Corn Tortillas

Preparing Maize into Masa

metate y mano

One of Esperanza’s cooking chores was to help grind lime-soaked corn or maize into masa or corn dough for tortillas. To complete this task, she used a grinding stone or metate with a hand-held stone called a mano.

Although she thought it was hard work, Esperanza had successfully mastered the grinding of the maize into masa, but she had a difficult time with shaping the tortillas into circles and cooking them evenly. Re-read page 13 to refresh your memory about her “burnt tortillas” and the taunting she endured from her cousin, María Elena, about her misshapen tortillas.

On page 99, the process of tortilla making is described:
Esperanza had to make corn tortillas for dinner. Not her favorite job. She went into the kitchen and got the bucket of corn kernels soaking in lime water. Carefully, she carried it to the porch, setting it next to the large grinding stone called a metate. Scooping the corn out of the pot with a slotted spoon, she dropped it onto the metate, then pounded it into dough with a mano, a grinding stone that fit into her hand. Whew, it was hard work. When she had ground enough masa for dinner, she pinched a small ball, and rapidly patted it into a tortilla. The first try resembled a triangle more than the perfect round shapes that Mamá and María Elena made. Esperanza sighed, put the tortilla in a basket, and went onto the next week.

Making Corn Tortillas and Recipe

Note: You will need two days preparation for tortillas made from dried kernels because they need to be soaked in water for twenty-four hours before cleaning and grinding.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds dried hominy kernels
• water to cover kernels (about 3 quarts)
• 2 tablespoons powdered lime (cal or calcium hydroxide)
• warm water as necessary
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Place the dried hominy kernels in a large pot with enough water to cover the kernels. Add the lime and stir into water and kernel mixture until dissolved.
2. Simmer the kernels for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the skins are loose. Remove from heat and allow them to soak for 24 hours.
3. After the 24-hour period is completed, skin the kernels by rubbing them between the palms of your hands, making sure to remove the “eye” at the base of each kernel. (Many of the kernel skins will have floated to the top of the soaking solution already.)
4. IMPORTANT: Rinse the kernels thoroughly in at least three changes of water, to be certain that the lime has been completely rinsed off.
5. Grind the kernels to a paste-like consistency, using either a traditional metate y mano or a food processor.
6. Add the salt and enough warm water to make a sticky-dough.
7. Knead the dough with moistened hands until it becomes smooth and loses its sticky quality. (about three minutes)
8. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes before using it in a recipe for tortillas or other masa-based dishes.
9. Separate the dough into equal-sized balls; then slightly flatten them with the palm of your hand. Place a wet towel or a plastic cover to keep dough from drying out.

Note: If you have a specialty Mexican market nearby, you can purchase the masa dough freshly made and ready to press or roll out into tortillas.

Using Masa Mix to Make the Corn Dough

Most supermarkets carry masa in a specialty aisle of the store. Ask a store clerk where you can find this product.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Masa mix
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/8 cups of water

Directions:

1. Mix the three ingredients together.
2. If the dough is too crumbly, add a tablespoon of water.
3. Separate the dough into equal-sized balls.
4. Slightly flatten the balls of dough with the palm of your hand.
5. Place a wet towel or a plastic cover the dough to keep it from drying out.

Rolling or Pressing the Corn Dough into Tortillas

Using a rolling pin to make the tortillas:

1. Place a floured plastic bag on a board or countertop.
2. Place a slightly flattened ball of dough in the center of the plastic bag.
3. Place a second floured plastic bag over the slightly flattened ball of dough.
4. Use a rolling pin to roll out the tortilla into a circle six to seven inches in diameter of the right thickness. Use your finger to smooth any ragged edges.
5. Remove the top plastic bag and then flip the plastic bag over in order to remove the tortilla from the 2nd plastic bag.
6. Repeat until all of the dough balls are formed into tortillas.
7. KEEP tortillas separated from one another with cling-wrap.

