…Reyna’s tortillas (bonus blog!)

So people ask me – what do you do with the stuff you buy down in The Strip District?

I see the variety of items that are available in The Strip as an opportunity for creativity – so much culture and variety, why not use your imagination and come up with something new (and hopefully, delicious)?

Last night, while taking a break from writing my blog post about The Strip District, I ventured into the kitchen and spotted my bag of 30 of Reyna Foods’ handmade corn tortillas.  They make them right there in the store.  I would have taken pictures of them making them while I was there, but they had just opened, so the process was just beginning.

Next time, I promise!

I thought, “What can I do with these before they go bad?”  Well, they keep for a decent amount of time, and I can always freeze them - but I was looking for an excuse to use them…ok, to eat them.

I took three tortillas out of the bag and spread each side with some canola oil.  I heated them individually in a nonstick skillet, until they were crispy (you can also do this in the oven, if you have the time – I didn’t have the patience to wait for the oven to preheat).  Once they were done, I broke them into pieces and ate them with my “green stuff” and mayonnaise mixture that I love so much from Chicken Latino – although all I have in my house is light mayonnaise (oh well, made it healthier, what a shame!)

Then I wanted dessert.  I remembered that I had bought the buñuelos as a reward for my 3^rd and 8^th period classes, and I kind of wanted something along those lines.  However, I wanted ice cream, too.  The only ice cream in my house right now is Arctic Zero (which is really not ice cream…not at all) and Trader Joe’s Raspberry & Vanilla cream bars…oh, hey, those will do.  

 I heated another tortilla (sprayed with Pam this time – I felt bad about using oil again, with all of those calories), then sprinkled it with a mixture of Splenda (again, calories) and cinnamon.  I turned the tortilla over, and repeated the heating and sprinkling process.  

Once the tortilla was crispy, I transferred it to a plate and topped it with the ice cream bar (they’re not very big, but once it had melted a bit, I spread it out amongst the tortilla).  It still needed something.

Oh wait – I had Very Berry Jam from The Berry Patch at The Pittsburgh Public Market!

I took about a tablespoon of the jam and topped my ice cream concoction with it.  The only thing missing was some fat-free Reddi-Whip, which used to be a staple in my refrigerator, but I found myself using too much of it, so I stopped buying it.

Ugh.  Definitely going to have to get some more on my next shopping trip!

So, that was my creative moment – it was a homemade version of fried ice cream, in a way (fried ice cream really isn’t “fried”, but does contain a fried component – like a tortilla).  Here is what the fried ice cream from Las Velas in Market Square looks like:

Yeah, that looks way more appetizing than what I made – but my creative dessert will do in a pinch.

Oh yeah, the verdict?  Delicious, of course.  You can’t go wrong with a fried up, cinnamon and sugar (or Splenda) coated tortilla, topped with raspberry-vanilla ice cream and berry jam. 

Maybe next time I’ll add chocolate, too…oh, the wheels in my head are turning…

The Strip District

Neighbors in the Strip

1212 Smallman Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

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