So yesterday I spent way too much time on my first real pot of Just Pinto Beans. Along about 11 pm they were done well enough, and they turned out pretty well. Next time I’m going to try the pressure cooker.

This morning I got to thinking about making chilaquiles, and as I researched it became apparent that what I really wanted was migas, instead.

In their most basic form, migas are just corn tortillas and eggs, just like tagos from the ancient days.

Consider this.

Put some chopped onion (I used shallot) into a warming oiled pan. Garlic maybe … the usual savory base.

Then cut up a few corn tortillas into bite size pieces and throw those in on top. I don’t think you can overcook them, but you can and possibly should try.

Scramble four eggs and dump those in next.

At this point I probably had the heat up too high, because the eggs cooked very fast and started sticking to the bottom. Less heat, probably more oil.

But it worked out for me anyway because I cooled things down with a half jar of green chiles. I’m not sure why, but this deglazed the bottom of the pan pretty nicely.

When the chile is warmed and integrated, put some beans in. I had those nice homemade pintos and maybe I put in a few too many, but saul good, man. A can of storebought is easy, and probably good enough. Even the organic is only two bucks.

Cheese over the top. Maybe at the same time as the beans? I don’t know. You’ll figure it out. This isn’t the recipe channel.

It is the discovery channel, small D.

Here are a few reasons why this begins to take shape as an ideal.

It’s cheap and optionally can be made with things that have a long shelf life, the eggs and cheese possibly excepted.

It’s healthy–wheat-free, gluten-free, and meat-free (though not vegan). The corn+pintos make a complementary protein over and above the animal ones.

It’s breakfast, a meal which I tend to prefer regardless of the hour; and spicy Mex besides.

It’s wildly flexible. There are a lot of things that would taste good in here that I didn’t list or use this time.

It doesn’t take long, and the fact that it’s a one-pot meal means less time wasted cleaning up. Also you only need a single burner.

And finally, this might be a little idiosyncratic and personal, but …

I love corn tortillas and prefer them over flour, for taste reasons and now also for health ones too. I eat them rarely though, because fussing with getting them edibly delicious is typically a one-at-a-time affair, and thus a major complicating pain in the ass.

This method gets around all that with simple elegance.

It was a very satisfying meal as both cook and eater. Philosophically. Practically. Even as a simple hungry beast.

***

I’m not done with flour tortillas though, because burritos are indispensable.

I’ve collected four alt-flours. Almond and coconut …

But even better, potentially, chickpea and quinoa. Better because these two items are already on the list of staples and things I can order in bulk (alongside the pintos, and brown rice). Making flour from them is theoretically one food processing step away in a pinch.

The testing will proceed.