So I thought you guys would like to see our Homemade Tortilla Bases

So we had this polenta sitting in the pantry for months and had no idea what to do with it. Then the boyfriend suggests that we make tortillas with them and then BAM we had tortillas.

What's great about these is that they practically last forever. We are going to make quesadilla (recipe to come later) in bulk, store then in the freezer and take them out each day to cook in the sandwich press at work.

So Enjoy

Our Homemade Tortilla Bases (makes 4)

Da Ingredients

100g fine polenta (cornmeal)
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
150ml water
Some oil

Da tools 
Backing parchment
Rolling pin
Kitchen scissors
Pan

Da Method 

Step 1

1. Before hand if the polenta is too coarse, try making it finer with a food processor before use.

2. The first step is to make the dough. You will need a mixing bowl. Put 100g of flour and a teaspoon of salt in the mixing bowl. Add 150ml water, and stir it in. Next, add 100g of polenta and mix well with your hands. Note, if it is too sticky you may want to add extra flour and make sure there is some flour on your hands before you start. After you have mixed it gather the dough into one ball.

Have baking parchment, a rolling pin and kitchen scissors ready.

Step 2

3. Divide the big dough ball into quarters and roll each piece of dough into a ball. Put one ball of dough between two sheets of baking parchment and gently press it with your hands. Using the rolling pin, roll out the dough through the baking parchment until it has a diameter of about 18cm. Use the kitchen scissors to cut along the dough along with the baking parchment into a circular pancake shape. Do the same with the others. Note: Don't worry if the paper is sticking too much it will be easy to pull off in the cooking process.

Step 4

4. Now it's time to fry the tortillas. Get your frying pan ready by putting a light coat of oil.  Place the frying pan over a moderate heat. Peel off the baking parchment from only ONE side and fry that side.

5. At this point, peel off the other layer of baking parchment, and add a little oil to this side (If your are using a spray oil be careful). Once the bottom side is golden brown, turn the dough over. Remove from the pan, and do the same with the other tortilla bases.

Step 4 part 2

Step 5

6.Once all four tortilla bases are golden brown and taken off the pan, they are ready to eat :D

And BAM! Tortillas

Tip
Adjust the size of the tortillas depending on the size of your frying pan. You can make more or fewer tortillas by adjusting the amount of ingredients needed. However, this will take more or less time depending on the number of tortillas you wish to make.

Cooking basics: Black beans

Black beans are a great food to to have in the house. Not only do they keep for a long time dry they last for a while even after they have been cooked. Not only are they durable they are healthy too. Black beans have the highest source of phytonutrients out on any plant, they help the digestive track stay healthy, and are low GI. The boyfriend and I use black beans regularity in our food to bulk it out and enjoy the health benifits. 

How to select good Black beans? 

Try to find a place that has a regular turnover of black beans. This will ensure that the beans are fresh and help with long term storage. Fresh beans will store up to 12 months in a dark cool area but the longer you leave the beans the longer they will take to cook. Another idea is to buy canned beans. Because black beans require a long time to cook they don't lose nutiurents in the canning process. As an added advantage canned beans don't need soaking or cooking. 

Fast Vs slow soaking 

It's best to soak the beans before you cook them as it lowers flatulence-related substances like raffinose and stachyose. However, there are two ways to soak beans, one fast way and one slow way. 

For the slow way.

1. Remove any twigs or small rocks from the beans as sometimes the manufacturing process misses these things 

2. Put the beans into a metal pot or bowl

3. Fill with water till an inch above the beans. 

4. Cover and leave overnight 

For the fast way. 

1. Again, remove any twigs or small rocks from the beans.

2. Cover with an inch of water and bring to the boil. Add extra water if need. 

3. Boil for about 2-3 mins. 

4. Remove from heat and leave for two hours. 

What method you use is based in how well organized you are and how much time you have. 

The cooking. 

With the soaking done the hardest part is finished. Cooking is really easy. 

1. Place in to metal pot and bring to the boil

2. Once it's reached boiling point lower the heat to simmer. Add water as needed. 

3. Cook for around 20 min. Note that older beans will need longer. 

For storage.

Place in plastic contaner or ziplock bags. Black beans will last 3-4 in the fridge and around 2 months in the freezer. This includes opened black beans cans.   

And that's it. An easy and healthy food that can be stored up too 2 months.