A Year of Meals: Three Sisters Tacos

5/5/2025

May 06, 2025

Yesterday was the Fifth of May, Cinco de Mayo, one of those holidays that is celebrated in the US by ignoring history, eating a bastardized version of another country’s food and drinking too much alcohol. While I do enjoy the occasional margarita (and Kevin absolutely loves our homemade ones), for many reasons, yesterday wasn’t the day to indulge. However, a culinary nod to our Southern neighbors seemed appropriate.

Rumbling in my brain was a hankering to make tortillas. Ok… that’s a start. By rummaging through my supplies, I had gathered a bag of dried pintos, a container of squash from a friend’s freezer purge, a jar of lacto fermented Pico de Gallo, and a bag of masa harina. Three Sisters Tacos could happen. Corn. Beans. Squash. From the field to the table, the Three Sisters work well together. They were perfect for my simple meal.

Sometimes, I just need to play with my food, and both making tortillas and building tacos count as play. To make tortillas, I add powdered corn, beautiful masa harina, to a favorite bowl, slosh in some warm water, not too hot, not too cold, and stir, mix, squish. Fun! Then I go read a chapter in my book (currently, I am enjoying A Drop of Corruption) to give the dough time to hydrate. Literally, the stuff should feel like fresh playdough abut smells better. Play time continues with heating a griddle, making balls of dough, rolling, patting, pressing, turning, flipping until they are tortillas, glorious tortillas, food of the gods. After the tortillas are made, you get to put stuff on them, fold them, tear them into pieces. So much delicious fun.

When making a meal like this -basically beans and squash, I am never sure if Kevin is going to love it, or not. I figured the chance was 50/50 that he would prefer a hot dog and 80/20 that he would avoid the fermented pico de Gallo. Turns out he was 100% enthusiastic about the meal, had seconds on everything including the pico, and even had a third tortilla. Thirty seven years of marriage and I am still surprised by this guy.

Menu: Pinto Beans, Blue Corn Tortillas, Squash, Toppings

Company: Me, My Guy, The Three Sisters