The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I try to do my experimental cooking on the weekends when I have the most time.  On today's menu was this black bean chili recipe that I had been looking really forward to cooking.  I soaked the beans last night and quickly put everything in the crock pot before heading to a birthday party with Anna.  When I came home I knew it was going to be awful - the smell, the initial taste - so bad.  I decided to dump it down the disposal.  Well, this is where the ugly comes in... our disposal is notoriously unreliable.  We've lived in this house for almost 4 years, and we've had to have the disposal unclogged twice for backing up into one of the bathrooms (usually after hours for an additional charge, of course).  Bryan wasn't home when the disposal quit working, and the sink was full of stinky black water that couldn't drain so I just worked around it the best I could.  Once home, he started checking it, and realized the disposal was working fine, but something else was clogged.  That's when black bean disposal water  started spewing all over the floor from the cabinet under the sink!  So gross!!!!  Luckily my favorite handyman was able to locate the clog with no call to the plumber, and after washing my vases and cleaning off the cleaning products I got on with my experimenting.

So here's the good: I love steamed and mashed sweet potato and homemade whole wheat tortillas are amazing!  I made the steamed sweet potato for a flat bread pizza (another ugly: flat bread got burned, so I just ate the toppings on the tortilla instead), and now I can't wait to make it again for an easy and quick side dish.  I made the tortillas today for tomorrow's dinner, and would highly recommend trying them.  It takes time to mix, roll out, and cook, but it's so worth it.

To make the mashed sweet potatoes:  Peel the sweet potato and cut into large chunks.  Steam the chunks until softened, about 12 minutes.  Then mash the potatoes and enjoy.  See, it's so easy!

I made the tortillas as written except I used olive oil (what is avocado oil anyway???).  Whole-wheat flour has a really nice grainy texture.  I look forward to using it again for some homemade goodies.  I'm doing another experiment tomorrow, so let's hope for the best!


Whole Wheat Tortilla recipe from 100 Days of Real Food:

Whole-Wheat Tortillas

Serves: 12 Tortillas

Adapted from Anson Mills

Ingredients

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• ½ cup oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.

- See more at: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/05/26/recipe-whole-wheat-tortillas/#sthash.nBG0HJL4.dpuf