Cooking as Moving Meditation, And Homemade Corn Tortillas With Edible Flowers

I love to cook.

Not in a performative way — not for the aesthetic or the finished photo. I love the process. The chopping, the mixing, the smelling, the tasting while swaying to whatever is playing in the kitchen. Alone, cooking is a moving meditation for me. With my family it becomes something else entirely — a celebration, a chance to connect, to learn something, to give something to each other.

Presence is the through line. The kitchen has a way of demanding it.

A while back I started taking online cooking classes with the brilliant chef Marcela Valladolid — you can find her at @chefmarcela — and something about learning to cook in that way, across a screen, felt surprisingly connecting. Her warmth and skill pulled me right into the process. One idea that stuck with me: adding edible flowers to homemade corn tortillas.

So I tried it. And now I can't stop making (eating) them.

Why handmade tortillas

There is something deeply satisfying about making food from scratch with your hands. Kneading masa, feeling the dough come together, pressing each tortilla into a circle — it's tactile and rhythmic and genuinely meditative. The whole process slows you down in the best way.

Fresh corn tortillas are also just dramatically better than anything from a package. And they're more approachable than most people think.

What you'll need

A tortilla press, masa harina (finely ground corn flour treated with lime — find it at any Latin American grocery store), hot water, and edible flowers if you'd like them. Marigold petals and cleaned squash blossoms both work beautifully.

The recipe

Makes approximately 16 tortillas

Ingredients:

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1½ cups hot water (as hot as you can comfortably work with)
• Edible flowers, optional — marigold petals, squash blossoms, or similar

To make the dough:

Combine the masa harina and hot water in a bowl and mix with your hands. Then knead for 5 to 10 minutes. You're looking for a dough that's neither crumbly nor sticky — the sweet spot is when the dough can clean the sides of the bowl as you work it. Roll into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and rest on the counter for 30 minutes.

To press the tortillas:

Take a golf ball to tennis ball sized portion of dough and roll it between your palms until smooth with no seams. Flatten into a disc. Place inside a tortilla press lined with sturdy plastic — a zip-top bag with the sides cut open works perfectly and can be washed and reused. Press to a 2 to 4 inch circle, about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick, rotating slightly to ensure even pressure. If you're adding edible flowers, press them gently onto one side of the tortilla now.

To cook:

Preheat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Peel the tortilla carefully from the plastic and lay it flat in your palm, then transfer to the pan. If using flowers, start flower side down. Use a timer for each step:

• 30 seconds first side
• 1 minute 30 seconds after the first flip
• 30 to 60 seconds after the second flip

Watch for the tortilla to puff — that's the sign of good moisture in the masa and means it's cooking through beautifully. It never gets old to watch.

Transfer to a tortilla warmer as you go — the kind from a Mexican or Latin American grocery store is ideal for keeping them soft and warm while you finish the batch.

What to do with them

The honest answer is eat them immediately, plain, with a little salt and butter. That's what most people do — kids and adults alike. If you have slightly more patience, refried beans and cheese make a fine next step. Beyond that, tacos, enchiladas, whatever you like.

But really — plain, warm, fresh from the pan. That's it.

¡Buen provecho!

Inspired by the wonderful chef Marcela Valladolid. Find her work at @chefmarcela on Instagram.