RECIPE: Refried Beans for "From Scratch" on BC Living

You may have caught a pattern over the last few months. I made homemade Queso Fresco that I put on some tacos, which inspired me to make my own refried beans, which inspired me to make my own tortillas. Yes, that is backwards of the recipe release order, but I wanted to give you all the options to make it from scratch from start to finish! 
 
Refried beans from soaking your own to plating it on a tortilla is a gamechanger. No more cans for me, this is worth the effort, tenfold.  
 
REFRIED BEANS
for BC Living

INGREDIENTS 

- 2 cups dry pinto beans (you can also use black beans if you prefer them!) 
- water 
- 2 tbsp lard, oil, or bacon fat 
- 1 onion 
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced 
- salt 
- fresh epazote (fresh oregano if you can’t find, I located dried epazote and used that) 
- optional: ½ tsp cumin, oregano 
 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
To make your own Queso Fresco – follow this recipe. 
and 
To make your own Tortillas – follow this recipe. 
 
Rinse your beans, remove any unwanted pieces or debris, and place in a pot or bowl, cover with water, cover and soak overnight.  
(You can also do a faster cooking method by soaking in boiling water for a while first, but I find the overnight soak is the best). 
 
Drain the beans and return to the pot. Add enough water to leave two inches above the beans. 
Peel and quarter the onion and add to the pot with the beans. Also add in the fresh herbs (or a bundle of the dried ones), and a pinch or two of salt. (You can also add in cloves of garlic here.) 
 
Bring this to a boil, and then cover, turn down the heat, and simmer for an hour, giving it an occasional stir. After an hour, check the beans to see if they are cooked, and if not, continue to cook them, checking frequently until they are very tender. 
 
Making sure to retain the bean-water, drain the beans, removing the onion and herbs. 

In a large (make sure there is lots of room) skillet or cast-iron pan, heat the lard/bacon fat or oil (oil to make it vegan) until shimmering – over medium-high heat. 
 
Add in the garlic, and cook for a minute, then add the spices, and beans. If so desired, you can also chop some of the onion and add it in here as well. 
 
Cook in the pan, stirring and smashing as you go (a potato masher would be helpful here – or a fork). 
Add the bean water as needed until you get a texture that you desire. If you prefer a very smooth refried bean, you can also use an immersion blender once you’re done cooking.  
 
Taste the beans for seasoning, adding more salt, cumin, oregano etc. as desired. 
 
Keep warm and serve on tortillas with your desired toppings. (I made a lime crema, and added some cilantro and the queso fresco.) 
 
Enjoy! 

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RECIPE: Tortillas From Scratch for BC Living

Tortillas
for “From Scratch” for BC Living
April 2023 
 
I’d been wanting to try making my own tortillas for a while now. I always find when I get a pack from the store, I cannot finish them before they go stale (esp. the fresh corn ones in the HUGE packages). 
 
I got myself a press but you can do the same with a heavy pot, and it will take some practice not to rip them or make sure they’re even, but when you get going, you REALLY get going. 
 
Taco parties just got a whole lot better! 
 

INGREDIENTS 

-2 cups corn flour (masa harina) 
-1.5 cups warm (to hot) water 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
[NOTE: I used Maseca brand corn flour for my dough.] 
 

In a large mixing bowl add the flour and water and mix until the dough starts to come together, and then finish with your hands until it is smooth but springy. (I heard it compared to Play-Doh texture and that’s pretty accurate.) If it’s too dry you can add a tiny bit more water and vice versa with flour if too wet. 
 
Once your dough is formed, cover it with a damp towel (paper or tea towel) and let it rest for 20mins. 
 
I weighed the dough and portioned it into approx. 40g balls – if you do not have a scale, use either a cookie/ice cream scoop or take approx. 2 tbsp of the dough and roll it into smooth balls. You will get around 16 give-or-take. 
 
Get two sheets of parchment paper, or wax, or cut the sides away from a ziplock bag – you might find the dough sticks to one of these, so try another if this is the case. 
 
Place one of the balls between the sheets, and press down with the tortilla press (if you are using, or your heavy pan). The tortillas should be about 5 inches across. 
If you’re using the tortilla press, I recommend placing the ball closer to the hinge – the tortilla will be more centered when you press it this way. 

Carefully peel the tortilla away from the lining, taking care not to rip it. 
I laid the tortillas down on a parchment lined sheet while I made a few, and the skillet was heating over medium-high (I used a cast iron pan – a griddle works too). 
 
Place the tortilla on the hot pan and cook for about 30 seconds on each side – flipping it 3 times and getting some nice browning on each side. 
 
Place in a clean kitchen tea towel to keep warm (or a tortilla warmer if you have one), and repeat the whole process until you’ve made all the tortillas. 
 
The leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days – freezing isn’t recommended. 
Reheat them in a pan (I add a tiny spritz of water to each side if they’re a little stale), for about 15-20 seconds. 
 
ENJOY! 
 
 

RECIPE: Lasagna From Scratch - for BC Living

Lasagna 
for BC Living
March 2023
 
Last year I posted a recipe on how to make homemade pasta (click here), and now you can put it to good use by creating a lasagna all the way from scratch.  
 
