Sow What You Eat: Food Friday - Homemade Tortillas, and the Beet

I don't know why, but I just want to blog about beets! Maybe it is because a friend of mine just tried them, read about her experience over at I Still Hate Pickles. I have heard so many people say that they not only don't like beets, but that they loathe them. I, on the other hand, really enjoy beets. For me, the trick is to make sure they are really clean; seriously, wash them twice. They tend to hold sand, dirt and grit and if it is not fully removed they will turn out gritty in texture and overly earthy in flavor. Also, when I cook beets I peel them first. Yes, before they are cooked. Most recipes call for them to be peeled after roasting, but I prefer to peel, rinse, cube then roast. They come out sweet that way. Actually, if you allow a beet to over ripen (become slightly wrinkled) they become very sweet and you can actually eat them raw when the are in that over ripe state. Also, the small beets are sweeter and less earthy than the large beets. I like them so much I don't care what size I get as long as I get them. My kids even love them. We call them 'pink princess food' for my daughter, and that did the trick to getting her to try the first bite. For a boy you could say they are 'Spiderman Red Super Food'. It just might work!

Benefits of Beets:

Cleans the blood and strengthens the heart. If you look at a beet it is red and shaped kind of like a human heart, and that is what it is good for.
Helps to fight inflammation
Cleans the digestive tract
Aids in weight loss
High in Antioxidants
High in fiber and great for preventing/fighting colon cancer
Eating beets on a regular basis is good for lowering bad cholesterol
And just because I can say it twice: It is a GREAT CLEANSER, pair it with cilantro for a great body detox.

And the list just keeps on going!

Ways to cook the beet:

Wash, peel, rinse, slice thin and sautee' in a little coconut oil. Add the tops/greens at the end.
Wash, peel, rinse, cube then roast with a little olive oil and sea salt at 415* for 25-35 minutes
Wash, peel, rinse, shred with carrots and add pineapple for a raw salad
Wash, peel, rinse, slice thin when over-ripe and add raw to a salad.
Juice them in a good juice

We like to roast them with sweet potato and cauliflower and eat as a side dish or put into fajitas.

Speaking of fajitas, have you ever read the ingredients in the store bought tortillas? Yuck!!!! You can make them at home. Mine turned out really rustic looking, but tasted great. Actually, my family unanimously decided that they might be the best tortillas we ever had. Don't be fooled by the smell when making them, the dough is not pleasing to the nose.

Homemade Tortillas 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

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.
With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.