It took a couple of weeks, but I finally figured out how to get fresh corn tortillas! I’ve been buying tortillas at the grocery store and they haven’t been good, rather stale and tough, not like the lovely soft ones I get with my chicken.
Well, the last time I got chicken, a boy on an ATV pulled up, took packages of tortillas out of a cooler, and passed them to the chicken lady. She opened up one of those packages and put several of the tortillas on my plate of chicken. Interesting. Now, where did that boy get his tortillas from?
This morning, I saw the Lala dairy truck go by, so I took that as a sign that the supermarket probably had been restocked. I just about ran to the Super Deli and was able to stock up on cheese and yoghurt (got the bigger peach one this time! *g*).
On the way home, I spotted the tortilla boy and noticed that, wait a minute, he’s making door to door deliveries of tortillas to people’s homes. Perhaps he’s just delivering a set order or maybe I can buy directly from him?!
I caught up with him by the basketball court and asked how much for the tortillas, expecting to be told he couldn’t sell me any. Nope! He replied ‘Ocho’ (about .65CAD) and I scrounged around for change. He handed me a package of STILL WARM tortillas.
Hopefully, this boy won’t be as elusive as the vegetable trucks, which I haven’t seen since that day so long ago that I caught one! I’m used to paying about 10 times as much for half as many tortillas. The plan is enjoy the tortillas until they get a little stale, throw the rest in the freezer to eventually make my own chips which (finding them superior to premaid chips), and get a new batch of fresh ones.
It’s been a good food scrounging day since I also found an edible-looking avocado at the supermarket!
Lunch was two very satisfying panela cheese, turkey ham, mustard, and tomato roll ups in my lovely warm tortillas. Tonight, I’m having chips and guacamole and beer. 🙂
Those rollups sound wonderful! Glad you caught the tortilla guy.
They would have needed lettuce, but I can only get iceberg here and I prefer romaine. Otherwise, they were good!
The tortilla guy is just a young kid. I wonder why he’s not in school. I doubt he’s much more than 14.
Schools work different in Mexico. Parents have the choice of sending their kids to either the early shift (8 – 12?) or the late shift (2 – 6?). That way if you have two kids and a market stall you need help in, you can send one kid early and the other late so you always have one at home to help. Very efficient but it can make it look like kids don’t go to school because there are always kids on the street or working in shops and markets.
This system is good for teachers as well because they can choose to work either the morning or afternoon shift OR they can work both, doubling their pay AND pension! This is what our friend Juan did. His school was an hour’s drive from home so his workday was from 6 or 7 in the morning until 7 or 8 at night. Mexican school kids and teachers have tons of long weekends and short holidays but no long summer vacation as schools are open year round.
Ah, thanks for this explanation! And the no long summer vacation thing makes up for the very short school days.
I find that when we buy the tortillas fresh that once they have cooled off I take them and restack them and then put them in the freezer. Every time I need tortillas I heat up the fry pan and put them in one at a time and reheat them, flipping them over as the one side is warmed through. We find they last better this way and taste just as good. Also to get the best tortillas you need to find a place that makes them from real maize rather than the bags of MESECA (corn flour) which isn’t always easy to do.
Ruth
Thanks for that tip! That’s what I do with my tortillas back home and I’ll try it with these.
These tortillas are made from nixtamalized corn masa, which is the lye soaked corn. They are very tasty! The other ones I was buying tasted like popcorn.
Yep, those are the ones that I mean and they are the best rather than the processed stuff!
Oh, so I found the real thing! Yay! 🙂
BTW, we find the peach Alpura yoghurt much better than Lala. Alpura doesn’t use very much colouring if any in their peach yoghurt.
Oh, good. I’m not the only one who finds the colour of the Lala yoghurts a little off putting! 🙂 Unfortunately, it’s all I can get here on Isla. I’ll have more choice when I get to a Ley. I favour Danone Oikos, which they carry, but I will look for Alpura. Thanks!
If you would like an adventure in eating you might want to try one of the little restaurants above the market in Mazatlan next time you go to “town”. Chile Relleno, beans and rice for 40 peso last year with tortillas, if memory serves. Whole fried fish is good, too, but don’t remember the cost. Huevos rancheros, very good. I found your blog through Contessa’a blog. Always see Gringos eating upstairs and be prepared to be wooed by several restaurants. Hope you try it someday.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve been to the market, but not upstairs. Can’t do eggs (allergic), but the rest sounds good.
There are at least 2 places to get fresh tortillas on the Isla, one being right behind/beside the Super Deli. However I am not sure if they have the corn. The other does.
You can get romano at the mercardo in Mazatlan and I have my veggie guy bring it to me twice per week on the Isla. Hang on I am coming, well maybe not, got 6 inches of unexpected snow last nite:( Looks like more snow tonight.
The tortilla place behind Super Deli is always closed when I go by. Buying from the boy will be more convenient.
As for romaine lettuce and other things I can’t get here, regular trips to the mercado are in my future! 🙂
I am thinking warm snow melting thoughts for you!
Sounds like you found a good source for fresh tortillas. Be sure to let the niño know you want more.
I will. I might even be able to set up regular deliveries if I figure how often I want a top up.
Fresh tortillas are the best. When I lived in TX we always got ours from our neighbour. YUM. She showed me how to make them, but I can’t be bothered. 😀