Using a tortilla press to make the tortillas

1. Place a floured plastic bag on the bottom half of a tortilla press.
2. Place a slightly flattened ball of dough in the center of the plastic bag.
3. Place a second floured plastic bag over the top of the slightly flattened ball of dough.
4. Close the lid and press down on the handle.
5. Remove perfectly rounded tortilla from the press.
6. KEEP tortillas separated from one another with cling-wrap or waxed paper.
7. Repeat until all of the dough balls are made into tortillas.

Cooking the tortillas:

1. Heat a heavy cast iron skillet, griddle or comal over high heat.
2. Once you see some bubbles form or see it puff (about 30 seconds), flip the tortilla over with a spatula. Cook for 30 seconds on the second side. Small brown spots are fine.
3. Place cooked tortillas into a basket covered with a towel in order to keep them warm. If you want to re-heat them for later use, then place them in a warm oven for a few minutes.

Carne Con Chile Coronado and Posole

Two dishes eaten by Esperanza and her family are more complicated to make. Consider ordering these from an authentic Mexican restaurant in order to taste these wonderful, traditional soups and stews.

rope of chili peppers or ristras

Nopales

Nopales are a vegetable made from the young pads (leaves) of the prickly pear cactus or opuntia, which is native to Mexico and other places around the world. In Mexico, the plant is eaten commonly and is an ingredient in many Mexican dishes. Click for more information on Nopales. The green or purple pads are flat, hand-sized and are the most juicy and tender in the spring. They have a similar taste as green beans. The spines on the pads need to be carefully removed in order to prepare and cook the pads. Today nopales can be purchased fresh, canned or even dried in many supermarkets on the specialty aisle.

Scrambled Nopales or Nopales con Huevos

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 cactus pads
• 8 Eggs
• small amount of butter or 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/4 lb. of shredded cheese
• salt & pepper to taste
• Optional: a small amount of diced onion can be sautéed before the nopales and added to the eggs.

Directions:

1. Purchase nopales that have been thoroughly washed, with spines and nodules removed.
2. Slice the pads into bite-size pieces.
3. Melt a small amount of butter in a frying pan.
4. Sauté the sliced pads for about 5 minutes on medium high heat.
5. Remove from the heat and set aside.
6. Beat the eggs with a whisk in a mixing bowl; add shredded cheese and the sautéed cactus pieces.
7. Pour the egg mixture into a skillet and scramble it.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve warm with soft tortillas and salsa.

Pinto Beans Frijoles Refritos

Pinto beans are a staple of Mexican cuisine.

Cooking the Pinto Beans

1. Place the beans into a large pot.
2. Soak the beans overnight in warm water to soften them.
3. In the morning, drain off the water. Cover softened beans with clean water.
4. Bring water to a boil.
5. Turn down the heat to medium and cook the beans until they are soft and almost done – about two hours.

Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)

Refried beans are actually only fried once; the word refritos means “very well fried.”

Ingredients:

• 4 to 5 cups cooked pinto beans
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil

Optional:

• 1/2 large white or yellow onion – finely diced
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese – cheddar, queso quesadilla, Monterrey jack

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat.
2. Carefully add the beans and mix well with the oil.
3. Fry the beans for approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
4. When done frying, mash the beans with a potato masher; you can mash it entirely or leave some beans whole.
5. Serve with optional chopped onions and cheese.

• Click to view photos of the process

Pinole

On page 99 in Esperanza Means Hope, Mamá packed Papá and Tío Francisco some food in cotton bags. She included cornmeal and brown sugar to make pinole. Pinole is coarse flour made from ground toasted corn kernels and sometimes mixed with a variety of ground seeds or herbs. It can be made into a drink, a mush-like food or corn bread.

Hot Pinole Drink #1

Ingredients:

• 6 – 8 tablespoons of pinole
• milk or water
• brown or white sugar or honey to sweeten
• optional dash of cinnamon

Directions:

1. For a cold drink, use cold milk or water.
2. For a hot drink boil the milk or water.
3. Pour all ingredients into a glass.
4. Pour the appropriate amount of hot or cold milk or water to fill the glass.
5. Stir with a spoon.
6. Add a dash of optional cinnamon and enjoy!

Hot Pinole Drink #2

Ingredients:

• 2 c. milk
• 2 heaping T. pinole
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 T. malted milk powder (optional)
• dash of cinnamon or nutmeg

Directions:

1. Heat milk to scalding.
2. Whisk in remaining ingredients until frothy and serve in mugs.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.

