Tortillas

Tortillas are surprisingly easy to make, but it does go a lot faster with two: one to flatten dough while the other cooks the previously-flattened dough.  Each tortilla takes about as long to cook as to roll.

These tortillas are good enough to eat plain.  They store well in a ziploc baggie.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • (up to) 1 cup warm water

Steps:

  1. Preheat a large skillet on medium heat (our stove runs hot so it’s more like medium-low, YMMV)
  2. Mix flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl
  3. Cut in oil with a pastry blender or a fork
  4. Slowly incorporate water, mixing until a soft dough forms
  5. Make 2-inch dough balls – probably ten or twelve
  6. Roll flat with a rolling pin.  The dough should be as close to paper-thin as you can make it (you’ll probably wind up with cardstock).
    • You  won’t need to flour the surface – if the dough is good it won’t stick (except maybe to the rolling pin)
  7. Cook the tortillas one at a time until they start to bubble, then flip and heat until brown spots form.

Credit to https://kbmillers.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/169/

Black Bean Burgers

I love black bean burgers, which means in my house I’m the odd man out.  Used to be that I would only buy them when we went out because they seemed hard to make.  That is, until now.

Black Bean Burgers

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 patties

Equipment

  • Potato Masher
  • Skillet
  • Flat bottom bowl or sauce pan

Ingredients
  

  • 15 oz Black beans, canned drained and rinsed; I prefer the low-sodium beans
  • 1/2 - 1 whole Bell pepper
  • 1 small Onion
  • 3 cloves Garlic minced
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Chili powder
  • 1 tbsp Cumin
  • 1/2 cup Bread crumbs up to 1 cup may be required
  • 1-4 tbsp Vegetable oil

Instructions
 

  • Finely dice the bell pepper and onion
  • Mash the beans in the bowl; you may optionally reserve some from being mashed if you like whole beans in your patties
  • Mix in peppers, onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and egg
  • Mix in a half-cup of bread crumbs, until you have a dry, grainy paste. If mixture is still wet, mix in small amounts of bread crumbs until it's dry.
  • Divide into quarters (or fifths/sixths if you prefer smaller/tiny patties)
  • Fry in a little oil over medium heat until each side is slightly browned

Notes

  • The patties tend to be "thirsty" and require a bit of oil, generally 1 tablespoon per patty.
  • Patties freeze exceptionally well; you can throw frozen patties right on the pan.
  • I tend to make these while I'm making hamburgers as well, and the beef fat substitutes the vegetable oil very well (though it makes the burgers non-vegetarian).
Keyword beans, black beans, burgers, vegetarian

 

New Year’s 2014

xmas tree
The Christmas tree at Quincy Market, December 2014

We have established some new family traditions around Christmas and New Years:

  • a family night out to Quincy Market to see the Christmas tree and have some dinner;
  • the early-evening fireworks on Boston Common for New Year’s Eve.

These are real, official traditions – we’ve done them for at least two years in a row.

The night at Quincy Market isn’t fancy: a casual stroll around the touristy section of Boston, with some overpriced dinner and maybe some trinkets from the various and sundry vendors.  A ride on the carousel, before it closes for the year, is mandatory.

selfie, Dad and Alpha child
My beard makes me look like sasquatch

Along with the Christmas tree there is a light show called ‘Blink,’ which plays every hour or so.  Music by the Boston Pops is piped in over the loudspeakers.


We chose to stay home for Christmas Day, rather than travelling to Connecticut to join our folks.  That is a tradition I can get behind – so much less stress than driving around all day.

We didn’t plan much for the day.  We held open the possibility of going to the cinema, but the girls wanted to stay home and watch a movie we got for Christmas (Guardians of the Galaxy).  Having a low-stress holiday is refreshing, so unlike the holidays of my childhood.

My folks weren’t thrilled with not seeing us – my father is very resistant to change, and he’s accustomed to hosting the entire family – but we had Christmas Part II on the following Sunday, which was actually pretty fun.


starburst
A pair of starbursts over Boston Common, New Year’s Eve 2014

This year Baba (the kids’ name for their grandmother) joined us for the fireworks.  We took the train in, ate dinner in the city, and walked to the Common with hot chocolate in hand.

