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HEIRLOOM CORN TORTILLAS When indigenous means Scott Valley BY JENNIFER GREENE

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’ve always been fascinated by indigenous architecture and then by the idea of indigenous food, food that comes from the local earth and is made and consumed on the ground we stand on. Food that takes its hints of form from the type of crops that grow right here and now. And so here at Windborne Farm we have been growing Native dry corns over the past nine years, saving and selecting corns that survive and thrive in this climate. As a result, this year we found ourselves with three acres’ worth of beautiful dry corn. And there’s where the idea of making authentic corn tortillas came from, and my idea to share that process from the ground up is why this article came to be! Windborne Farm is a thirty-acre, diverse organic/ biodynamic family farm located in Scott Valley just south of the Oregon border. We grow about five acres of vegetables that we offer for sale at the Mount Shasta Farmers’ Market and various buying clubs. We also grow approximately five more acres of various grains and dry beans and create a balanced soil fertility with rotations of both goats and poultry across our fields. Our dry corn is a part of these field rotations and is planted in late May and into June following 34 winter 2015/16

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cover crops. In order to save and select seed from dry corns we begin with about a pound of heirloom seed corn that indicates viability in short season areas. We might begin with ten different varieties, isolating them by staggering their planting times and then selecting and saving seeds from corn that we evaluate based on its adaptability and on its taste and visual appeal. The main varieties of dry corn that we now plant and save are Painted Mountain, Oaxacan Green, Northstine, and Navajo White. After the corn is planted in the late spring, either I or my son Rafael will come through the fields, Rafael with a small cultivator tractor or I with our draft horses using a horse drawn cultivator. We aim to keep the weeds back between the rows and also to gently hill the corn. We irrigate the corn about once a week; these Native varieties require much less water than standard “developed” corns. In early fall our corn has filled out and then dried down, and we pull the ears down from the plant and husk our dry corn right in the field, placing the dried ears on cloth sheets so that they dry further. Finally we put these ears through an old-fashioned, manually operated contraption that pulls the seed from the dry cob.

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corn” type hue to those particular tortillas. Also our tortillas seem to be more pliable, they don’t crack when you bend them, and the sprouting process makes them far more digestible. And then lastly, because I am making these tortillas for people I know and care about, they have that intangible homemade feeling to them. If I’m not too far behind schedule after the last tortillas are pressed, I’ll fill those tortillas with some local goat cheese, a dollop of our heirloom baked pinto beans, our Aztec microgreens and sit for a moment savoring what I consider (at least on days I have time for such thoughts…) to be both a fulfilling meal and a fulfilling lifestyle. I’m satisfied! 1 Jennifer Greene will be making her corn tortillas as long as the dried corn lasts. People in the Mount Shasta, Scott Valley, and Yreka areas can order them through harvestconnection.org for pickup in Mount Shasta or email her at [email protected] to arrange a different delivery method.

MAKING TAMALES As a farmer, that part of our process seemed relatively straightforward; from here on in, our journey took some serious investigating and researching of traditional culinary processes! I became seriously immersed in YouTube videos for about two months. I’m pretty sure I’ve watched a ridiculous number of Mexican women kneading masa dough, patting tortillas by hand, and so on. I’ve become familiar with any number of companies selling molinos (mills) for processing hominy (nixtamalized dried corn) into masa. I even downloaded a Spanish translator app and nearly went cross-eyed copying instructions about these molinos and translating them from Spanish to English. I also of course did some real life investigating, more or less harassing anyone with either distant or immediate Hispanic family; insisting on in-depth descriptions of any or all part of tortilla making they may have witnessed absolutely anytime within their life. In short, I obsessed. And honestly I think I figured it out. I should keep it a secret, but I’m feeling generous, so here is what I’ve gleaned from all the above labors. Here’s how we make our tortillas. First we soak and sprout the corn. This is actually not a traditional step but we found that it helps with digestibility of the corn and makes a lot of our customers happy! Then we 36 winter 2015/16

soak the corn further in a solution of slaked lime. Slaked lime is simply lime powder (calcium oxide) mixed with water to form calcium hydroxide. This process called nixtamalization releases the outer skin of the kernel as well as actually changing the amino acid availability and also the whole consistency of the corn. Once we have soaked and then thoroughly rinsed the corn, we have what is called hominy or nixtamal. We then feed this hominy through our molino, the one I ordered from Mexico with the aid of a translator app. The molino has an auger that can work the wet kernels into the stones or steel plates, which transforms the corn into a soft pliable dough or masa. We then let the dough sit for a day in the refrigerator as this seems to increase its pliability. The next day we make the masa into golf ball size portions and press them in our heated tortilla presses. They cool on large linen cloths and finally are bagged and labeled! So. . . one might wonder about these tortillas that come “straight from the earth,” these “zero food mile” tortillas, what exactly are they like? How are they different and unique? Most noticeably the tortillas taste more like corn! Our heirloom corn varieties are less productive; but their taste is more distinct and that taste carries through to the tortillas. In addition our multicolored corns transfer a “blue