Pinole Corn Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 cup creamed corn
• 3⁄4 cup pinole
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 3⁄4 cup buttermilk
• 1⁄2 cup melted butter
• 1⁄2 — 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 — 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 4 — 5 fresh green chilies, finely chopped, or one 4 oz. can of diced green chilies

Directions:

1. Mix corn through baking soda well.
2. Turn 1⁄2 batter into greased 8” or 9” pan.
3. Sprinkle with 1⁄2 cheese, the chilies, and then the rest of the cheese.
4. Top with remaining batter.
5. Bake 1 hour at 350°.
6. Let cool 15 minutes. Cut into squares.

Native Seeds – SEARCH Recipe for Pinole Cornbread:
Click to view recipe

Yucca Root Soap

The various species of yucca plants were important to many native Southwest tribes. Many used the sharp-pointed, waxy leaves for weaving. The Apaches used the long flower stalks and creamy white blossoms as a source of food. Most importantly, the roots of the yucca provided many Native Americans with a great natural shampoo and laundry soap because of its lathering properties.

In Chapter Six of Esperanza Means Hope, Esperanza’s father punished her by making her help Rosa, a hired Papago Indian woman, wash the family’s laundry at the acequia madre (the main irrigation ditch). At the ditch, they wet the clothes, applied soap, pounded them against the rocks and then hung them on the surrounding bushes to dry. Esperanza brought homemade lard soap to wash her clothes, while Rosa brought yucca root soap. Rosa remarked that yucca root soap was much easier on the clothes; Esperanza disagreed.

Follow the directions below to make your own yucca root soap, similar to the soap that Rosa would have made and used in the 1870s. You will need to make this soap with the assistance of an adult!

• Click to Read more about Yucca Soaps

Processing the Yucca Root and Making Soap

1. Clean the yucca root thoroughly using a vegetable brush to remove any loose dirt; loosen the skin as you handle the washed root.
2. Peel off the outer layer of skin from the root using a vegetable peeler. Make certain to not soil the inner part of the root with removed dirt.
3. AN ADULT SHOULD COMPLETE THIS STEP. Chop the root into small pieces using a sharp chef’s knife. Yucca roots are sticky and difficult to work with, so this may take some effort to complete.
4. Pulverize the smaller bits of yucca root in a blender to make a pulpy substance.
5. Place yucca pulp in a bowl and add 15 to 20 drops of your favorite essential oil so that the soap has an aroma. Use an electric mixer to work in the essential oil.
6. Line a cake pan with wax paper and spread the yucca root pulp and essential oil mixture onto the paper. Use a narrow pan so that the bars of soap are thick.
7. Set the pan in the sun to dry (summer heat) or bake in an oven at 200-degrees for an hour until the soap is dry to the touch.
8. AN ADULT SHOULD COMPLETE THIS STEP. Lastly, cut the dried yucca pulp mixture into bars of soap using a regular kitchen knife.
9. The yucca root soap is ready to use.