This recipe is for a large, full-sized lasagna, but you can cut it in half, or separate it into two, cook one, and freeze the other. Plus, you can eliminate the meat, add spinach, or anything else you’d like – this is just a base for your basic (but extremely tasty and worth it) lasagna from scratch. 
 

INGREDIENTS 

To make your pasta from scratch, follow the instructions here, and cut your pasta into lasagna noodles! 
 
- 1lb ground beef (or your choice of meat) 
- 1 onion, finely diced 
- 4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced 
- 796mL San Marzano tomatoes  
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (optional) 
- Italian seasoning 
- salt and pepper 
 
-4 75g ricotta cheese 
- 1 eggs  
- approx. 2 cups mozzarella, shredded,  
- approx. 1.5 cups grated Parmesan 
- salt & pepper 
- dried basil approx. 2 tsp 
 
- fresh parsley for topping 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
To make your pasta from scratch, follow the instructions here, and cut your pasta into lasagna noodles! 
For lasagna noodles it’s best to roll them on the thinnest setting, so you can layer more into the dish. 
 
For the meat sauce, brown the beef in a pot or a high-walled pan until browned. Drain the beef, leaving the juices in the pot, and place the beef in a bowl and set aside. 
 
Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, and then add the garlic, cooking until the onion are soft and transparent.  
Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute to two until caramelized. 
 
Add in the tomatoes, and bring to a simmer, crushing the tomatoes with your spoon (or whichever utensil works for you), as you go. Cook for about 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally, and add water if the sauce gets too thick. 
 
While the sauce is cooking, in a bowl, place the ricotta cheese, a cup of the mozzarella and a cup of the parmesan cheese, as well as the egg, salt and pepper, and dried basil, and stir until combined. 
 
To puree your sauce, use an emersion blender (careful with the heat), and then stir in the seasoning, meat and salt and pepper, adjusting the spices to taste. 
 
Cook your pasta until al dente (it will continue to cook when baking, so don’t overdo it), drain and reserve. 
 
In your lasagna dish (or dishes if using two), place a layer of the meat sauce, and then cover with lasagna noodles. Add a layer of the cheese sauce, and then another layer of lasagna noodles. 
Continue this pattern until you’ve used all of your cheese, but finish with a layer of sauce, and then top with the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese, and parmesan. 
 
You can cover and refrigerate the lasagna (or freeze from here – it's best to freeze it uncooked), until ready to cook. 
 
Preheat the oven to 375, and when ready, cover the lasagna with tin foil, and cook for 25 minutes, and then remove the foil and cook for about 20 more. You may need a little more time if it’s coming straight from the fridge. 
If you’d like the top cheese a little more melted and browned, bake it under the broiler for a few minutes, watching it carefully. 
 
Let cool for 10 minutes and then divide and serve with chopped parsley, grated parmesan and some fresh cracked pepper sprinkled on top. 
 
ENJOY! 

RECIPE: Fries - From Scratch for BC Living

Fries - From Scratch
for BC Living
January 2023

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Fries 
 
While fries might seem like an easy food to make from scratch (and they are), I’m more so here to give you tips and my experience experimenting with different methods to achieve a top tier fry. 

From there, you can cook the fries based on what you have at your disposal, maybe including that air fryer you got for Christmas? 

INGREDIENTS 
 
- potatoes, Russet, 2 per person 
- cooking oil (amount depends on how you choose to cook them) 
- salt 
- desired seasoning (see section below) 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 

I’m going to break this down into 3 parts: Preparing, Cooking, and Seasoning. 
 
Obviously first up is Preparing. 
You have the option to peel your potatoes (I did), or just wash them and leave the skin on (take out any eyes or spots). Leaving them on doesn’t change much except the texture, and gives it some color. 
 
You want to be sure that your fries are evenly cut or else some will cook faster than others. Size and shape are up to you, just be consistent.  
 
Place the cut fries in a bowl and soak for at least an hour and up to a day. This removes excess starch and will make the fries crispier.  
Rinse them once or twice after soaking, and then pat dry with either paper towel, or a clean tea towel. 
 
Now on to Cooking! 
There are several options here, if you don’t have an air fryer or want to deal with the mess of frying them in oil, you can bake them. 
 
Toss the fries in some vegetable oil, and sprinkle with salt. 
Preheat the oven to 400F, and bake for about 15 mins. Then remove, shaking/turning them, but make sure none are overlapping, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them and test as you go. 
 
For deep frying in oil, heat to 300F degrees and then cook in batches (don’t overcrowd) for about 5 minutes, removing with a slotted spoon to paper towels. 
Increase the heat to 400F and fry them in batches a second time, this time when removing them, add salt right after you take each batch out of the oil. 
 
For the air fryer (what I used) I had it preheat to 375F, coated the fries lightly in oil in a bowl, and then placed the first batch in a single layer in the bottom of the fryer, so that none overlapped. 
I cooked for 15 minutes, flipping them halfway, and removed when they were browned to my liking. 
 
I continued this process until they were all done, and then tossed everything back in to reheat and give an extra crisp and followed that with salt. 
 
Seasoning! 
 
This is where you make it your own. Maybe you’d like just salt on the fries to go with some cold ketchup, or maybe you’d like to get wild and add truffle oil and parmesan. 
There’s also the option to make your own homemade poutine... but that’s for another day. 
 
ENJOY!