I wanted to make home-made tortilla shells, just like my Momma used to make, especially when my dad was out of town since he was more of a meat and potato kinda guy. These specific tortilla shells are made from corn meal. However, who knew corn meal was going to be so hard to find in Miri. I started my search about the week before Christmas randomly looking in stores hoping that I would happen upon the main ingredient. I was beginning to lose hope and even recruited Ridley's sister Rezebel to assist. One afternoon a few days before the big festivities she went on a corn meal hunt and to no avail came up empty handed. One day I was picking up a few groceries and searched and searched the section with all the flour and rice flour, sugar and powdery substances when I saw it. I saw corn flour. Yes, that's right corn flour. So, I texted my Momma and asked her... "do you think I could use corn flour instead of corn meal." Her response, "Yes it won't have the same texture but should work."
Fast forward to Christmas Day and again we were on a last ditch effort to find corn meal. I wasn't quite convinced yet that this corn flour was going to work. I will also never listen to anyone ever again when they say to just do Christmas shopping on Christmas Day. Neither Ridley or I were sure if the stores would be open or not and thank goodness most were open. So we searched for corn meal again and searched for tortilla shells and once again came up empty handed. The one store we wanted to go to called the GK Market, which always has quite a stock of international foods, surprise, they were closed for Christmas. Shocking I know.
So we headed home with most of the ingredients for a Mexican Christmas minus taco shells or anything resembling a tortilla. But, we had decided the day before that if we were not successful in our hunt that we would make nachos and some pasta and have somewhat of a Mexico meets Italy Christmas affair.
I did not want to give up. We decided on tacos damn-it, we were going to have tacos. I figured I've got to be able to make these darn tacos shells with this corn flour stuff. Hello Google you are my best friend. Thank god for internet. I researched corn flour and oops it is actually corn starch. Who knew. Apparently there is a corn flour called Masa which what I could have used but of course didn't have. And in Asian countries a lot of the packaged cornstarch is labeled as corn flour. Oh so interesting trying to make something you have no clue how to make and combine that with attempting to buy ingredients in a country where you can't read the packaging. Oh well, lesson learned. So, I found a recipe to make tortilla shells with you guessed it, flour. Just plain old white flour. I know most of you are probably rolling your eyes right about know thinking boy this girl has no clue about cooking, and you are probably right. I don't have a clue, well a clue how to improvise my corn meal tortillas. But, now I do. And they turned out great!
Mexico meet Italy in Asia!
With Christmas Day behind us and our Mexican meets Italy meal over and done with we were, excited to have been invited to an expatriate's house for Boxing Day. Cam and Ioana, a lovely couple from Canada and Romana, invited Ridley and I to their open house. Ioana made a remarkable Romanian potato salad, along with a lamb roast and for dessert Cam made us banana flambé. I made Ridley watch very closely as Cam made our dessert hoping that he could recreate it for us sometime. Until I saw that Cam actually lit the pan on fire by letting a few drops of the Rum he had just poured into pan onto the open flames of their gas stove. It was at that moment I thought that neither Ridley nor I should attempt this flambé thing until we have visited Cam and Ioana's house at least half a dozen more times.
It was a great night as we sat and visited with Cam and Ioana and a few other friends who also dropped in to enjoy the open house. We heard some interesting stories about their travels around the world. We chatted about life in Miri versus life in Canada, and New Zealand and a few other places in between. We also told them about our eventful Christmas dinner and of course I told them about my struggle to find corn meal at which Ioana ran to the cupboard and pulled out a bag of the ingredient I had looked all over Miri for. When I asked her where she purchase this said ingredient, her response, "Oh I got this at the GK Market." Of course she did, the one store that was closed Christmas Day, but then again we wouldn't have such great stories to tell now would we...
