We don't often celebrate Mexican Independence Day, but this year, since we were not doing anything anyway, I decided to make it a true taco Tuesday. We actually have tacos quite often-- sometimes fish, sometimes cauliflower, sometimes grilled chicken or steak, but this time I decided to make old school tacos the way my mom used to when we were kids.
Back then, in New Jersey? Nobody ate tacos. But we were an airline family and some good friends of ours had recently moved to Southern California. Whenever we visited them, besides swimming in their backyard pool and biking to Huntington Beach, we also ate exotic foods such as Jolly Ranchers (also unavailable on the East Coast in the 70s), Farrells Ice Cream, and tacos.
The homemade version we had was Mexican only in name. They were really just corn tortillas warmed in the oven with a slice American Cheese and topped with plain fried ground beef, chopped tomatoes and shredded ice berg lettuce, but we loved them! So much so, that my mom would pack corn tortillas in her suitcase and keep them in the freezer in New Jersey for those California dreaming days when nothing but a taco for dinner would do.
And that is what I made for dinner on Tuesday. Okay, I used cheddar instead of American and we had avocado on our tacos, too, but the simple, clean flavors of corn, cheese, beef, tomato, and lettuce took me right back, not to California, but to our kitchen table in South Jersey. Ole!
Life lesson: Sometimes tradition is the best sauce.
Back then, in New Jersey? Nobody ate tacos. But we were an airline family and some good friends of ours had recently moved to Southern California. Whenever we visited them, besides swimming in their backyard pool and biking to Huntington Beach, we also ate exotic foods such as Jolly Ranchers (also unavailable on the East Coast in the 70s), Farrells Ice Cream, and tacos.
The homemade version we had was Mexican only in name. They were really just corn tortillas warmed in the oven with a slice American Cheese and topped with plain fried ground beef, chopped tomatoes and shredded ice berg lettuce, but we loved them! So much so, that my mom would pack corn tortillas in her suitcase and keep them in the freezer in New Jersey for those California dreaming days when nothing but a taco for dinner would do.
And that is what I made for dinner on Tuesday. Okay, I used cheddar instead of American and we had avocado on our tacos, too, but the simple, clean flavors of corn, cheese, beef, tomato, and lettuce took me right back, not to California, but to our kitchen table in South Jersey. Ole!
Life lesson: Sometimes tradition is the best sauce.
I started cringing at "a slice of American cheese" and was SO relieved when you said "cheddar" in the next paragraph! Love that you revived your original tacos, but with a slight twist! Fun piece.
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