In the spirit of finishing T.C. Boyle’s book The Tortilla Curtain last night, my blog this week applauds The Homemade Breakfast Taco!

In my estimation, Breakfast Tacos have cured more cases of breakfast-phobia, food boredom, and mobile-eating-trauma than any other meal I know. For morning commuters who prefer to eat on the way to work, after their stomach finishes waking up, toast gets cold and a bowl of cereal’s milk-spill-danger just won’t do. The breakfast taco is self-contained, warmly wrapped, and conducive to keeping your eyes on your route.

Before moving back to Boston this winter, I lived in Breakfast Taco Town, USA (i.e. Austin, Texas).  There, no one goes without his/her morning meal. I remember the first time I walked around UT’s campus and wondered, “What’s the deal with those aluminum wrapped cylinders under everyone’s arms?” It didn’t take me long to pick up on this most delicious, convenient, and inexpensive food-trend going. Since landing back on Yankee soil, I’ve taken to making a varying line-up of them at home, feeling like a taco-pro as I roll them up and dash off each morning with my little cylinder in arm to catch my train. 

Tortilla means “little cake” in Spanish, and Breakfast Taco loosely translates as any-food-you-fancy rolled up in that well-rounded flatbread and sealed with a sauce. Whether corn or flour based, a whole grain tortilla makes a beautiful breakfast holster, to be filled with last night’s leftovers, a freshly sliced avocado, or even a peanut-butter-honey spread!

Easy Fillings

Here are a few of my favorite easy combinations of leftover and fresh fillings:  

• Sautéed spinach & purple cabbage, last night’s potatoes, and black beans  

• Quinoa, pinto beans, tempeh bacon, and mango salsa

• Egg whites with steamed or sautéed greens and sea salt

• Hummus spread with leftover veggies, Annie’s Goddess Dressing, and Kalamata olives

(A helpful trick to heating the life back into your tortillas: I lay mine across the top of whatever I’m cooking, with the lid on, for about 40 seconds to steam – it comes back golden-warm and tastes fresh off the press!)

If you find you’ve been having the same 3 meals for the last 3 months, don’t throw in the towel – throw in a tortilla! For lunch or dinner, take whatever you’ve got prepared, decide if you’d like a crispy or soft shell, grab your favorite dressing and enjoy the new eat-with-your-hands style!

So, the next time you cook – anything! – I dare you to wrap it up inside a whole-grain tortilla and dress it with your favorite salsa, sauce, or just a simple pinch of salt. Then try one in the morning. Warning: meals may forever feel naked without their “little cake!” (Sarah)