Dear Caitlin,

Remember when we decided to go to LA that one time?  I think we called it the quarterlife crisis adventure.  It started out as this big giant roadtrip, with me leaving from Nashville and picking you up in Austin and then driving through the Grand Canyon and then ending up at Madi’s house in Hollywood.

Until we Pricelined flights.  Game changer.  I’m a little disappointed we missed out on driving across the country and eating gas station powdered donuts ad nauseum.  But, if we’re totally honest, 25 is just too darn old to drive that far.

Annnnnnd, if we had spent all that time driving, we wouldn’t have had time for these tortillas, black beans, and mango salsa.

Which would have been a total bummer.  Because, if you’ll remember, they were delish.*

Anyway, as it was last summer, my favorite tortilla recipe is still Homesick Texan’s flour tortillas.  (Now that I’m mentioning it, have you seen she’s now posted Hatch Chile Flour Tortillas?!  But that will have to be next weekend’s project.)

It seemed appropriate that this recipe should be the first one listed here.  It reminds me first of those delicious tortillas from Taco Taco, eaten late on Sunday mornings in college smothered in roasted salsa with a side of creamy coffee.  And it reminds of visiting old friends last summer.

All the best,

Kaki

Recipe

Original Recipe:  Homesick Texan

Ingredients

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt (Original recipe calls for 1 – I dialed it down according to my tastes)

2 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil

3/4 Cups Warm Milk (I use whole, as it makes them chewier, but skim would still result in delicious tortillas)

Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).  Then add vegetable oil.  Add warm milk gradually, until it forms a ball.  Knead for two minutes.  The dough will be very sticky – it’s ok, if it’s too sticky to roll out, you can always add a little more at that stage.  And you can wash your hands.

Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Divide dough into eight equal sections, recover, and let rest for another 10 minutes.

Then you’re ready to roll the dough out.  I do this all by hand, but you can certainly use a rolling pin if you prefer.  If the dough is too sticky, put a light dusting of flour on your hands before you work with it.  The tortillas should be between 6 to 8 inches across.  I generally use a dinner plate as my guide.  The dough should be very, very thing – almost transparent.

Heat a skillet at a high temperature – there’s no need to add any oil.  Cook the tortillas about 30 seconds on each side.  They should have a few dark spots on them when they’re done.

They’re best straight from the pan, and I usually eat two or three that way.  But they freeze really well too.  I often make a double or triple batch and keep them bagged in the freezer so that we can have homemade tortillas for weeks.

*It should be noted that I know you will hate this abbreviation.  But I’m using it anyway.