Anatomy of a Bean Rollup

Folks, your Aunt Toby has a batting average on entertaining that hovers pretty far down there (well, I got better at batting when I learned to raise my elbow but that’s a story for another time), which is why the most popular birthday party my kids ever had was ‘let’s go bowling’. High anxiety is pretty much the norm for moi when we invite people to Chez Siberia.
Is the house clean enough? Is it so clean it looks as if we are trying too hard?
Are people lost (this actually happens quite often and I should stop going crazy about it)?
Will people like the food? The DH always says, “It’s free – what’s there to complain about?’
Will I make anyone sick with the food?
Will everyone have a good time?

The list goes on and on. I try to schedule an anxiety attack about an hour before everyone is due so that I have time to take a shower. I really DO sweat the small stuff.

But one thing I do not sweat is dealing with food for people who can’t/don’t eat dairy. Even if no one has secretly hovered at my ear and whispered, “So and so is xxxxx” or “So and so doesn’t eat xxx”, I can always count on someone attending who is vegetarian, vegan, or allergic to dairy.

It never fails.

So, I came up with this little item which actually is fairly popular with other people who are not vegatarian, are not vegan and who indulge in the cow on a regular basis: Bean rollups.

Sort of a cold Mexican (that sort of sounds like kosher bacon, actually…) burrito, this is so easy to make, it almost does not rate a recipe, but here goes:

Bean Rollups
Ingredients:
2 cans of beans (kidney, black, whatever you like), drained and rinsed
1 finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 T of Mexican seasoning of your choice (taco seasoning in one of those foil packets, a mix of cilantro and a bit of chili powder etc.)
1 cup of salsa (I’m using black bean and corn here but whatever you’ve got in the fridge works)
Big tortillas (I’m using the spinach and garlic ones from my local grocery store – your mileage may vary. Mine are 8″ across and come 6 to a package)

Directions:
In a big frying pan, put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and saute the garlic and the onions until really soft. Add the beans and the seasoning and cook until warmed through. With a fork, mush them all up. If you need a little water, add up to a 1/4 cup of water. If it’s too mushy, just stir over a low light until you evaporate a bit of the water. The spread should have the consistency of peanut butter.
Add the salsa and stir thoroughly.

Lay out your tortillas and take about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the mix and put it in the the center of the tortilla. Spread out to the edges. Roll up firmly and then slice into 1/2″ slices. Put on a plate and serve with the rest of the salsa.

This mix will fill six tortillas and slice up to feed a whole mess of people.