Monday's Menu

Our household is comprised of a bunch of tortilla fans. For a while now, I've been trying different tortilla recipes. The finished product always seems too stiff though to use the way we typically use tortillas. The store bought ones are much more flexible, even cold, and easier to roll into a wrap or an enchilada or whatever the heart desires.

That, however, doesn't stop my children (or, occasionally, husband) from singing the praises of fresh homemade tortillas or constantly requesting them. While I'll admit that they are good, they are still a lot of work. And, quite frankly, keeping up with the tortilla demand would require making a LOT of tortillas.

However, one of the things I like about cooking from scratch is that I don't have to run to the store to get a special ingredient or one specific thing that we need. If I don't have it on hand, I can make it up and keep right on going. That, to me, is the essence of convenience. Particularly, if (as in the days when I began cooking from scratch) you live very far from a good grocery store -- defined as one that is well-stocked without making you bankrupt.

I also like knowing exactly what is in the food I am eating. One of the things that happened when I made the switch to cooking the majority of what we ate from scratch is that I suddenly realized after a few weeks that I was several pounds lighter -- like double digits. The only thing that I could trace that back to was the lack of additives and preservatives in our food. I made that switch when my now soon to be 17-year-old was about 18 months. Even after all this time, I still think that was the only thing it could be.

So making my own tortillas still appeals to me. Recently, I tried this recipe. It seemed easier and they also seem to be slightly more flexible than the others. I am thinking that to get them truly authentic you would have to use lard (as in the original recipe here) but they worked just fine with shortening for me. I also remember reading that authentic tortillas don't usually have any kind of baking powder in them. But you know how we crazy Americans are.

My children were begging me for fresh ones right out of the pan which they ate plain. This will probably be my go to recipe from now on. They were pretty hard to beat.

Flour Tortillas

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 cups water

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the water, mixing until the dough comes together. Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball. Using rolling pin, roll each ball until very thin.

Preheat a skillet. Lay one tortilla in skillet and cook until bubbly and golden on bottom. Flip and repeat for other side. Set aside and repeat for remaining tortillas.