Taco Night

I was lucky enough to marry into a family with some solid traditions different from my own. My husband's parents were missionaries to Hispanic populations in many states, but originally in South Texas/Mexico. They adopted several Mexican foods, and "Mennonite-ized" them, including tacos and our yearly Christmas tamales. We received a "tortilla-dora" (tortilla press) as an engagement gift from my parents-in-law, and as much as I enjoyed eating them with the in-laws, I thought it would clearly gather dust in my cabinet.

Now, 17 years later, we are using our second tortilla-dora as we used the first one to death, and taco night is a weekly tradition. I learned to make fresh corn tortillas at the side of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

I start with Masa Harina, very finely ground corn flour, and boiling water, to make the Masa (tortilla dough). This is rolled into balls, then pressed between the two iron plates of the tortilla-dora.

The pressed tortilla is placed on a very hot, flat iron pan, and cooked on 3 sides.

The finished tortillas rest in a towel lined basket or bowl to steam.

My husband ate tortillas twice a week during his Jr High and High School years, as his mother found it a good way to get vegetables into him. It was a momentous milestone the day each of the girls ate their first taco! We eat the tortillas with a sweet/sour ground meat (this is the Mennonite influence), cheese, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. During the winter months we rely on canned tomatoes so as to avoid the anemic, firm grocery store variety. The finished product is topped off with salsa (homemade as supplies last) and devoured with relish.

J has recently started helping to press the tortillas, so I find myself passing this tradition on to the next generation so that Taco Night can remain an important fixture in the Martin family for years and years (and years) to come.

T