You would think that I gave up on Mexican food ages ago, but I have my high school BFF to thank for bringing me to the bRIGHT side. We frequented our neighborhood eats after school, and she suggested that we stop by our local taqueria one day. My reaction was lukewarm, to say the least. We walked into the taqueria, and I thought we stepped into a factory assembly line. There were two people working the grill, two people scooping the rice and beans, two people on the meats and fixins, and one on the cash register who was also in charge of the chips. Everyone seemed to move at a manic pace, and I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do! Thank goodness my BFF was their to guide me through everything. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a stack of what looked like fried tortillas in the shape of a bowl. “What on earth is that?” I asked. “Bowls for the super tostadas.” So began my love affair with all things having to do with tostada bowls. Who can resist an edible bowl that’s pretty much one huge tortilla chip? Not me. I some serious cravings for tostadas last week, so I had to make some at home. Most people don’t have a tortilla shell pan and I don’t either. I learned this neat trick from Eating Well on how to make tostada bowls at home. All you need is your muffin pan and a bit of cooking spray. I found that only three tortillas fit well on the pan. Be prepared to bake these in batches. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes and you get a nice crunchy vessel for your food. Some of you may be familiar with the sofritas from Chipotle. I discovered it last summer, and I have fallen so much in love with it that I only order sofritas at Chipotle now. Yes, I go there when I’m too lazy to cook. Don’t judge me. To make the sofritas, I crumbled a block of extra firm tofu until no visible solid chunks were left. I did everything with my hands, which was a lot of fun. But if you’re not into getting down and dirty today, a potato masher or a fork should work well here.
