For me, food isn't very important. Don't get me wrong, there are those occasional times when something will catch my eye and call my name, like a dripping ice cream on a hot day or that pie that sits in the display case that looks like it's been sprayed with varnish to make the fruit shine. For the most part, I am not consumed with eating. In fact, my problem is that I don't eat. I get hungry and think about what to eat, but nothing seems appealing to me.
Latley, though, I have been comsumed with thoughts about my childhood foods. We never made elaborate meals when I was growing up. On the contrary, our meals were simple and basic but they were good! My grama had a way of making the simplest foods taste fabulous. I remember how she would made a pot of beans. There were always beans in her fridge. Not canned beans but fresh cooked beans. She would also make fideo which is a coiled pasta that is made with tomatoe sauce and water. I loved her fideo. Other times she made spanish rice. The "carne" or meat was simply cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic and chile, no major ingredients but it was good. Sometimes we had no meat with our meals. Instead, we had cheese enchiladas or tostadas or just beans, rice, salad and veggies with tortillas. Oh and the tortillas were always homemade when I was a little girl. My grama would buy tortillas to have on hand in a pinch but for the most part they were homemade. Corn tortillas were my favorite but were only made on rare occasions, but when she made them, I could hardly wait to eat them. I remember she would also make what we called calabasitas or little squash. It's simply Mexican squash cut in rounds with butter, garlic, onion, tomatoe sauce with water and cheese melted on top.
As I grew up, I began cooking a variety of foods, none of which were like those that my grama made. I made foods that I picked out of magazines or saw on television shows. I like to do my own thing in the kitchen, put together whatever pops into my head. The majority of the time my family likes it but I have made a few throw outs. I do occasionally throw in some favorites from when I was a kid like Sopa. Well, we called it sopa (which means soup) but it's just pasta shaped like alphabets or rings or stars that are toasted in a little oil to brown and then cooked in tomatoe sauce with water. Please don't mistake this for the canned pastas that are drenched in thick tomatoe sauce. This has a light, unique flavor. Just like me, my kids love it. This was my macaroni and cheese growing up, my comfort food, if you will. In fact, I didn't have mac'n'cheese till I was an adult.
Now with the rising cost of food and the need to cutback on spending I have been looking at ways to cut our large grocery bill. It seems that as soon as I bring in the groceries, the bags, boxes and cartons get torn open and the food is eaten in a flash. I've started buying more fruits and less junk for the kids and I've also started doing what I grew up with. Cooking foods that are simple yet delicious and comforting. I'm trying to get in the habit of making "frijoles de la holla" or beans from the pot on a regular basis, to incorporate in our meals. Not only are they inexpensive but filling and nutritious as well.
Today, I made a pot of beans. The house smelled just like gramas. My son kept asking me what smelled so good. When they were done, I grabbed a bowl and went to get a tortilla but there were none. Disappointed, I sat and ate my bowl of frijoles by itself. As I sat there enjoying the warm, soft beans, I thought about making some tortillas. The thought quickly passed as I've tried in the past to make flour tortillas only to have them turn out like Matza Bread. Matza bread is an unleavened bread that is crispy and traditionaly eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday. No, I am not Jewish but went to Catholic school as a child and that's what they would give us during lent to re-enact the Passover feast. I decided to try the tortilla making again. This time I really put my all into it. As I kneaded the dough, I wondered if I was kneading too much or too little. See, back in the day, there were no recipes to follow. Just add a pinch of this and a dash of that was how it was done. I rolled the dough into little balls and rolled them out into shapes that somewhat resembled circles. I placed one on the grill and waited for the bubbles. This is what I remember as a child about tortilla making. I would be facinated by how the dough would bubble as it was cooking on the griddle. None of mine in the past had bubbled . This time however, as soon as I placed the disc on the griddle, something began to happen. Little tiny bubbles started to appear. Then when I flipped it, a little larger bubble appeared. I flipped it one more time and low and behold the round disc looked as if someone was pumping it with air. SUCCESS!!!!!
I ended up with 14 beautiful, homemade flour tortillas to go with my homemade pot of beans. I know the tortillas will be gone before the lights go out tonight but that's OK. I now know I can make more tomorrow if I want to.
