cooking with my mum

I've mentioned this a lot, but just in case the message got lost amid my ramblings: MY MOTHER IS THE GREATEST CULINARY GENIUS IN THE WORLD. She has such a delightful curiosity & imagination in regards to cooking, as well as a natural, amazing knack for discovering unconventional combos of flavors. These two characteristics together make a cooking Megazord (that's right, I referenced Might Morphing Power Rangers)!

The project last week was shrimp tacos. First we made tortillas, using a home recipe that my mum had worked to perfect for a month.

2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup taco seasoning (or as much as desired)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup warm water

1. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. To mix well, use a whisk and alternate mixing clockwise and counterclockwise. It's super important for all the ingredients to be blended well together.
2. Hollow out a hole in the middle of the mixture with you hand.
3. Add olive oil.
4. Add water a little at a time, always mixing (we mix with our hands because it's easier). Check the texture- it should start to feel doughy & sticky. Mix well.
5. Heat grilling pan.
6. Form into a long roll and lay out on cutting board. Separate into balls about 1.5 inches in diameter, or more, depending on how large you want your tortillas to be.
7. Individually knead each section, folding the edges over each other in a circle. do this until the dough feels a bit tougher.
8. Sprinkle cutting board with flour and with a rolling pin flatten the balls into flat circles.
9. Set on the grill and lightly brown both sides. Finished tortillas should be stored in a bowl and wrapped in a small towel to maintain texture.
10. EAT.
11. To make the chips, simply cut the tortillas into triangles or strips and deep fry them in some olive oil. BAM. CHIPS. Set the finished chips on a plate that is covered with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

The salsa was easy-peasy. A simple matter of mixing diced tomatoes, red onions, pineapple, and green onion shoots together. Seriously. That's it. (Add cilantro for a kick.) The sweetness of it nicely complimented the spiciness of the next dish. Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe for the shrimp, and neither does my mum (she cooks by instinct and rarely keeps note of her own recipes & techniques. Le sigh). The ingredients: diced shrimp, salsa, black beans, sweet corn, onion, paprika, cayenne pepper, a little cinnamon & sugar, salt, pepper... and I think that's it? It was DELICIOUS. And voila! The finished product! I will miss cooking with my mom very much when I move back to New York. Le sigh. I just hope that I inherited her culinary genius and that it will show itself in due time with practice.