homemade tortillas & tacos & guac, oh my!

!!!!!!!!!  i don't have much to say here except i love tacos, i could eat tacos everyday, and now i have all the equipment to make handmade tortillas at home. ev.er.y.day. todos los dias. if i so desire. ole!

(ps. we are going to mexico soon and i need to learn español in a hurry. )

thank you to my sweetie petey pablo for supplying me with all the things i need these past two christmases to make homemade tortillas! a cast iron tortilla press, a flat cast iron skillet, taco racks, and a tortilla warmer.  also a legit molcajete from last christmas for my signature guacamole.  good times ahead. muchas gracias, pedro.

in the red le creuset cocotte is a spicy pineapple salsa that i will share later :) this week we made tacos with spam, spicy pineapple salsa, and cilantro and they were sewwww gooood (especially with homemade tortillas).  if you're a spam skeptic like i was for many moons, puhlease give it a try.  grill it if possible.  "it tastes like ham, and then it tastes like bacon!" - my tagline at every bbq in the last 7 years where pete would be grilling up spam and people would inevitably turn their noses up at it. we've converted many a'friend. heEheHHHH. spaaaaaam. who knew.

for the sake of this first homemade tortilla taco fiesta, i just went with simple veggie tacos with black beans and salsa as the oomph of the tacos.  just simmer your favorite salsa in a pan for about ten minutes with a can of black beans. i love this fresh salsa from reser's.  the texture and flavor come together so deliciously, and it's so simple.  and easy to keep as leftovers and reheat when needed.

and avocado creme!

homemade tortillas are far superior to any store bought tortillas, in my opinion. the best store bought tortillas are these ones, though! si si!

top these black bean & salsa tacos with avocado creme, jalapeño or chile slices, radish slices, a crumbly white cheese like cojita, cilantro, y lime! 

ps. i am aware that the opposite side of the taco racks hold 3 tacos. i just wanted 2 and 2, amigo!

Homemade Tortillas

• 1 cup masa harina (corn flour for tortillas & tamales)
• 3/4 cup warm water (+ 2 TB if the dough is too dry)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and gently knead until a dough forms and is not sticky.  Add extra water or masa depending if the dough is too dry or too sticky.  Form dough balls about the size of a golf ball.  Let sit in a bowl covered by a warm wash cloth if you aren't pressing the tortillas right away.

Set a piece of plastic wrap on each side of your tortilla press.  Place a ball of dough in the center, close the top, and press the lever down firmly.  Press less firmly if you want a little bit thicker tortilla. Open the press, and carefully peel the tortilla off the side of the plastic wrap that it is stuck to - gently pass the tortilla from hand to hand to keep it from sticking.  Gently place it onto a cast iron skillet that has been lightly greased or sprayed with cooking spray and heated to medium. Cook the tortilla about 30 seconds, and flip with a spatula or with your fingers if you're legit. Let cook another 30 seconds, place the tortilla in a tin foil lined tortilla warmer (as shown in the photos).  Repeat until you have a nice little stack of tortillas ready for the taco fixins. 

Avocado Creme

• 1/2 a large avocado, or 1 medium avocado
• juice of half a lime
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 -2 TB cream, or water (if the avocado creme is too thick)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy!

Assemble tacos as you prefer! The combinations are infinite.

tacos, i love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. meet you in mehico.  mwah.

qp

fruit & greek yogurt breakfast/dessert bowls.

mmm mmm mmm! here's one o my tricks for a breakfast guaranteed to satisfy, and/or a dessert guaranteed to satisfy (and prevent you from eating 10 pounds of leftover christmas candy).

i started making these a while back at night, just around the time my sweet tooth would come a'calling.  i like having these as a dessert because they're sweet, tart, chocolatey, crunchy, creamy... all the things!

my orig dessert version was: a scoop of plain greek yogurt, a spoonful of peanut butter, a sliced banana, chia seeds, oats, whole or chopped almonds, handful of mini chocolate chips, a drizzle of agave, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

then i started making these in the morning to bring to work, and would just slice up the banana when i was ready to eat it.  they're easy to throw together and easy to transport in a glass tupperware or jar. they keep me full for several hours, too.  nothing worse than looking at the clock at like 9:02am and already being so starving and ready for lunch, which i generally push out to the latest possible time of day just before i'm passed out dead, all because the rest of the workday flies by after that. i'm weird, but that's just how i do.

so anyhoo, these babies hold off those rascally hunger pains so wonderfully.

talk about customizable, too! you can switch out any of the fruit, use different types of nut butters, different seeds, etc.  the drizzle of agave sweetens up the plain yogurt just perfectly along with the fruit.

idears for fruits to use: banana, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, sliced apple, sliced grapes, pineapple, mango, plum.......ya know...fruit!

idears for other toppings: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, oats, almond butter, peanut butter, nutella, agave, honey, cinnamon, chocolate chips, granola, cereals (grape nuts + yogurt is something i always forget about, but is such a delightful combo because there is a far lesser chance of grape nut soggification [ew] when using yogurt versus using milk...and why are only old people expected to eat grape nuts? i've eaten them since i was a wee child, aaaaand i like them. so what?! i'll stand by you forever, grape nuts!).

Fruit & Greek Yogurt Breakfast/Dessert Bowls

{Recipe is for the example in the photos shown above}

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 2%)
• 1 TB Nutella
• 1 banana, sliced
• handful of raspberries
• 1 TB chia seeds
• 2 TB oats
• handful of almonds, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp. agave nectar, drizzled
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Instructions:

Add everything to a bowl. Eat it up!  I usually start with the base of yogurt + pb/nutella and swirl that together a little bit, then add the rest of the toppings.  Enjoy!

qp