Homemade Flour Tortillas

For a while now I've suspected that real tortillas had to be better than store-bought ones. I became more certain that I had spent my life eating inferior tortillas when I discovered that the same Mission brand flour tortillas in Costa Rica were much better than those in the United States! Apparently someone figured out that we Americans wouldn't know we were missing out on delicate, flaky goodness.

I enjoy trying to make as much of my meals from scratch as possible, so I finally got around to making my own tortillas. I served them to my roommates in burrito form. While the burritos got rave reviews, the tortillas stole the show - everyone noticed the difference.

Here is the recipe I used. I saw some other recipes that didn't call for this much resting time and some that didn't call for any at all so feel free to try other recipes and let me know how it goes!

Flour Tortillas
From the ReBar Modern Food Cookbook
Makes 10-12

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. vegetable shortening
3/4 c. hot water

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using the tips of your fingers, add shortening by working it into the dry mix until little pea-sized balls form. Gradually add hot water while using your other hand to mix with a wooden spoon. When the dough is too stiff to mix with a spoon, reach in with your hands and gently knead for 2 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for at least 1 hour.

Next, line a baking tray or dish with parchment paper, sprinkle with flour and set aside. Uncover the dough and pinch off golf ball-sized pieces. Roll the dough in your palms to form smooth spheres. Dust lightly with flour, set on parchment paper and cover loosely with plastic. Repeat with remaining dough. Set the tray aside, covered, to rest for another hour.

When you are ready to roll and cook, lightly sprinkle flour on the counter and set a ball of dough in the center, pressing lightly to flatten. Roll the disk out with a floured rolling pin, working from the center and rolling outwards to the edges, to form an 8" round. Repeat with remaining dough and stack tortillas between sheets of wax or parchment paper.

Heat a cast iron pan or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush lightly with oil and cook tortilla on the first side until you see bubbles forming underneath. Flip over and cook until lightly golden. Wrap in foil and keep in a warm oven until all of the tortillas are cooked. Serve immediately!

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Best Places to get a Banana at Penn

1. Any old dining hall, free with meal swipe
2. Your friendly neighborhood Fresh Grocer, ~20 cents (priced by weight)
3. Wawa, 35 cents
4. Fruit guy at 40th and Locust, 35 cents
5. Fruit Salad carts, 50 cents
6. Pottruck, 50 cents
7. Au Bon Pain, 89 cents (although you can use dining dollars)
8. Cereality, 1 dollar

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Passover Granola

Are you tired of Passover cereal tasting like cardboard? This easy-to-make, kosher-for-Passover granola will have you wishing Passover would last year-round...well maybe not quite that long. Great by itself as a snack, or with milk or yogurt as breakfast, this granola single-handedly gets me through the eight “leaven-less” days.

Enjoy it for the last few days of Passover!


Passover Granola

Ingredients:

1 large box of Matzo farfel (regular or whole wheat)
Cinnamon and sugar to taste
½ c. dried apricots or other dried fruit, cut into small pieces
½ c. raisins
½ c. coarsely chopped walnuts or other nuts
½ c. golden raisins
¼ c. (½ stick) butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the farfel onto a cookie sheet. Melt the butter and mix it with the farfel. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste. Toast the farfel in the oven for 10-14 minutes or until golden-brown. Let cool for 10 minutes. Mix with dried fruit. Store in airtight container.

Variation: To make a richer, sweeter version, add two tablespoons of honey to the farfel after toasting it. Then bake for five more minutes, and toss with fruit.

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Fling Food

I’ve heard a few things about drinks or something at Fling, but I don’t really know what that’s about--the real attraction is the food. The currency is mainly grease, with almost everything served coming out of a deep fryer.

The first thing some friends and I tried was a $7 basket of chicken fingers and fries from a stand in the lower quad. The chicken looked gross, inexplicably and unapologetically stripped of its breading. It ended up tasting alright, though, pretty moist if lacking crunch, but identifiable as white meat and not badly seasoned.

The fries were mainly crumbs. They had basically no resemblance to potato, instead looking and tasting like solidified yellow grease. I don’t know how long they had been sitting there, or how many times they had been dunked in oil, but that’s how they ended up. We had no problem downing them anyway.

