Quesillos

For my first blog posting, I thought I would share my most recent experience of making tortillas. Since January I've started taking Spanish classes again. Ena Patricia is my co-worker at NCA and after some hesitation agreed to be my teacher. I've learned alot more than Spanish in class; our conversations have led me to learn and understand alot more about the culture and traditions in Nicaragua. This week Ena invited me to her home to make tortillas. Sounds easy I know, but when you're learning from someone who has done it a million times it can be a little intimidating. There's a fine art to making a good tortilla, but I found out early on that Kate was a better tortilla maker than I. The first challenge is to learn the rythm of making a perfectly flat and round tortilla. The second challenge is putting it onto a very hot flat metal surface called a comal. The test of a good tortilla is if it puffs up the second time you turn it over. By my third or fourth tortilla, mine puffed too!
So then what? All that hard work ended in a delicious meal of quesillos. A quesillo is made by taking a homemade corn tortilla, quesillo (a Nica cheese), sour cream, onions, and a pinch of salt. This with a side of gallo pinto (rice and beans) made for a delicious meal. If that wasn't perfect enough, I might also mention that this night welcomed in the first rains of the season with a crash and a bang of a thunderstorm. And yes of course, what would be a meal without the power flickering in and out.