The weather was cold but the sky was clear.  The show ran a little long, about 15 minutes, but the kids were thrilled and we all forgot about the cold for a bit.

D-Angelo’s #9

I discovered the D’Angelo’s sandwich chain in my late teens and fell in love with their ‘Number 9’ grilled sandwich.  It’s very easy to make for yourself and it’s delicious!

This recipe makes enough to feed two or three people (or more, if they’re kids).

Ingredients

  • 1 or 2 chicken breasts (2 if they’re small) or a steak’s worth of beef
  • a quarter of a green bell pepper, diced
  • half a small yellow onion, diced
  • a couple of spoonfuls of sliced mushrooms (optional, kids get weird about ‘shrooms)
  • a couple of slices of american cheese
  • a loaf of french bread (softer is better)

Steps

  1. add a little vegetable oil to a hot pan on medium heat, and throw in the onions, peppers, and mushrooms.  Let it soften.
  2. While the above is cooking, dice the meat and add to the vegetables.  Occasionally flip the whole thing over so nothing burns and the meat cooks evenly.
  3. While the above is cooking, slice the bread grinder-style
  4. When the meat is cooked, pile everything together and add the cheese to cover it
  5. When the cheese melts enough to collapse into the meat and veggies, scoop it into the bread and serve.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

  • 24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about one 12 oz box)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • ½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese

Toppings:

  • 8 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
  • 8 tablespoons salsa
  • ¼ cup sliced black olives
  • ¼ cup sliced green onions

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions; drain.
  3. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
  4. Stir in salsa, tomato sauce, corn, and beans.
  5. Spoon beef mixture into pasta shells and place in a 13×9 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.
  6. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Top with sour cream, salsa,, olives, and onions.

Original recipe page

North End travels

Beta is more intrepid than her older sister, so the two of us go on adventures when Megh is busy and Alpha just wants to stay home.  On Sunday afternoon we headed into Boston’s North End to explore.

I actually found legal, on-street parking (oh joy!) and only had to reverse down a one-way street to get it.

We ate gelato at the Gelateria, around the block from where we parked.  I had chocolate (very chocolate, very smooth) and Beta had mint chocolate chip.

image
Gelateria

The trip was cut short because she decided that she wanted to home home — it was late, she was tired (it was her idea to come, I wasn’t dragging her anywhere).  I have to admit her timing was pretty good, though.  So we grabbed a few cannoli for after dinner before we headed out the door, two chocolate chip and one nutella.  I’m not a fan but Megh said they were delicious.

Rollerskating

With Meghan working at the Lego store for the afternoon, Alpha, Beta, and I decided to go roller skating.  I haven’t been since before I got married, Beta has only been once, and Alpha has never been.

We went to Roller World in Saugus, since Beta had been there once with friends and liked it.  It’s also not too far and had good reviews on Google.  They offer a choice of roller skates or -blades (for a few dollars more).  We elected to rent roller blades instead of skates, to make backwards tipping a little less likely.

Beta took off after a moment of getting used to the skates again, while Alpha spent a few minutes just trying to stand.  I had my own troubles but got going soon enough.

Alpha and Beta skating together
Alpha and Beta skating together

After a little while, the most amazing thing happened: the sisters started helping each other out.  Alpha was still a little unsteady on her skates, so Beta stepped up and tried to help her out.  They did a few laps around the floor together as Alpha slowly worked away from the wall.  I’ve seen the “sisters-against-the-world-thing” in other people, but I’ve had my doubts that these two would ever bond like that.  I’m glad to see that I was wrong.

After a couple of big spills (but no injuries) we decided to head out.  We were all surprised to find that we had been there for a couple of hours – even I could have sworn it had only been an hour.  Time flies when you’re having fun!  The girls spent the ride home talking about going back and buying roller blades for themselves.