New Jersey chef talks tortillas and traditions

WNYC News

As family and friends get ready to gather for the holidays, WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk is inviting locals to share the stories behind their favorite foods. Angelica Vargas lives in New Jersey. She's a cooking instructor with the League of Kitchens.

The transcript of Angelica Vargas' story has been lightly edited for clarity

I'm from Monterrey, Mexico. It's the northern part of Mexico and I currently live in New Jersey. I have two kids. I'm very proud of my two babies. Angelina, she's six-years-old, and my son Alexander, he's nine. They're also great cooks, just like mom and grandma, and great, great, great, great, great, great, great parents. I love food, and I feel like food brings the family together.

But one of my, like, favorite things is like flour tortillas. It's kind of very difficult to make tortillas in a way because it sounds like, "Oh, it's flour tortillas. It's so simple." But no, you have to really practice a lot to make them perfect. My mom learned to make them with my great-grandmother and with my grandmother, and then she teach me.

My mom passed away last year and we miss her tortillas so much. Like, my kids, they're like, "Mom, we love your tortillas, but there's nothing like grandma's." My most beautiful memories of my mom cooking, it was in my grandparent's ranch in Monterrey. It's between the mountains and then the river passing by next to the house.

There was the outdoor kitchen. It's like a grill. I see a picture in my head, in my eyes, in my brain of my mom rolling tortillas in the table and then put them in the comal, in the fire, hearing the fire, seeing the beautiful fire, putting the tortillas there, and then they start bubbling. Then you flip them, and then you don't have to flip them that much, but then they bubble like big. Well, they say that when your tortillas bubbles, you can get married, like you're ready to be married because now you know how to make tortillas. That's a Mexican saying. At the end of the day, it's enjoying food and family time together. Like talking and laughing and just those smiles make it worth it.