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March 10, 2004
She's Laughing at me!
Last weekend in remembrance of the 5 year anniversary of my Grandma L's death, I hosted a Mexican Breakfast for my friends who live in the area. It was a fantastic time. I served eggs, chorizo, refried beans I "fried" myself (both times), hash browns, and, um, homemade tortillas. The night before as I was making them I swear I could hear my grandmother laughing. If you've never made a tortilla before let me explain. It's not so much the mixing of the ingredients or the preparing of the dough that is tricky; it's the rolling out perfectly symmetrically, same size tortillas every time. Using anything but a rolling pin would technically be cheating. I made approximately three dozen oddly shaped discs.
When I was a child, one of my fondest memories of my Grandmother was of making tortillas. With a rolling pin, my grandmother was like magic. She barely had to touch a ball of dough and it would succumb to her every whim like an obedient puppy praying for a treat. At the end of every batch of dough she would prep two small dough balls so that my sister and I could make our very own tortilla. At 7 or 8, this was the most fun, difficult thing ever! We would try and try and try to get that beautiful roundness. Finally after what seemed like seconds (but was probably about 10 minutes), Grandma would say, "Okay, that's enough." She would take our little dough and make us each our very own perfectly round tortilla, place it on the old cast iron stove lid atop one of the boring old electric burners, and turn it over and over until we had our very own perfectly round, with little brown bumps tortilla. With a little butter, sugar and cinammon, it was the most tasty thing in the world for an 8 year old.
This was the first time I've tried to make tortillas on my own since my first disastrous dalliance with the recipe at 11. I did not know that tortillas needed lard, and salt and baking soda. I thought it was just flour and water. Unfortunately for my father, for whom I was making this Father's Day gift of tradition and love, I did manage to make a few tortilla-like hard cakes. Yuck! After so many years, I thought I deserved another go.
My Grandmother's death has been a great lesson to me in just what exactly death is. She was really the first person I knew well enough to still be connected to and affected by even after passing on. At moments, mostly when I was rolling the same tortilla AGAIN, after failing dismally the first time, I couldn't help but erupt in giggles and laughter. My Grandma was over me, watching the product of my labor. I think she really enjoyed the fact that I was actually trying to make them as much as the comedy of my efforts. She would be very pleased that traditions and rituals are being remembered.
On that score she need not fear. I am determined to become an A-1 tortilla roller so that I can produce some of that same magic to my children, nieces and nephews. So siblings you better hold up awhile. This is going to take some time. Otherwise I may have to do some fancy marketing. Do you think Mission would ever sell "Mexican Amoebas"? How do you say Amoeba in Spanish?
For the record, my last tortilla was a smaller dough ball, rolled (NO. Not round), and pulled right off the griddle and lathered with a little butter, sugar and cinammon. Go figure. It is still the most tasty thing in the world!
Posted by mermu at March 10, 2004 11:53 AM
Comments
Chip,
What a great idea with the Parchment paper. I love that!
Posted by: Mermu at March 22, 2004 04:11 PM
One memory from my grandmother is going to visit them at their cabin in Northern Lower Michigan on Houghton Lake. They had this amazing A-Frame Cottage, with plenty of space to get away if you needed to. as well as being right on the lake. One memory is of a continuous roll of parchment paper that my grandmother would have me draw on, wish I still had that. Another time was when my cousins and I built boats out of sheets of plywood. ridiculous really, but somehow managed to stay afloat. I have managed to keep one remembrance of her and that is a quilt I designed and she made for my High School graduation. Just thought I'd chime in.
Posted by: Chip Duford at March 22, 2004 04:04 PM
Enjoyed your story...made me miss your Grandma L...or wish she'd been mine.
Posted by: Blue-eyed Blonde at March 17, 2004 09:47 AM
What a beautiful memory and a wonderful telling of it, too. I've never tried tortilla with butter, sugar and cinnamon -- only those cardboard-textured curls they sell at Taco Bell. I want one of yours! Don't care about the symmetry.
Posted by: Kathleen at March 16, 2004 08:21 AM
I have a very clear memory of being about 6 or 7 and having a fresh homemade tortilla at your Grandma Lucio's house with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, done directly on the stovetop burner. Tasty doesn't begin to describe it! It was glorious.
Posted by: Cousin Elizabeth at March 13, 2004 02:33 PM
A wonderful tradition - isn't it nice the things you treasure about your Grandma L are not the plastic toys she could have given you but the beautiful memories of doing something with her.
Posted by: Cynthia at March 12, 2004 07:36 AM
I've always wondered about refried beans. No, not why people eat them, but why they were called refried rather than just fried. I always thought they were boiled, then fried. No refrying involved.
Are those flour or corn tortillas you're making? Which do you prefer? Which are easier to make?
I guess everyone knows that "tortilla" is a fairly transparent word, meaning "little cake (tort)"
Posted by: the other Patrick at March 11, 2004 11:41 AM
I thought I was the only one who ever put butter, cinnamon and suger on my tortilla! I wished the Mexican eateries around here would supply more than butter and honey for tortillas and sopapillas.
Posted by: Theresa at March 10, 2004 06:42 PM
Now I've got the itch to make some tortillas. Jonathan is spending the night in a couple of weeks, maybe I'll make tortillas and serve him nothing but cinnemon/sugar yumminess all weekend :)
Posted by: Sister at March 10, 2004 05:56 PM
http://www.spanishdict.com/a/s/ameba-s.wav
Posted by: Patrick at March 10, 2004 03:39 PM
ameba
Posted by: Patrick at March 10, 2004 01:43 PM
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