I recently had friends visit from Colorado. This essentially led to a 5 day cooking marathon! Kahlua pork with fresh corn tortillas and lime-dressed cabbage, fritatta with onion, garlic, herbs and potatoes, gf pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cheesecake muffins (thank you Tyler!), two types of granola: peanut butter and maple cinnamon, crunchy asian-inspired meatballs with soy-lime dipping sauce with sticky rice, coconut  crusted mullet, hummus, and pasta with butter and parmigiano – THE original Alfredo!

The guests have gone home, linens and towels have all been cleaned and refreshed, house is spotless and too quiet again. At this point I would have made a pot of sticky rice and made a fried egg (a comforting staple since T passed). I don’t often make full meals for just me, but yesterday was different. Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of my Dad’s passing, and I felt a little nostalgic along with the expected sadness. So, I went back to my New Mexico roots and first ‘food love’ of the cuisine I grew up eating.

I used leftover smoked pork butt from that kahlua pork, garlic, onion, green chile, hominy, and homemade vegetable stock, and topped a hearty bowl full with cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime. The bacon fat and butter tortillas were the perfect accompaniment.

Tortillas

• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 c fat (I used 2 T of bacon fat and filled the rest of the measuring cup with softened butter)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 – 2 cups Hot water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and carefully add the softened fat in, start by adding 1 cup of hot water, adding more and stirring until soft, but stiff dough develops. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and give a few kneads. I cut this into 9 pieces, but have made 12 tortillas out of this recipe in the past. Roll out on either a lightly floured or oiled surface until you can see your fingers through the dough. Cook on a hot grill pan or traditional comal.  These will cook quickly, about 90 seconds on the first side, turn and cook 30-90 seconds on the flip side. Keep in a tea towel or a tortilla warmer. 

If you’ve got leftover tortillas, don’t forget to use them up! Quesadilla, breakfast burritos, or sandwich wraps are the go-tos around here.

Be well, eat well, stay kind.