Soon after, I got some lemonade from a stand nearby. Its excessive sweetness made it less refreshing than it could have been, but bad lemonade is still good.

Next, it was time for everyone’s favorite: the fried oreo. They were sold exclusively at a stand in the upper quad, with a big sign advertising the showcase item.

The oreos look like spheres of fried dough dusted with powdered sugar. Unlike the chicken, they were executed very well, with a perfect doneness and a sweet, crispy exterior that tasted like more than just grease. Also, they were fresh out of the fryer, which the other fare, by and large, was not.

The first bite into the crunchy outer layer of the fried oreo deflates the sphere. Then, you get to the soft dough, followed by a warm oreo that has lost its hard consistency but maintained its shape and taste. The end result is a combination of powdered sugar, fried dough, chocolate cookie, and vanilla cream, all at once, warm, and in contrasting textures. It’s truly a culinary triumph. (Perhaps this is why fried oreos pop up at places a little fancier than Fling food stands as well, like at the upscale hamburger joint Rare Bar & Grill in Manhattan.)

I guess for once a year, it’s good to eat solid grease, yellow sugar water, and nasty, naked chicken fingers. After all, Fling food is food for a particular mindset. Serve it to me in a fancy restaurant, or even on a regular day, and I’ll likely be disgusted. But when the time is right, and the mood cooperating, Fling food is actually pitch perfect.

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Top 5 First Date Spots

In reverse order, my top picks for a nice place to take that special someone:

5) Franklin Fountain - This traditional 1920s-style "ice-cream saloon" serves up old-fashioned, homemade ice cream sundaes and floats in portions so huge that they have to be shared. And after indulging your sweet tooth, you and your date can take a leisurely stroll down Penn's Landing for some good conversation (and much-needed digestion)!

4) Aqua - Simple yet sleek, this unfussy Malaysian/Thai BYOB is the ideal spot for a first date, and will fit his budget (nothing is over $15). The row of cozy tables and impressive waterfall add a nice touch.

3) La Fontana Della Citta - One of the few Italian BYOBs in Center City where diners are not squashed together elbow-to-elbow. The warm, welcoming atmosphere lends itself to a relaxed meal over lingering conversation - a recipe for first date success.

2) Cuba Libre - Walking into Cuba Libre is like being transported to Havana in the 1940s - the palm trees, big ceiling fans, and salsa music. The upbeat, tropical ambience will surely quell any first date jitters.

1) Amada - Along with the hip decor, open kitchen and vibrant music, Amada stands apart with its Spanish tapas experience, where the small plates are meant to be shared. Sampling dishes together is a surefire way to break the ice on a first date!

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Anything but Corny!

If ever there were a popcorn heaven, ‘Dale and Thomas’ would be it. The tiny storefront shop emanates the sweet, salty scent of fresh popcorn, warm and crispy, overflowing from bushel-baskets. Upon entering, amiable staff welcome you to sample as many of the shop’s 12 flavors as you please. The Today show deems it the "Rolls Royce of popcorn," and Oprah hails it as her favorite.

Here’s a rundown of a few flavors I sampled, including what to try and what to avoid;

Chocolate and Peanut Butter DrizzleCorn—Like an inside out, popped, peanut butter cup.

White Chocolate and Peanut Butter DrizzleCorn—Even better than the milk chocolate and peanut butter according to several taste-testers I surveyed.
Chocolate Chunk and Caramel Drizzle Corn—This was the testers' favorite, and Oprah’s preferred flavor too!
Southwest Cheddar Chipotle—Cheesy cheddar with a little bit of bite. Tastes remarkably similar to Doritos.
Backyard BBQ—Tangy mesquite flavor—tastes great mixed with the Cheddar Chipotle.
“Buffalo and Blue Cheese”—Here’s fair warning: This flavor made me want to gag! To put it bluntly, it has an aftertaste reminiscent of dirt and mold.

With the choice of two flavors, each bag is well-worth its $5 price tag. And during the hour prior to closing time everyday, if you buy two bags, the third is free! Yum!

Philadelphia location: 1625 Chestnut St. (The Shops at Liberty Place). Open 7 days a week.

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"Dig in!"

