Mas Masa

How many people does it take to make a tortilla?

Define "make".

We gathered in the kitchen and looked at the newest purchase, a tortilla press. It was a worthy idea. We would come together and cook a meal as we'd done many times before. This time we'd take it one step further and prepare the most basic ingredients ourselves, the tortillas. Our host had taken the effort to purchase the corn and the flour. He had a press and he told us it would be easy. "Just add water until the dough forms a ball."

Bueno.

Almost an hour later we were still without a single success. We were lubricated with vodka tonics and there was guacamole to sate our building appetites. Laughter filled the kitchen and there was talk of walking to the grocery store on the next block to buy some packaged tortillas.

"No! We can do this!"

We added more masa. We got our hands dirty. We tried again. And...

Success!

We started cranking out one after the other of perfect round discs of corn, passing them to the cooks who heated them on the griddle. The smoky aroma started to fill the room. We toasted our success and laughed as the stack started building, waiting for the grilled fish, chicken and beef.

Our host beamed as we all sat down to a fajita dinner that night. We'd come together to make it happen. His latest gadget was a hit. There was talk among the crowd of some of us even buying one of our own.

Sometimes it takes a village.