Digging Myself Deeper

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

My mother lived in New Mexico as a child and developed a fondness for tacos long before anyone in our little Midwestern town had ever heard of them. Consequently, tacos became one of her trademark meals.

Back in the seventies, she would buy corn tortillas in flat, round tins and fry them up by the dozen. It was my favorite meal back then and remains one of my favorite meals today.

My husband loves tacos, too. And for our first meal together as a married couple, I prepared tacos from an Ol El Paso kit, and he fondly remembers that meal to this day.

Who knows how many tacos I ate while pregnant with my first child? I craved Mexican food so much, it was a wonder my son didn't come out looking like a Mexican. But he was a fair skinned, blue-eyed boy who wound up loving Mexican food as much as I do.




Now, here I am, married for almost twenty-nine years, and figure, on average, I have made twelve tacos a week for the past twenty-nine years. That's 18,096 tacos(!). And every single tortilla was store bought ... until now.

Have you read the ingredients on the back of your tortilla package lately? It's a long list of unidentifiable things. I don't know about you, but those mass produced tortillas taste awful to me. Actually, it's not the taste so much, but more the texture that's turning me off. They have a weird squishy feel, and I've got to be suspicious of something that lasts such a long time in the fridge. Do these things ever spoil? Their repulsive flavor and texture along with a preservative list a mile long, sent me in search of the perfect tortilla, but it was to no avail. There are restaurants and grocery stores in my city that sell fresh tortillas, but the drive makes it very inconvenient, they are on the other side of town. So my only option, I decided, was to make them myself.

I did some research online and decided to go with an inexpensive press - thinking I could upgrade later if things go well, or, not feel too guilty about waisting twenty dollars on this cockamamie tortilla endeavor if things flop.

Bed Bath and Beyond is only a couple minutes from my house, so I stopped in one day and asked a store associate where the tortilla presses were. It was serendipity. The lady was very helpful and spoke with a Spanish accent. She asked me what type of tortilla I was making and if I had ever made them before. Then she asked, Where do you usually get your tortillas?



Walmart, Supertarget, I winced in embarrassment. (In Oklahoma City there's no place else to shop.)

Shaking her head, she reprimanded me with a quick, No no no ...

How do you make your tortillas, I asked?

Oh, it's easy, she said, just buy the Masa at the grocery store and use the directions on the package.

One week later ...

After a few bouts of trial and error, I am standing in the kitchen rolling, pressing and flipping corn tortillas like Rick Bayless on steroids when my daughter comes into the kitchen with a concerned look on her face and in a serious tone says: Mom, you're digging yourself deeper.

Truer words had never been spoken. She was right. Making my own tortillas is more work. And I have been complaining about how much time I am spending in the kitchen lately. But it's worth it. These babies are so much better than store bought.

Tips and Recipes

Bob's Red Mill Masa Harina, Golden Corn Flour is the best I have found so far. Basically, all you do is mix Masa, water, salt, cooking oil - then roll the dough with your hands into small size golf balls - then press, and cook on a griddle or cast iron skillet for a minute on each side. That's it. Four ingredients, counting water. Compare that to the long list you see on the store bought packages. I had a slight problem with sticking and controlling the heat on my cast iron skillet - but I have a cheap, electric stove - so switched to a nonstick skillet and things worked better.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

2 cups Masa Harina

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups warm water

Mix masa, oil and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in water and knead dough with hands until it feels like a very wet cookie dough. Keep dough covered with a damp cloth so it doesn't dry out. Roll into balls with hands and press between two sheets of plastic (I cut a ziploc bag for this) on your tortilla press. Heat on a nonstick skillet, or griddle, for 1 to 2 minutes.

My kids like to eat soft tortillas for lunch - topping them with black beans, Queso Fresco, Monteray Jack, cilantro, salsa, and pickled red onion.

And nothing beats a fresh, homemade taco ...

I grind my own beef with a Kitchenaid mixer attachment.

I am in so deep now, I may never see the light of day.