Thursday, March 24, 2011

Real food: Homemade Tortillas

When my children started eating real food (as in when the world became alive to them :), it became pretty important to me that they eat "REAL" food. Not food that could sit out on the counter for 20 years and still be ok to eat. (Is that ever ok to eat?)

Yes, my children still eat boxed crackers sometimes, in fact, Judah eats his weight in Graham Crackers every day. And yes, Malone could eat Easy Mac for every meal of her life, if only I would relent and let her. But as much as I can, I try to make sure the food they (and we) consume is made of REAL ingredients. I know this probably comes easier to me than most, since I particularly enjoy making things from scratch, have the time to do so and more resources than many. I wish (fist of fury in the air) that as a community we would make it easier and cheaper to eat REAL food. I could go on long enough to make Michael Pollan proud, but I won't.

I will, however, share with you my latest conquest in this journey to real, homemade food, HOMEMADE TORTILLAS. UH- mazing! That's all. This is how tortillas were meant to be eaten. I got this recipe from Petit Elefant. Thank you, Allison. Thank you. She has more step by step pictures to help you along if you are a rule follower, like me, and need to make sure your dough looks like hers. Its so easy, and fairly quick. Do it. Make them. Now!

Homemade Flour Tortillas
Courtesy of Petit Elefant
Makes 9-10 tortillas, depending on size

2 C. All-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 C. hot water

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. Mix well.

2. Add oil to the water. Mix together well...ha ha

3. Add water mixture to dry ingredients one teaspoon at a time. Mix, mix, mix. Until a dough forms.

4. On a very well floured surface, knead the dough until smooth

5. Cut and roll into 9-10 small balls

6. Cover with a damp/wet kitchen towel for 20 minutes. Knead little balls and cover again for 10 minutes.

7. Roll out as thin as you can (I like them not too
thin because then they got a bit crispy. I like
them a little thicker and soft)

8. Cook in a greased (BUTTER!) pan until tortilla bubbles, turn over and cook until golden brown.

9. EAT!

I made some for Buffalo Chicken Tacos. Divine. But then I also made a couple extra for dessert, which meant I sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar. Ahhhh.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Ummm... im really excited to try these. You need to post more recipes like this!
Thanks for sharing!

hillarie said...

I'm so gonna try these.... as soon as I have two arms.

Laura said...

I'm so proud of you Marelize! I didn't know how to cook ANYTHING when I got married....even asked Michael how to boil water. Pitiful, I know. But, I too got excited about cooking things from scratch and although I've regressed now with hardly anyone in the house, the years of cooking, baking, canning & freezing food from the garden, grinding wheat and making our own whole wheat bread were some of the best years. Hard work with little kids, but very rewarding. I used to get great satisfaction in the late fall just LOOKING at all the jars of food & goodies that I'd "put up" for my family. With mounds of laundry that never seemed to go away and sippy cups that were always empty, it gave me a real sense of accomplishment and finality. :-)
Your tortillas look great! I never use oil in the pan but will try it. Try using a cast iron skillet or even a nonstick griddle and cook them without the oil. They're not as crispy but good for burritos. When each is finished, place a cotton flour sack tea towel that is a tiny bit damp inside a big piece of folded foil and stack the finished tortillas inside the towel to stay warm and soft. A little cheese and a fresh green chile sitting plopped onto a fresh homemade tortilla is to die for at our house. I have sweet memories of growing up in NM and our next door neighbor making homemade tortillas every afternoon for that evening's dinner.
Press on my sweet friend.....you inspire me!!
Love you

Marelize said...

@Laura- I think its time for a lesson visit from you on all that you mentioned. We both want to learn more about gardening and Cameron (so funny to me) wants to try canning sooooo bad. What do you think? A little Vegas visit?