Homemade (Plastic-Free) Tortillas

Two weeks prior to going camping in the NC Outer Banks, I had my friend and her two kids over for dinner.  As we were eating, my friend said, "Can we do Mexican night when we go camping??"  Ummm... YES!!  I thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea!  I immediately became super excited about having Mexican night while camping because:

1. I could live on Mexican food. 
2. I knew that the meal could be plastic-free!  
3. My kids dig quesadillas.
4. I had no doubts it would be quick and easy...
5. ...and GUACAMOLE!!! mmmmm :D

So... over the weekend, my family and I went camping with our friends in Ocracoke and had our Mexican camping dinner!  Check it out!!  So YUMMY!!

Quesadillas made with homemade tortillas and plastic-free cheese**

Black bean corn salad (yup, some of us put it IN the quesadillas!)

Homemade guacamole (made before the trip and stored in a glass jar... and it stayed bright green!)

Local watermelon and cantaloupe

We will definitely be doing Mexican night every time we go camping... No joke... this was the best meal that I've had camping.  In fact, I loved it so much that I would make it when we weren't camping and even serve it to company!!

Ok...so I've been waiting procrastinating sharing my homemade tortilla recipe.  ...and I think that today is the day that it needs to be shared!  As I'm striving to reduce the amount of plastics we use...homemade tortillas have become essential.  When I don't have any bread, don't have time to make bread... etc etc etc... tortillas are quick and SUPER easy to make (why didn't I do this years ago?!?) and are so versatile that they can be used for so many different things.  Sure we make quesadillas with them... BUT...we also make pizzas, wraps-- egg salad, hummus, pb&j--, tacos... you name it.  Did I mention that they're SO much better tasting than store bought??  oh, right... everything is.  

Homemade Flour Tortillas

From: The Bread Bible

4 c unbleached flour* 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder*

1 1/2 tsp salt*

1/2 c organic butter, cut into 1" chunks

1 to 1 1/2 c warm water

To make vegan or low-fat tortillas:  In lieu of using butter, take 1/2 c of the flour and blend it with 1/2 cup of vegetable or olive oil and freeze for 2 hours.  Then use in place of the butter. 

1. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  (If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large bowl with a fork or pastry blender.)  On low speed, add the butter. When the butter is incorporated and the flour mixture looks crumbly, add the water in a slow stream with the mixer running, just until the dough sticks together and clears the side of the bowl.  NOTE: Don't add too much water... not only will the dough be sticky and difficult to work with... too much water makes for tough tortillas!  Knead briefly-- no more than 10 times-- until a smooth ball forms.  Shape into a cylinder and cover with a dish towel.  Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

2. After the dough has rested-- for 8"-9" tortillas-- divide the dough into 15 equal portions.  Shape each portion into a ball, cover with the dish towel and let rest for 20-30 minutes.

3. To roll out the tortillas, place the ball on your thumb and make an indention creating a "mushroom" shape.  The air pocket inside helps the dough roll out into a (near) perfect circle :)  Flatten the ball then roll it out into a thin circle just like you would for a pie crust.  Start from the center, making quarter turns often and never pressing the edges.

Tip: I roll my tortillas out right next to my stove, so that I can flip them off the pan and on the pan quickly when I'm cooking them :)

4. To cook the tortillas, heat an ungreased cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.  Place as many tortillas in the pan that will fit without overlapping.  Cook until bubbles start to form then flip to the other side.  Also, as bubbles form just take a spatula and press them down.  When the tortillas are done, the dough will look dry and have brown spots.

Remove the finished tortillas to a cooling rack (ummm... I always throw mine on top of my toaster!) and let cool.  Don't worry about the tortillas overlapping each other... not a big deal.  You can use the tortillas right away or let them cool.  Once the tortillas are cool you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week.

