Tortilla Hands

Are you a foodie? I mean, do you read cookbooks like novels? Could you watch the Food Network 24/7 (this is truly why I don't have cable). Do you plan your next meal while eating?

Do you have food-friends? Friends with whom you gather to share meals, recipes, kitchen and grocery tips?

Have you ever found yourself sitting around a fabulous meal with these friends, so very full, yet somehow you're still talking about food? (like the asian evening full of bulgogi, gyoza, kimchi and so much more)

Do you find yourself inviting certain friends to dinner, or out to eat based on shared food preferences? (um, can you say Naan Bread and a Sweet Lassi, please?)

Do you often ponder which type of cuisine is your all time favorite, only to struggle to narrow it down to your top three? (I'd have to say 1. Indian or Thai--depending on my mood, followed by 2. Mexican 3. Then probably Italian, but I'm picky about my Italian food. How about you?)

It seems I find food friends most places we've lived. We find each other. Like magnets, we are drawn together.

Here in my new(ish) home, I've found them.

Last week we gathered at my home to make Lasagne--the real deal, authentic style Lasagne.

Before that it was Enchiladas, refried beans, tomatillo salsa--the real Enchilada sauce, made almost completely from dried chilies. (Did you know that Enchilada is short for Tortillas Enchiladas, meaning the tortilla is en-chilied, or soaked in a sauce made of chilies? Niether did I.)

A couple of weeks ago we had a Falafel lunch complete with Tza-Tziki and humus.

Earlier that same week, I went to my friend's home because her friend Consuela was visiting from Honduras.

Consuela has tortilla hands.

My friend rightly assumed that I would appreciate a lesson in tortilla making from Consuela-- with the tortilla hands. She assumed correctly.

Consuela tells me I have Tortilla Hands. We got along well.

I don't speak much Spanish.

In these recent kitchens with food friends from Honduras, Michigan, Taiwan and elsewhere, I came to the realization that food is not just an obsession, it is a language all it's own. I'm glad I speak it.

P.S. Sometimes I sit and ponder Garlic.

P.P.S. Is that weird?

P.P.S.S. Did I tell you we're going to Spain in a month?

P.P.S.S.S. I'm very excited about the food.

P.P.P.S.S.S. I've checked out a cookbook to study before my trip. So I'll know what to order.