Flour Tortillas and Painted Walls

What week is this? Eight? Nine? In some ways, it feels like just yesterday that we were going to the office, school, running errands and being out in the world.  In some ways it feels like all that is in the distant past.  It’s fair to say that we are used to it now, but also missing the way things used to be. Of course we miss our friends and the family members who we are not quarantined with. We miss our babysitter who really is a part of the family and as Emmett will tell you, seeing her is the very best part of his day. We miss our teachers and co-workers and talking to people without the internet or a cellphone. It’s amazing to me how even my three-year-old now, as if instinctively, stops and waits for us to cross the street when she sees other people on the sidewalk.  In some ways it feels like we are living out scenes from a bad sci-fi movie.  These are the things I don’t like about being quarantined. But there are so many things that I’m thoroughly enjoying. Really? Really. 

Not having to get outside-world ready in the mornings or wake the kids up and make sure they are dressed and ready to go, all within the time limits set by my commuter train schedule is AWESOME. 

Having a much better idea of what the kids’ academic capabilities are and getting to watch them interact with each other throughout the day is nice - even though it makes me feel like my pre-quarantine parenting was probably inadequate.

I love that I’m more active throughout the day without the hassle of squeezing in a workout.  Yes, I’m moving more because I’m constantly cleaning, doing dishes, laundry, cooking a million meals a day and taking the kids on walks and bike rides outside in between meetings. Not all of these activities are fun, but not feeling guilty, or gross for sitting in a chair all day feels great. 

My birthday was this week and one of my best friends sent me the sweetest video of her little family singing happy birthday to me. I love that I can play it over and over again and always relive the sweet memory of them at this (crazy) moment in time.  We can’t hug our friends, but they still know EXACTLY what we need.  

Masterpiece in progress.

 I love the “mural” my kids painted on our wall in the dining area.  It bought me 30 minutes of quiet and so many little kid smiles. Eve’s face in the photo above (PRIDE!!!) says all you need to know. The downside is that she wants to paint ALL OF THE WALLS now. Per a close friend of mine, “She might get her wish depending on how long this goes on.” Totally agree. Ha. 

Creative projects have provided me with an outlet for stress. While there is not a whole lot of time for this, I have been making fabric masks with the outsized goal of eventually making enough to donate to restaurants and local businesses that remain open. I haven’t gotten very far, but turn to it when I can. 

I’ve also been able to tackle a bunch of new recipes because cooking is easier when your kitchen is always just feet away. I prep meals when I have time and then I’m able to slip them in the oven whenever. As a result, I was able to make this incredible roast chicken on a weeknight, something I wouldn’t normally be able to get away with given its 3 hours cooking time. I’ve also made a ton of bread and even got out the tortilla press over the weekend. 

“La Isla Tortilla”

For the tortillas, I used a recipe from Anson Mills and made a double batch. You can find it here. I have their special flatbread flour so I used that, but I substituted regular all purpose flour for the pastry flour in the recipe.   I’m not sure how it would work with all purpose, or other types of flour.  I think if you are careful about not using all of the water at first, just incorporating it little by little until the dough comes together, you will be fine.  Like most Anson Mills recipes, this one is very detailed and has pictures of how things look along the way which I always find very helpful.  Also, you don’t need a tortilla press, it’s easy to just roll these out with a rolling pin.

Make a bunch of little balls of dough.

When your arms get tired, and they might, enlist whoever you are quarantined with to give it a go.

Wrap tortilla around a rolling pin to get it into the pan.

It only take a couple of minutes per side. The tortilla starts to puff up and get little air pockets.

Done. These were chewy in the best way and had SO much more flavor than store bought ones. Totally worth the effort. Not that we had anywhere to be.

I’m so glad I doubled the amounts listed in the recipe because these were pretty time consuming to make. But there was so much to enjoy about the process, I just turned on a little music and kneaded and pressed and griddled and let the world melt away for an hour or so. It was therapy in the form of carbs. Delicious carbs.  

These are best fresh off the griddle (drizzled with honey) but keep for several days. I froze a bunch of ours too. I’ve been eating them for breakfast with jam and cottage cheese and making my new obsession...egg quesadillas. Check out the video of how to make them here. So simple. So good. The snack equivalent of a warm hug. Big hugs to you and yours. Stay healthy and safe! xo