Well I clocked over 18 hours in the car this week. TG for audiobooks and podcasts.

Most of the time I take my own car and expense the mileage, but occasionally I have to rent a car. We recently switched from National to Budget/Avis. For the rental car newbs out there, let me tell you this has not gone over well.

With National, they have a row of bright and shiny nice cars. All the keys are inside, so you just pick your car and go, briefly showing your license on the way out. You basically don’t even have to talk to anyone.

With Budget, the cars are… budget. The process is clumsy. I once spent 20 minutes at the counter after midnight because my contract didn’t have a weekly rate listed on it. “I’m only keeping the car for 18 hours,” I told them. And also, “Can’t you just multiply the daily rate by 7?”

This week I called the GS from my Budget vehicle. “This car is such a piece of crap,” I told him. “The speedometer is broken! It said I was going over 100 miles an hour on the highway! I’m going to bitch them out when I return it!!”

Calmly: “Hey Doc, is there any chance the speedometer is in kilometers and not miles?”

You’d think maybe the Canadian plates would have tipped me off.

Somewhere my dad is reading this thinking “Paying for that wedding was worth it. I used to get those calls.”

Dinners this week had to be quick and had to avoid grocery store trips. Enter: homemade tortillas. I had a lot of random things in the fridge that would work for a taco assembly, but no tortillas. So I made them myself!

Homemade Tortillas

adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

1- 1 1/2 cups warm water

Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Start with a cup of water and add more as needed. I’ve made these three times and mine is always closer to 1 1/2 cups.

The dough will be nice and soft and pliable, but shouldn’t stick to the bowl. Divide it into 16 pieces and roll them into balls. Flatten with your hand, and cover with a kitchen towel. Let them rest for at least 15 minutes.

On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll them out really thin. You want them to be borderline see-through. One night this week I prepped the dough in advance but gave the GS the rolling instructions. He wanted them to be perfectly round so he used a round bowl to cut them out, but I’m okay with a rustic look.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat with just a little bit of canola oil or cooking spray. Cook on both sides for about 2-3 minutes- they’ll start to bubble- until browned.

We ate chicken tacos, pork tacos, breakfast burritos, and even Nutella “pizzas” on these. They are so versatile and reheat really well. Store them in a ziplock bag, and then just heat directly on the gas burner for 30 seconds or so on each side. You can also keep the dough in a sealed container and roll and fry them up throughout the week as needed!

And if not… store bought is fine.