Tortillas

For some reason I have had "tortillas" on my mind and it brings up so many thoughts and emotions. Growing up in a Hispanic home I can recall my mom in the kitchen making up a batch of flour tortillas. I remember sitting on the sidelines and watching the process of combining ingredients, letting it set, rolling out (we didn't have a tortilla press) the tortillas and watching the stack grow! Sometimes a QC (quality Check) was called for with lots of soft butter! What a treat!
In our home. there were seven of us and occasionally, the numbers grew with other visiting family members or friends. You always had to watch out for our younger brother, who learned at a young age the art of hiding a tortilla under his plate for later once the pile had depleted! To this day, I haven't tried and will admit to not knowing how to make flour tortillas. In that regards, I know even less about corn tortillas. But, if I had to pick a favorite, corn would be my preference. I remember being at home and y parents in the process of making tacos. One of us siblings would have the task of getting the order from everyone "how many corn and how many flour shells?" I remember mine was always the same. Three corn and two flour! They were always fried in oil. Let's not get started with chalupas!
I have to give props to other family members that come to mind when talking about tortillas! Shout out to my grandmothers, my Tias (especially my Tia Lydia and Tia Mary)! Since growing up and developing my passion for food, Masa Harina (corn flour) is in my pantry. Not for making corn tortillas, but as a thickener for my chili or caldo (soup) and as a flour substitute in breading chicken, pork and even beef. It gives such a different earthy flavor! A quick fix to the tortilla withdrawal is pre-made from the grocery store. But, when I really want the "almost-homemade" I try and get to the Mercados in Pontiac, MI. They seem to know what brands to carry. Thank goodness.
Now that I'm totally hungry, I can think about making some Migas or some simple cheese quesadilla! Migas? That's another posting! Adios!