Storage Tip: A 9x13 pyrex dish with a lid or round glass baking dish both work really well for storage :)

Mmmm... all this talk of food and I'm all out of tortillas... see ya later! ;)

**Last month, I bought an entire wheel of cheese from Tidal Creek.  It came in a wooden box with no plastic.  I shred and chop it into cubes then freeze it until we're ready to use it  :)


*Using my own containers, I buy these items in bulk at Tidal Creek.

Plastic-free Food: Days 6 & 7

When I originally planned to do our plastic-free food week... I didn't factor in that we would be taking a 6 and a half hour road trip to Scottsville, VA to go camping.  BUT, once I realized those factors... the challenge took on a new shape.  Most often when people go camping (or on road trips) all rules are thrown out the window.  Don't buy bottled water?  Most campers (and road trippers) do.  Don't use disposable plates, utensils, cups?  Most campers do.  AND... when it comes to food... it's certainly not plastic-free.

First thing was first.  Snacks.  When my husband and I went to see Jason Mraz in Greenville, SC... I didn't plan ahead.  Part of plastic-free food week is planning.... so on Thursday, my kids and I hit up the bulk foods sections at: Tidal Creek and Fresh Market.

All containers are mine from previous purchases.... why recycle when we can reuse?!  Front row:  Yogurt covered raisins, carob almonds, dried cinnamon apples.  2nd row: Nut snack mix, yogurt pretzels, corn nuts, gummies.  Back row:  Sesame sticks, pumpkin granola, pistachios, bananas, mustard pretzels

While at Fresh Market, the bakery lady asked my kids if they wanted a cookie.  I looked at the little plastic sheets they use to grab the cookies and explained to her about our plastic-free food week.  I told her I appreciated it, but we just couldn't.  She said, "Hold on.  I have an idea."  She went to the back and returned with a pair of tongs!!  My kids were super happy and I was so grateful for that lady to go out of her way for us!!  YAY!!!'

That evening I made and prepared a slew of things for our camping trip.  I filled 12 glass juice bottles with water (no bottled water for us!  Not even a 2 gallon jug!) and made graham crackers (intended for s'mores) and a loaf of bread.

I promise I'll post the recipe!!

As usual, we were prepared for our road trip with 8 reusable water bottles... filled and ready to go.  Our road trip was long and uneventful.  I kept staring out the window looking at our littered roadways.  I wonder why people still litter??  There have been litter education programs for over (at least) 50 years, but people are still littering... I said out loud, "If education isn't working... and by the looks of it... it isn't... I wonder why these products (styrofoam, plastic bags, single use products, straws, etc, etc, etc) are still being made??  Something has to change."  For me... that's what a good portion of this plastic-free food week is about.  Making a change.  Voting with my $$.... choosing foods and products that won't be on this planet longer than me or my children... OR end up on the side of the road... because even if I don't litter... it doesn't mean that a piece of trash isn't going to fall out of a trash truck or blow in the wind from a landfill... plastic blows.

On our drive, we stopped at Subway for lunch.  Normally, we get chips with our meal and sometimes drinks.  We skipped the chips (they're in plastic bags), said no thank you to our sandwiches being put in a plastic bag and used our own water bottles in lieu of getting a drink from the soda fountain.

After over 6 hours of driving we arrived here:

Here's what we ate for our meals:

Day 1 Breakfast:  Dunkin Donuts and bananas with Chocolate Milk  (don't cringe... doughnuts are my kids special treat when we go camping ;)  In the future, I'd like to make our own)  I had a hot cup of green tea with ginger instead of chocolate milk

Day 2 Breakfast:  Pancakes, chocolate milk and bananas

(true making the pancakes does produce the plastic... from the lid of the buttermilk... I plan to work on this.)

Lunch:  Peanut Butter and Jelly with cut up carrots and fresh oranges. (and our bulk snacks)

I used the bread I made for the PB&J  and used fresh ground peanut butter (put in my own container), Bonne Maman Strawberry Jam (comes in glass with no plastic over the lid... I usually use my own... but we're all out!!!), carrots and oranges were bought loose.

