On The Table: Three Sisters Quesadillas

Squash, corn, and beans are among the staples of indigenous agriculture in the Americas.  In some places the tradition of growing them all three together in a polyculture led to the trio being known as the three sisters.  We grew the three crops in separate portions of our garden this summer, but they all ended up together at the table this week in a single dish we now refer to as the three sisters quesadilla.  

This dinner stemmed from two inspirations:  a half-gallon of pre-cooked squash stored in the fridge and needing to be used up, and memories of black-bean and sweet potato burritos we've loved (sweet potatoes don't really grow here, so we haven't had those in a while). This is probably a good place to admit that this, like many meals we feature,  did not begin as a grand pre-planned vision.  It grew organically and unexpectedly out of what was on hand at the time. Sticking as much as possible to food you grow can force some creativity.  That creativity can lead to brilliant discoveries or, well, less than ideal combinations. Sometimes popcorn is dinner.       

For today, though, we'll stick with another success.  As usual I'll give you not so much a recipe as a set of directions.  And not the GPS or google-maps kind of directions, but "turn left at the red barn, swing right around the stump, and keep on going till the bottom of the hill" kind of directions.  Don't worry, you'll get close enough.  

Three Sisters Quesadillas:  

First, ideally a day or two ahead of time, bake far more squash than you can eat.  Scoop the leftover squash out of the rind, puree or mash it, and store it in the fridge trusting that you'll think of something.  

Next, start some black beans soaking the morning of your intended dinner.  Convince yourself there is some sort of burrito-like plan for them and trust that it will come together by evening. Before going out to feed the sheep, set the beans on the stove and simmer them for an hour or more (unless you, perhaps, have not blown the seal on your pressure cooker, in which case you can cook your beans much more quickly and feed the animals whenever is convenient).

About the time you start to get really hungry, decide the squash and the beans will go together quite well, and formulate a burrito plan (because there are still tortillas in the fridge, right?).  Sautee a chopped onion, a few red-ripe jalapenos or other good pepper, and a big handful of garlic cloves.  Add them to the simmering beans along with a little cumin, salt and pepper. Let all of them simmer till they are a good soft texture, adding more water as necessary.    

Pull out the bag of store-bought tortillas, and now.....choose your own adventure: are you lucky, and they are still good?  Great, proceed to the last paragraph and save yourself some serious kitchen chaos.  No, you see furry spots?  Sounds familiar. Feed those to the chickens and keep reading. You're going to need to make some tortillas from scratch. 

Montana cornflour tortillas (in no way traditional, but they worked): take two large handfuls of kernels rubbed off of the dry flint corn hanging in all corners of the house.  Run them through the grain attachment on the Champion juicer, and discover with great joy that they make a nice fine corn flour.  Mix your two large handfulls of corn flour with one handful of wheat flour (ok, sure, you can use cups if that works better for you). Add a half-teaspoon or so of salt and a generous slosh of oil (or a quarter cup, if you like).  Stir the oil in with a fork, then use your hands to rub it into the flour.  At this point the mix should seem dry still, but hold together a bit if you squeeze a handful.  Add just enough warm water to make a firm dough.  Roll and pat that out into shapes as close to circular as possible, and as thin as you can get without breaking.  Cook them on a flat hot skillet, flipping twice, till slightly browned on each side. Stack them up as they cook and keep covered with a cloth, so they stay warm and flexible.  

On each tortilla, spread a layer of the squash puree onto one half of the circle, and spoon a layer of black beans, then a layer of grated cheese.  Fold the other half of the tortilla over to enclose the filling, and cook on a griddle untill the cheese is melted and the tortillas match your desired level of toastiness.  Top with salsa, and perhaps the very last of the garden-grown red tomatoes.  Enjoy.