Quick Vegan Taco Filling: Anasazi Bean and Yam

So, geez. It's been a long couple of weeks. I sort of feel like I have been swallowed up under a tidal wave of a schedule, and so I am completely lacking time, especially Monday-Wednesday. Though it is all exciting a stuff I still can't help but feel like I don't have the space to concentrate on the things that make me feel good (like going to yoga and cooking delicious dinners for my woo-bear, AJ). In order to compromise both my tight schedule and my desire to cook a solid meal at the end of the day, I chose TACOS as a quick way to make a really satisfying dinner.

I will try to post a lot of taco fillings throughout the life of this blog as we eat them often and they always have basically whatever I can find in my cupboard or in the dredges of my refrigerator...so it is always a random, wild interpretation of the traditional taco fillings we are used to.

Tonight, I had yams.

What you will need for this recipe

2 cups of cooked beans (I had made anasazi beans in the slow cooker, with just water out and no seasonings of the sheer hurriedness of my life this week, they cook identically to the black bean recipe previously posted on this blog)
2 medium to small yams, skinned and diced
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 bunch of kale, chopped roughly
Salt
Cayenne (a pinch!)
Cumin, ground or whole or both
Coriander
Taortillas (we get Abbo Blue, local organically cultivated blue corn tortillas by Abbodanza farm/seeds: Rich, AJ's mentor found and culivated the strain of corn they are made of from a heirloom variety in Mexico: they are SO DELICIOUS)
1 avocado
Salsa, any other condiment you like on your tacos

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You will need the oven for your tortillas later.
Then saute the onion until translucent in a good layer of olive oil on medium high heat (I prefer, when cooking in my cast iron, especially with taco fillings, to get a "blackened" quality to my ingredients, especially with the likes of potatoes or yams). Add yams and saute, constantly flipping so as to keep them from sticking for about 6-10 minutes, or until they are soft and getting golden (or blackened edges, like I like them). Add your drained beans and garlic and stir in over medium heat for about 2-4 minutes. Season with salt, cumin, coriander and pinch of cayenne or another chili powder if you like spice.

Add chopped kale and let it wilt and get a little crispy, stirring for about 5 minutes. Taste and continue to season accordingly if you so desire.

Meanwhile, while the filling is resting on low heat and covered (because it is now done) lightly paint olive or grapeseed oil on your tortillas and place on a cookie sheet. Set in the oven and let them get soft and warm-- if you like them slightly crispy leave them in for up to 10 minutes, but I usually keep mine in for about 7. Certain tortillas are denser and take longer, so stick your nose in at 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes etc. and you'll know when they are heated and to your liking.

 While the tortillas are warming up in the oven, slice your avocado and ready any other condiments you might like (cheese, sour cream, crema, salsa, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.)

We kept ours simple and when our tortillas were ready we filled them with the yam-bean-kale fillings and only added the sliced avocado and salsa.

Twenty minute dinner, YAY. Who doesn't like tacos????