I've been craving enchiladas

And making them is no easy feat here in Madrid.

For one thing, the Spanish do not eat spicy food. They think they do. They have chistorras and patatas bravas and chorizo but as yet I have not noticed these to be actually spicy (although they are tasty, especially the sausage products which I love!).

I have actually seen people give up on eating pepperoni pizzas here in Madrid. One woman waved her hand in front of her mouth and claimed it was "muy picante." Pepperoni. Is it even spicy? I've never noticed it to be. Another woman had to switch with her husband because she couldn't go through with the pizza. WTF?

I was not looking for wimpy spicy. I wanted full bodied Mexican spicy. And I knew I'd need to make it myself if I wanted anything that would make my mouth sing. So I went about trying to assemble the ingredients that would do the trick.

As usual, this was no mean feat. For one thing, it meant most of the necessary ingredients were going to need to be imported. I began with the basics: tortillas.

Tortillas are shockingly expensive here. You can get "taco kits" which are basically Old El Paso boxes that include the 1970s hard injection molded taco shells and taco powder (just add meat!) for about €7 ($10). But actual soft tortillas? Much more challenging. Finally I found some, several choices actually. And none of them good.

At home, I can buy a package of 20 four tortillas for about $2 (€1.50). Here I could get 8 tortillas for €2.65 ($4). Andt they were large tortillas (not the actual enchilada sized ones. And they fit the pan well (it's actually an awesome clay roasting pan and I absolutely love it!). But shit!

While were were there in the Mexican aisle (or section. a very, very small section) I browsed for what I could use for a sauce for my enchiladas (not being interested in making one from scratch) and was rewarded mightily with canned Herdez salsa casero which wasn't just something to settle for but which is actually a salsa I use at home! Score! But ouch! €2.75 ($4) for each 150ml can which at home would have been about $1.99 for a 500 ml jar.

Next, beans. Beans are not canned here. They are jarred. This is strange. I prefer my beans in a can. I don't know why. I guess I don't like them looking at me or something. Plus not all the beans are in the same place in the grocery store. So several trips down several aisles finally revealed red pinto beans. Two jars at €1.95 ($3) each.

Lastly, the part I had most been dreading: the cheese. Spain is famous for its cheese and well it should be. I've never had such tasty goat cheese, sheep's milk cheese or hard cured cheeses. What it does not have is cheddar. What to do? Well, you improvise. I found some packages of mixed gouda and cheddar which would melt well and I also used some semi cured cheese we had at home which was perfect since it was so much like a queso fresco. The shredded cheese and the cream cheese (which is amazing and has made me now crave bagels) was about €6 ($8.40)

Added to this were the very cheapest ingredients: 1 lime and 2 avocados purchased at the very last minute today and not quite ripe enough to make into guacamole. Astonishingly: €.90 ($1.25).

These were the most expensive enchiladas ever made. But I swear to you they were also the very most delicious! Thank God yesterday's meal (chicken in grapefruit cream sauce with saffron, mashed potatoes and salad) was a fraction of the cost!