Whether Here or There

A few months before I started my Mexican adventure, I decided that I needed to learn to like beans or I was going to STARVE in Mexico.

Yes, I honestly thought I would starve.  Because I hated beans.

So, to avoid starvation, every now and then, I ordered a plateful in my university’s cafeteria the semester before I went to Mexico.  However, the faces I made as I tried to eat them made my roommate say, “please, please let me eat those beans for you.”

I caved in.  She ate them.

Every time.

Fortunately for me, Mexicans eat much more than beans.  Furthermore, when they do eat beans, they’re presented in mouth-watering combinations like this:  the tostada.

Without a doubt, this dish is now the reason that I now enjoy eating beans.

It won my daughter over, too.

So for anyone else out there who doesn’t like beans (or whose kids don’t like beans), give this ridiculously simple recipe a whirl a few times.

The Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 can refried beans
• 1 bag of tostadas (like really large corn chips–they should be in the Mexican aisle of any decent-sized grocery store in the US)
• 1 diced tomato
• chopped or julienned lettuce or spinach
• avocados (if they’re available, not completely necessary)
• cream or sour cream–this IS completely necessary!  (unless you’re vegan, of course)

Step 1:  open a can of refried beans and warm them up.

Step 2:  Open up a package of tostadas.

Step 3:  slather the beans on top of the tostada

Step 4:  add avocado, diced tomatoes, lettuce, and cream (sour cream, if you live North of the Border).  Traditionalists will also add chicken (or any other leftover meat).  My people have decided we prefer our tostadas vegetarian.

I promise, tostadas will convert the most ardent bean-hater!

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This recipe begins a series for the next few weeks on my favorite vegetarian dishes.  For some odd reason, that’s a hot topic in all the Catholic facebook groups this time of year.  😉