Dinner 2 nights:  Vegetarian Chili with Avocado and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

This photo was taken on night 2 of chili and we had leftover cheese from the sandwiches... so why not?!

Of course, the chili was plastic-free... that was easy.  (I'll post that recipe soon... ok it may be awhile... I've got a lot going on!!) The grilled cheese sandwiches were made my homemade bread and with local Hoop cheese (it's like a mild cheddar) that I got from Tidal Creek wrapped in paper.

Smores:  SO... I said I made graham crackers intended for S'mores.  We bought some Green & Black's organic dark chocolate for the purpose of ooey gooey marshmallows melting the chocolate onto our homemade graham crackers. Thing is... I didn't buy marshmallows.  They come in a plastic bag.  I thought that I would make marshmallows instead... but kept running into plastic.  I kept going back and forth... do I just buy marshmallows??  And ended up deciding that I just couldn't.  I figured that someone would have marshmallows for my kids to score at least one smores... but they were so into doing this challenge that they didn't even ask.  

I'm so proud of my kids as they brought so many different things to me to ask if they could have it.

As we were packing up on Sunday morning, I watched as a tractor went around picking up everyone's trash and putting it in a (roll-off sized) dumpster.  I looked around and realized that besides some compostable materials....we didn't have any trash.  We had a cooler full of beer bottles to be recycled... but no trash to go to the landfill.  AND... that felt amazing.

 On our way home, my husband and I talked about our plastic-free food week.  It's been such a fulfilling experience.... rethinking our food choices... teaching our kids about the problems of plastics (and seeing them understand)... and seeing what we were able to accomplish... In one week, the only plastic waste we-- a family of FIVE-- created was from 4 glass milk jugs.  And it all fits in the palm of my hand:

Once again I sent in my tally of plastics to Fake Plastic Fish: Show Us Your Plastic Challenge... I'll post that as soon as it is up :)

  As I talked to my husband, I had this feeling of not knowing what we're supposed to do now that our challenge week is over.  So I asked my husband, "What do we do now??  Do we go back to buying foods in plastic??"  AND my husband said, "I thought that this was a trial run... something that we would try and see if we could do it.  YOU did it... we proved we could live without those foods in plastic.  Why would we go back??"

I think he's right... that's why I had such a hard time thinking about the "what now".   The "what now" will be that we always strive to purchase no foods in plastic... rework recipes as needed to make them plastic-free AND share our adventures of being a family of five living in a plastic-free food world :D


Moments after I posted... I read this:

"Plastic pollution is the visible symbol of our global crisis of over-consumption. Let's pledge to shift our societies away from the disposable habits that poison our oceans and land, eliminate our consumption of throwaway plastics, and begin embracing a culture of sustainability. 

Our health, our children, and the survival of future generations depend on us." 

~ marine biologist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols

From Mountain to Ocean

Over the weekend, we went camping in Montebello, VA (it's part of George Washington National Forest).

As part of our trip, we sponsored a trail clean-up held by the Rover Owners Association of Virginia. The rules were simple: Whoever picked up the most litter (aka trash) on the trails, they'd win $100 and we'd make a matching donation to The Plastic Ocean. We were so excited to be getting more involved with The Plastic Ocean by informing people of the issues and making donations to help fund their efforts.

You may be curious... why donate to an ocean cause when we're doing a clean-up in the mountains?? Simple... the issues of littering in the mountains are no different than littering at the beach... one day... a piece of litter thousands of miles inland will find its way to the ocean...it's only a matter of time...EVERYTHING is connected.

At the end of the day, we were completely overjoyed to see the bags of trash that people had picked up. In fact, the winning group picked up 3 very full trash bags of litter... and said that their kids were "totally into it." After the winner was announced, my husband briefly talked about the issues of littering and the effects it has on the environment, educated about The Plastic Ocean and explained why we were making a donation. A day after we got home from our trip, the winners let us know that they, too, wanted to make a donation to The Plastic Ocean. (Ripple) YAY!!! We'll be sponsoring trail clean-ups at all the camping events (at Nat'l Forests and Parks) that we attend and keeping up with making matching donations to our friends at The Plastic Ocean.

