well. Add mixture of hot water and oil, stirring until crumbly. Mix for 4 minutes or utnil dough is smooth; wrap in plastic wrap. Let stand for 15 min. Divide into 12 portions. Roll each portion into a circle on a well floured surface, turning often. Cook on ungreased hot griddle for 5 seconds or until bubbles appear on surface. Turn tortilla. Cook for 15 seconds or until light brown spots appear. Turn tortilla, pressing with folded tea towel. Cook for 5-10 seconds or until light brown. STack between tea towels. Yield: 12 servings.
Let me know if you try the second one and it turns out!!!
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