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We wanted to use Jennifer Greene’s native corn to make tamales, so we sought out this recipe from a friend, Leslie Gilbert, Chico resident and CSU Chico student. Leslie credits the bacon fat in the recipe below as the reason why her family favors her tamales. Five pounds of pork, she says, makes about This Mexican molino grinds nixtamalized corn to make tortillas in the farm’s kitchen. five dozen pork tamales. The masa recipe recipe below, but instead of using masa, we used dried Native below makes enough masa for two and a half corn from Jennifer Greene’s Windborne Farm (nixtamalizing dozen; and so when Leslie aims for five dozen tamales, she it as her article describes for tortillas and then grinding it in doubles it. a food processor). For our meat filling, we used a nearly fiveThat said, it’s hard to know exact yields. Leslie’s husband Richie, for example, likes his tamales meat-rich, so when she pound pork butt roast from Four Brothers Heritage Farm in makes tamales for her immediate family, five pounds of pork Fort Jones (like Windborne Farm!). roast doesn’t go as far. Likewise, spreading the masa on corn —CB husks proves an inexact task, some preferring more or less masa and experience alone resulting in a consistent spread. LESLIE’S TAMALES Tamales are traditionally made by a kitchen full of people. Like most, Leslie’s tamales are time-consuming. They begin Weight dried cornhusks down in a big bowl of water so they are with an overnight soak of dried corn husks and an overnight submerged. slow cooker engagement with pork. The following day, Leslie makes the Chile Sauce for the pork and then, while the pork Pork cooks and then cools in the sauce, the masa. For those who Cook 5 pounds pork roast or loin overnight in crockpot with prefer tamales without meat, Leslie suggests a combination of a teaspoon of salt and 1 cup water. Cool. Shred by hand or beans and cheese as filling. in a KitchenAid. Cool and retain broth for masa. For our kitchen test tamale making, we followed Leslie’s edibleshastabutte.com EDIBLE SHASTA-BUTTE

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Chile Sauce 5 dried red California chiles 5 dried red New Mexico chiles 5 dried pasilla chiles ¼ teaspoon cloves ½ teaspoon nutmeg 3 cloves garlic ½ medium onion 1 tomato Boil dried chiles until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the stems, then add to a blender with spices, garlic, onion, tomato, and about 6 cups water. Blend thoroughly, about 2 minutes. Strain sauce through a colander. Add shredded pork and strained sauce to a pot, and simmer the mixture 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool enough to handle. While the pork cools, make the masa. Masa 1¼ cup lard or 1 cup lard and ¼ cup bacon fat, softened 2 teaspoons salt 1½ teaspoons baking powder 4 cups masa (mix 3½ cups dry masa with 2¼ cups hot water until smooth) 1¾ cup pork broth or mixture broth and water 38 winter 2015/16

Put lard, salt, and baking powder into a KitchenAid mixing bowl and cream until light. Add masa a handful at a time, continuing to beat mixture. Slowly add 1 cup pork broth. When incorporated, test the masa by dropping a small bead of it into cold water. The masa is ready if the bead floats. Beat in ½ cup more broth, until mixture is the consistency of light hummus. Taste and add salt if necessary. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour. Remove from refrigerator; if the masa has dried, add a bit more broth, ¼ cup at most, to return masa to its consistency before refrigeration. Assembly Assembly works best with many people around a table, some spreading masa evenly on corn husks, some adding filling, and others rolling the tamales and tying with strips of corn husks if desired. Novices can view YouTube videos for examples. Steam rolled tamales in a large tamale steamer for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the tamales and the number in the steamer. Check the water frequently, adding more boiling water as it evaporates. The last hour, check masa for doneness. It should look firm. To test, remove a tamale from the pot, let cool five minutes, then unwrap and to assure the masa is firm and the tamale hot through.

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