Tag Archives: black beans

Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

Posted on by

I’ve discovered, in our local co-op, a sweet potato called Hannah Sweet Potato (sometimes called a yam) which has a lovely flavour without being overly earthy like the normal sweet potato. I found a recipe for Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato by Simply Quinoa that looked interesting. Something easily adaptable to what I had on hand.

I was struck, as I made this while watching the rain come down for weeks on end, how lucky we are to have readily available ingredients. If we have a bad season in the garden it isn’t make or break. I’ve been watching Wartime Farm on YouTube which is a documentary about what the farmers had to go through in the UK during WWII. The historians living as they did in the ’40’s struggled with the wet weather. During wartime it would be catastrophic. If you like history and/or homesteading, it’s a fascinating 8 part series.

I do wonder how many people would thrive or survive in those conditions now. We live in a time of buying one use items, fast food, fast fashion etc. I do hope the trend of getting back to basics continues. There are a lot of skills that shouldn’t be lost.

Technique for Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

Here is my version of this dish based on what we had and what we like. But that’s the beauty of this dish, very versatile.

Roast the sweet potatoes and cook the quinoa according to the directions. Rinse the black beans and drain. Chop the veg. Heat up the olive oil in a skillet.

Start by sautéing the garlic, scallions and mushrooms.

Add the beans and corn. Cook for several minutes as the corn is frozen when tossed in. Add the spices and lime juice.

Near the end of cooking add the pepper. I always add the pepper so it just cooks but still stays crunchy. I really don’t like mushy peppers.

Once the sweet potatoes are cooked through cut them in half. Combine the quinoa, tomatoes and veg together. Spoon over the potatoes and sprinkle shredded cheese over the top. Add a dollop of sour cream and serve.

It’s a very inexpensive, very filling and very tasty meal.

Print

Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

An inexpensive flavourful vegetarian meal.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 2 Hannah sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 2-3 cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup black beans, drained and cooked
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1-2 tbsp chili powder
  • 1-2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp habanero flakes optional
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
  • 1 tomato, coarsely chopped
  • shredded cheese
  • sour cream to top

Instructions

  1. Bake the sweet potato at 400F/200C in the oven until tender. Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the packet.

  2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Sautè the garlic, mushrooms and scallions for a couple of minutes.

  3. Add the beans and corn along with the spices, lime juice and cilantro. Cook for several minutes then add the pepper.

  4. Once the potatoes are cooked, slice them in half. Combine the veg, quinoa and tomato then spoon over the potato halves. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve while hot.

First Frost of the Season

Posted on by

Where we live it can get brutally hot and bitter cold.  One year we had a range of -30 F (-34 C) to 110 F (43 C)!  It was a bit much.  So for the gardens we have to expect anything and everything.  Last week we had our first frost of the season and it got chilly, down to 24 F (-4 C).  Which meant we had to protect our tender veg that was still going strong.  And right now that is nearly half our garden.

It was time to tuck a few raised beds in.  When you do this you want to use breathable fabric so the plants get air but the frost doesn’t settle on the leaves and veg.  When the sun starts to hit the plants remove the sheets and blankets.

The plants we tucked in were peas, beans, peppers, and celery.  As it was quite windy we had to use clamps and lots of rocks.

The next morning was a very pretty morning.

We actually still had a few blossoms on our strawberries but the plants are still small so we weren’t overly concerned.

I love how the frost settles on the plants in different patterns.  🙂

I was thrilled to see the peas did well.

We were pushing it a bit with the peppers but most of the plants came through.

And I was equally surprised the celery did ok!  Which is good because we have a lot of it and don’t want it to go to waste.

Alas the growing season is coming to an end.  Soon the frosts will be too frequent and the warm days will be behind us.  It’s been a wonderful summer for the food.

It’s Chili Time!

Posted on by

I love fall and spring.  Warm enough not to have to wear a thousand layers but cool enough for comfort food.  We had a hint of fall yesterday so I thought it was time for warm bowls of chili.  I think this is my son’s favourite.  I make ours vegetarian.  I know it doesn’t look it from my previous posts but we do cook a lot of meals without meat.  I do use in this recipe Morning Star “beef” as it adds protein along with the beans.  But without all the fat or grease!

First stop was out to the garden.

I picked some peppers and kale for the chili.  We already had some scallions from the garden in the fridge that we needed to use up.

The recipe is:

Olive oil – to coat the bottom of the pan

Garlic – 3-4 cloves minced

Onions or scallions (we used scallions as that is what we have.)

Peppers

Mushrooms ( I used a portobello cap this time)

Lime juice

1 28oz can of crushed tomato or diced tomato

1 15oz can of tomato sauce

3/4 cup of black beans.  If they are dried soak them in water for a bit, otherwise you have to simmer the chili for a few hours like I had to.

Chili powder to taste (For the seasonings add the amount you like.  Some like the chili to be on fire, others not so much)

Cumin to taste

Adobo seasoning to taste

About 1 cup of fresh or frozen kale

1 cup of corn

6 oz of Morning Star “beef” (or any brand you like as it’s a taste preference)

Cilantro

Dice your veg to saute.  I usually saute the garlic and onions for a minute or so before the rest of the veg.  If you are using scallions then add those as you are adding the sauce.

Add a bit of lime juice to the sauteing veg. Then add the tomatoes and sauce, beans and corn.  Bring to a simmer.  Add the seasonings to the heat level you would like.  Add the kale and the “beef”.  Add a bit more lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro.

Once the beans are cooked through it is ready to serve.  I usually put hot sauce, sour cream and shredded cheese on the table.  This is a super easy meal and prep time is under a half hour.  The simmer time depends on the beans. And of course if you have it the next day the flavours are even better.

 

Harvesting our Black Beans

Posted on by

I had a bit of time before having to pick up my son so my daughter and I decided to start the black bean harvest.  This is the first year we planted them.  I had decided to plant them after Rich told me about the concerns of canned foods and the chemicals being leached into the food.  Ick!  I try to buy organic whenever I can but I was having trouble finding organic black beans that weren’t canned so I thought we would try to grow them this year.

Turned out to be very easy.  After I planted them I waited.  I get a little obsessive once I plant something because I worry whether or not they will grow.  Grow these did.  They shot out of the ground all of a sudden.  In the morning I noticed them poking through by the end of the day they were nearly 2 inches tall!

They are ready to harvest when the pods are dry.

We only picked half so far because there were so many in the raised bed.  The plants produce quite a bit which is nice.

Can’t wait until it’s cooler.  We use black beans in our homemade chili.  We also use them in our quesadillas.