The Blue Willow Pattern Legend by Mary L. Stollard Nearly every home in our country contains a specimen of some kind of the famous willow pattern ware. Yet even today, many people have never heard the true story of the willow pattern. For nearly two centuries, it has been one of the most popular of china designs, and many children have gazed entranced at the quaint little figures of the familiar willow pattern jingle – ‘Two birds flying high, A Chinese vessel, sailing by. A bridge with three men, sometimes four, A willow tree, hanging o’er. A Chinese temple, there it stands, Built upon the river sands. An apple tree, with apples on, A crooked fence to end my song.’ It tells of Knoon-shee, a lovely Chinese maiden, whose affections were bestowed upon her father’s secretary, Chang, but who was commanded by her parents to wed a wealthy rival suitor. She refused to comply with their wishes, whereupon her enraged father locked her up in the little house just visible on the left of the temple. From here she contrived to send a message to her lover, ‘Gather thy blossom, ere it be stolen.’ Thus encouraged, Chang succeeded in entering the apple orchard and carrying off his beloved. So we see them hurrying over the bridge. Knoon-shee with a distaff, and Chang carrying her box of jewels, while the angry father follows hard after them armed with a whip. The couple made good their escape in the ‘Chinese ship sailing by’ and landed on the island, which can be seen on the left of the picture, where they took refuge in the little wooden house. But the father and discarded suitor tracked them and set fire to the house while they were sleeping; and so the lovers perished. Next morning, from the ashes rose their spirits, in the forms of two doves. And so we see them with out-stretched wings flying off to the realms of eternal happiness. No one knows the origin of this story. It was told in China more than a thousand years ago and brought over to our country from Eastern lands by the Crusaders. The willow pattern, as we know it today, was designed by one Thomas Minton about 1780, and bought from him by Thomas Turner, a famous potter and manager of Shropshire pottery. At that time the craze for collecting souvenirs from the East was at its height and this dainty little design, so typical of Chinese people, instantly became popular. Other potters copied the pattern with some variations, and though at first sight all willow patterns look alike, the different makes can be distinguished by various small details, such as the number of apples, the figures on the bridge, and the design of the crooked fence. All early potters, however, used the same shade of cobalt blue, and though we have since had many other shades of lighter and darker tones, even browns or blacks, the original cobalt blue has always remained first favorite. Few other makes of china are more attractive then a really good specimen of willow pattern, with their exquisite markings and minute detail carefully and accurately copied.

• Legend Adopted from The Potteries

Mexican-American Cooking and Cuisine Quiz

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True or False: Place a T or F in front of each statement.  If the statement is false, make it correct by changing the information.

1. _____ Saguaro cactus can live to be 200 years old.
2. _____ Saguaro cactus begin to bloom when they are 50 years old.
3. _____ Saguaro cactus flowers stay open for pollination less then 24 hours.
4. _____ People shake the saguaro cactus to remove its fruit.
5. _____ Corn dough is called mesa in Spanish.
6. _____ Nopales taste like lima beans.
7. _____ Nopales are a fruit.
8. _____ Frijoles refritos means fried twice.
9. _____ Pinole flour contains ground toasted corn kernels, other ground seeds and herbs.

Fill-in-the Blank

1. Pinole can be made into ______________, ______________ or _________________________.
2. A comal is a _______________, ______________ griddle used to cook tortillas and other foods.
3. Main foods of traditional Mexican cuisine are ___________, ______________, ______________, _________________ and _________________.
4. Horno means ______________ in Spanish and it is shaped like a ___________________.
5. The three main categories of chili peppers are _________________, _______________________ and _______________________.
6. Esperanza’s family used ____________ soap and Rosa used ______________ soap.
7. The _______________________ used to cook sugar in candy causes it to have different levels of hardness.

Short Answer
Retell the story of the Blue Willow plate in your own words.

Mexican-American Cooking and Cuisine Quiz Key

True or False: Place a T or F in front of each statement.  If the statement is false, make it correct by changing the information.

1. T – Saguaro cactus can live to be 200 years old.
2. F – Saguaro cactus begin to bloom when they are 8 – 10 feet tall.
3. T – Saguaro cactus flowers stay open for pollination less then 24 hours.
4. F – People use a cross-topped pole to remove its fruit.
5. F – Corn dough is called masa in Spanish.
6. F – Nopales taste like green beans.
7. F – Nopales are a vegetable.
8. F – Frijoles refritos means fried very well.
9. T – Pinole flour contains ground toasted corn kernels, other ground seeds and herbs.

Fill-in-the Blank

1. Pinole can be made into a drink, a corn bread or a mush.
2. A comal is a smooth, flat griddle used to cook tortillas and other foods.
3. Main foods of traditional Mexican cuisine are maize, beans, avocados, chili peppers and Nopal cactus.
4. Horno means oven or furnace in Spanish and it is shaped like a beehive.
5. The three main categories of chili peppers are bell peppers, sweet peppers and hot peppers.
6. Esperanza’s family used lard soap and Rosa used yucca root soap.
7. The temperature used to cook sugar in candy causes it to have different levels of hardness.

Short Answer
Answers will vary. Self-check your story facts and the sequence of your details.