COOKBOOK PHOTOSHOOT: TRIMMING TORTILLAS WITH SCISSORS

Yesterday, I did indeed make gluten-free tortillas. I’ve come a long way since I got out of bed in the near-dawn at the age of 8 and tried to make pancakes for my mother on Mother’s Day. Somehow I managed to clean away the mess and hide it in the garbage before the family got out of bed. Unfortunately, the number of eggs I went through trying to crack the single one needed to complete the recipe meant that the lot of us breakfasted on cold cereal. I’ll never forget that lesson: learn to hoist a sail before you leave the dock.

Which means, the photo here of East-Meets-West Burritos, which is a fusion of Tex-Mex and Asian, does feature a handmade, gluten-free, vegan tortilla. They still need a bit of work before the book goes to layout, but I made a half-dozen last night, and by this morning I had only two left—one for East-Meets-West Burritos, and one for Red-Hot, Four-Star, Two-Bean Burritos. Another one went yesterday for Phil’s Vegetable Roll-ups, and the remaining three were devoured last evening by the photographer’s husband and her two daughters, a fact of which I am very proud.

We also made Phil’s Fabulous Three-Bean Nachos today. They don’t require tortillas, but sit on a bed of store-bought, gluten-free, organic tortilla chips topped with Daiya Cheese, neither of which I buy very often, because I try to use as few manufactured foods as possible, but you can’t make nachos without tortilla chips—at least not that I know of—and I can’t imagine Tex-Mex without cheese, and I simply didn’t have the time to create nut cheeses during this marathon photoshoot, although I do talk about making them in the book, and find them to be superior for all but these recipes.

Alas, all of the food we made today is gone, consumed by the family at dinner, save for the International Day of Happiness Cookies, which haven’t been yet photographed, because rain changed the lighting, and such delightful cookies truly need sunlight to do them justice. One special tray is wrapped and waiting for morning and the lens. The other plateful is down to about a dozen cookies. That means that out of 3 dozen cookies, 18 are left. Thank goodness they were all but sugar-free.

Oh, and about trimming those tortillas with scissors? You wouldn’t believe the length some people will go to get a photo just right.

(Photography by Suzi Hathaway Photography. No use without permission.)