One fine afternoon, I was waiting for some friends to join me for lunch. The girl seated beside me was happily chomping away at her blueberry bagel. I quickly averted my eyes so that the sight of food wouldn't set my stomach off rumbling with hunger. After a couple of minutes, seemingly satisfied with having eaten half of her bagel, the girl put the other half in the bag and threw it rather carelessly on the table in front of her. Fifteen minutes passed and she showed no further interest in her bagel. Meanwhile, my hunger was slowly reaching its threshold, and I felt increasingly resentful about this girl unnecessarily wasting her bagel. And then I thought to myself--what if people offered other people food they can’t finish? It’s certainly an absurd situation, and perhaps not so sanitary, but most importantly it is a social norm violation, the topic for my research paper for Social Psychology. Most people are more than willing to lend someone a piece of paper or a pencil, but it is a rarity to offer food or drink when requested, let alone voluntarily. It is most probably the fact that meals are something every person looks forward to in a busy day of classes or work. Thus, the prospect of sharing food, that too with a complete stranger is understandably not very appealing.

I tried my experiment on college students at Houston Hall and on middle-aged people in the food court next to CVS. In Houston Hall, most people gave me very strange looks; some girls even moved their things closer to them and continued to shoot me suspicious glances well after the moment had passed. Some males actually accepted the food and even asked for more. However, considering the college student’s obsession with free food, I thought despite the impact of my norm violation, more people would accept my offer. In the food court, not a single subject accepted the food and I almost got yelled at by a man who looked very unhappy with his slice of pizza from Famiglia.

My experiment gave me a lot of insight into how our society is so tightly regulated by norms. Norms are essential to maintain harmony between human beings and promote mutual understanding. Perhaps this is why conformity is so hard to break, as was proven by subjects in the public food court. Subjects who had seen me asking their neighbors definitely seemed prepared with a suspicious glare and a “No, thank you”. The normative influence of surrounding people prevented people from accepting my food even if they wanted to. What I found most surprising, however, was that hardly anyone perceived my offer as an act of generosity- my deviant behavior evidently overshadowed that aspect. Imagine a life where everyone shared their food, and all the different flavors of the world flowed freely- utopia?-perhaps. Unlikely? -definitely. I think this calls for a revolution on food- “Dig in!”

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If You're Looking for Baby Names...

In case you or anyone you know is having a baby in May, if you give the baby the middle name "Crunch" you can win $25,000 from Vlasic Pickle Co.

Sounds great, right? Hopefully by the time the kid grows up everyone else will have onomatopoetic middle names.

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iMeat

For you meat lovers out there...

I just wonder if it comes scented.

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Not exactly vegetarian...

Quick quiz:
Which of the following ABP soups contain meat ingredients?
A. broccoli cheddar
B. Southwest vegetable
C. potato cheese soup
d. tomato Florentine

The answer is actually all of the above. Today, I chatted with a friend who was upset that she'd unknowingly consumed meat during Lenten Fridays via ABP soups. This prompted me to visit their website and read the ingredients on all of their soups. I found that a surprising number of soups with no mention of meat in their titles indeed contain animal products.
Many are aware that French onion soup uses beef broth, and from making potato leek soup I know to add chicken broth, but I'm still not soup-savvy enough to know to watch out for Tuscan vegetable.
The following is all of ABP's soups or stews that do not mention meat or assert their vegetarian status in their title. Soups with meat, or meat broth or base are marked by an asterisk, and in parentheses, it is indicated whether it contains chicken (c), ham/pork (h) or beef (b).

baked stuffed potato* (c, h)
broccoli cheddar* (c)
carrot ginger
corn and green chili bisque
corn chowder* (c, h)
curried rice and lentil
French Moroccan tomato lentil
French onion soup* (b, c)
garden vegetable
harvest pumpkin
hearty cabbage* (b, h)
Italian wedding* (b, c, h)
Jamaican black bean* (c, h)
Mediterranean pepper* (b, c)
old fashioned tomato rice* (c)
pasta e fagiole* (c, h)
Portuguese kale* (c, h)
potato cheese* (c, h)
potato leek* (c)
Southern black-eyed pea* (c, h)
Southwest tortilla* (b, c)
Southwest vegetable* (b, c)
Thai coconut curry
tomato basil bisque
tomato cheddar
tomato Florentine* (b)
Tuscan vegetable* (c)
wild mushroom* (b, c)
mac and cheese* (c)

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