tortilla therapy.

I know that cooking and baking is a form of therapy for many of us, and I notice that when I'm cooking or mixing batter into the mixer it's like a huge load of stress is being taken off of my shoulders. There are days when I am just in a tortilla mood...a homemade tortilla mood. For the past few days I've had tortillas y frijoles on the brain. Whether we have hot or cold temperatures we are always in a tortilla mood!

In this case I had Chelsea help me make the tortillas, and she enjoyed every minute of it.

Hey... they offered so I said "go for it."

Lexie mixed the dough earlier, and Chelsea rolled it into little balls. We all took turns with the rolling pin, and flipping the tortillas on the pan. It's so nice to see the girls so willing to help out in the kitchen. I want to be able to trust them with the stove so that they can become great cooks.

Lexie has become quite the baker too. Although she says that Sierra is more efficient when it comes to baking I think she did a pretty good job when she baked a cake for Sierra's birthday. It feels so good to have developed an amount of trust and a sense of security knowing that they can handle themselves in the kitchen without any supervision.

Lexie in the kitchen after baking Sierra' s birthday cake. 

My mom was a little strict when it came to the kitchen, hence taking advantage of her "good moods" so that I can ask if I could help her in any way. I remember when my mom would grab a bag of pinto beans and I would help her get rid of all the bad ones. She'd then put them into a pot to boil, and after a few hours she'd have a bowl of fresh homemade pinto beans. I don't know about you, but I like my beans smashed. So right before she smashed them for my sister and I to eat with tortillas my mom would have a bowl.

That was one of my greatest memories with my mother, and I could tell that with all the stress she endured in being an off and on single mom for the first nine years of my life...making frijoles and tortillas for her was great therapy.

Now that I "get it"...I know exactly how she feels when it comes to cooking!

These are super easy to make...we can make them with our eyes closed!

Our tortilla recipe:

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 cup warm water

Sift flour, baking powder & salt into large bowl. Add oil, and water. Mix until blended. Turn the mixture out on a floured board (I use my counter), and knead 3-5 minutes or until the dough is soft & no longer sticky. Cover & set aside for about 20 minutes. (I never do...I just start making them.) Divide the dough into 16-18 balls about 1 in. in diameter. You can keep them covered with a damp cloth. Get your rolling pin out and start making those tortillas! Put them on a flat tortilla skillet, and flip them over until golden brown as you would those store bought tortillas (or pancakes!)