What can you do?? Anything, as long as it's something.

Get involved: Don't litter (intentionally or unintentionally), don't walk past litter, learn about the issues, speak up, teach, and give back.

A couple of years ago, I read this article and it had a huge impact on me....I highly recommend reading it:

"Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic... Are We??"

Teach Them Better

Over the weekend, we went camping in the Uwharrie National Forest (NC). This particular camping (and 4-wheeling) trip was organized by Carolina Rover Owners Club (CROC). I should go ahead and say that my husband really enjoys 4-wheeling, but I-- honestly--don't get it. I go to specifically to hang out.... BUT this time was different. This time, I was given a mission. For the second year (I didn't go last year), CROC held a competition for picking up litter.

Rule & Prize: Whoever picked up the most litter (by weight) on the trails would win $50.

Of course, I told my husband (and everyone we knew) that we had this competition in the bag and there was no way we wouldn't win ;)

SO...for once I was excited to go 4-wheeling... because we knew exactly what we would do with our winnings.... AND because without the ability to 4-wheel... there would be no way for me to hike my way around the forest with 3 kids in tow.

Saturday with a line of 4 Rovers following us on the fire trails... we took our time... stopping when we saw litter along the trails. I felt a tiny bit bad holding up the line... wishing we were at the end of the line... but then constantly reaffirming to myself that being in the lead was a positive thing because not only were we first to pick up the trash....others could see what we were doing and hopefully it would catch on (maybe not that day... but I know it'll catch on) ;)

This is everything we were able to stop for... hop out... and pick up:

Plastic bag with cigarette wrappers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, chocolate candy bag, chip bags, intake hose, metal spoon, plastics, and a WHOLE bottle of antifreeze!

When I took the picture and saw everything that we picked up... I was happy and kind of bummed. "Happy" because we took the time to do the right thing.... "bummed" because the forest trails have only been open for 2 weeks this year... AND the trashing has already begun. I just can't understand how people (especially outdoor enthusiasts) can throw their trash to the ground. Shoot... I remember the PSA's from my childhood....and just visiting YouTube... there's a PSA about littering/polluting for every generation. Here are a few of my favs... the first one from the year my Mom was born!!!

Seriously... there is absolutely no excuse. People should know better... especially by now!! It just makes no sense to me. I often think... "how would these litterbugs feel about me walking into their home and throwing my trash on their floor??" Hmmm...

I'll go ahead and say what my daughter has been singing for the past few weeks, "What do you do with a litter critter? What do you do with a litter critter? Hey 'Ho! You teach them better. Hey Ho! You teach them better."

Besides us, only one other person picked up litter... and they wondered where and how we found all that trash! SO... of course.... even not being able to pick up every piece of trash that we saw... we won the $50.

We've decided to donate our winnings to "The Plastic Ocean". Why?? Because I stand behind their work... their efforts... 100%. I met Bonnie (check out her and my friend Jennifer's blog: The Plastic Ocean) a couple of years ago... she's amazing in that she read something about plastics in our oceans (I read it too... and it has been my motivation for picking up litter) and was completely affected by it enough to get involved with the Algalita Foundation and start making a difference. Along with visiting the Great Pacific Garbage Patch...she-- along with my friend, Jennifer-- went to Bermuda last summer to study the impact of plastics in the Sargasso Sea-- did you know that baby sea turtles spend their first years there... safe in the protection of the Sargasm? did you know that it's loaded with trash... mainly plastics? AND did you know that the Sargasso Sea is 1 of 5 major ocean gyres that are collecting our trash... our litter??? Think just because you don't live near the coast...that you don't or can't have an impact?? Remember.... everything is connected... we are ALL connected...

If the Ocean Could Talk- Trailer from J Sun Productions on Vimeo.

By the way...we're also planning on going back to help with trail clean-ups... no prize included ;)