Tortilla Making 101 with Tierra Vegetables and Lolita Casazza
Saturday, June 29, 2024, 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Stop by the Foodwise Classroom for a cooking demo featuring the seasonal bounty of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Lolita Casazza will show us how to make tortillas using fresh corn masa from Tierra Vegetables.
Lolita Casazza was born and raised in Honduras and grew up with tortillas made from nixtamalized corn as a main part of the daily diet. She believes that food can be a point to connect with people. This is what prompted her to teach about corn and tortillas in the many places she lived around the world. After moving to the San Francisco, she realized that the corn tortillas in most supermarkets were different than the freshly made corn tortillas she grew up with in Honduras and what she makes for her family and friends. This prompted her to share her knowledge about corn and tortillas with other food conscious collectives throughout the region. Organizations like Foodwise, Tierra Vegetables, Slow Food, 18 Reasons, and Pie Ranch, and among others, have invited Lolita to conduct workshops on the culture of corn and tortillas.
Lee James and her brother, Wayne, have been farming vegetables at Tierra Vegetables since 1980. About 20 years ago they became very enamored with growing grain corn. They acquired a mill and ground cornmeal, but due to the association with Mexican farmworkers, they were very interested in masa and tortillas. Working with nixtamal and grinding masa requires a different mill and a lot of knowledge. Their masa is used by many fine restaurants and many home cooks throughout the Bay Area. Find Tierra Vegetables at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturdays.
All demos take place in the Foodwise Classroom (under the tents in front of the Ferry Building) and are free to the public, with recipes and samples for all.
Thank You to Our Current Funders
Our summer 2024 Foodwise Demos are made possible with support from a ShineOn SF Action Award grant.
