****Food Profile: Tacos****

Tacos
One of the most common and widely recognized foods today is the taco. The taco has become an international phenomenon, and can be found all over the world. I chose the taco as my research project because I am very fond of tacos, and was interested in their history and place in our social world. Tacos are one of my favorite all-time foods, so I naturally felt drawn to the taco. I often prepare tacos at home, and my favorite type are ground beef tacos, topped off with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. If I go out to a restaurant, I often have chicken tacos, topped off with cabbage, salsa, lime juice, and chipotle mayo. In this paper, I will explore the origins of the taco and how the taco has become another mass-produced fast food.
When Americans think of a taco, what often comes to mind is a fried corn shell stuffed with a spicy meat, shredded ice burg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and grated cheddar cheese. The taco of today is vastly different from the original taco, which is thought to have been eaten by the Aztec people as early as 3000 BC (tacotoaster.com). The Aztecs used corn to make a “flat bread out of it and called it tlaxcalli” (tacotoaster.com). This flat bread was filled with various ingredients depending on the location of the people eating it. Aztec peoples who lived by lakes filled the flat bread with different types of fish, while the peoples who lived inland filled their flat breads with insects, ants, locusts, and snails (tacotoaster.com). The tlaxcalli was officially renamed the tortilla upon the arrival of Hernando Cortez and the Spanish conquistadors.
Today, the word taco is used generically much like the word sandwich. The Merriam-Webster.com dictionary defines a taco as a “usually fried tortilla that is folded or rolled and stuffed with a mixture (as of seasoned meat, cheese, and lettuce” (Merriam-Webster.com). There are many varieties of the taco, and location is usually an indication of the main type of taco found there. In the Southwest, especially New Mexico and Texas, the breakfast taco is found in many restaurants (whatscookingamerica.com). The breakfast taco is made from a “fried corn or flour tortilla that is rolled and stuffed with a mixture of seasoned meat, eggs, or cheese, and other ingredients such as onions and salsa” (whatscookingamerica.com). People living in San Diego are fans of the fish taco, which Ensenada, Mexico claimed to be the originator of. Fish tacos are “simply pieces of batter-coated, fried fish in a hot corn or wheat tortilla” (whatscookingamerica.com).
These examples of modern day US tacos are not very different from what is found in Mexico. Mexicans often wrap their choice of fillings in corn tortillas, and these tacos are eaten as snacks or as a dinner appetizer, but never as an entrée, unlike in the US, where the taco is consumed for lunch or dinner. Many Americans are surprised when they travel to Mexico and find that they cannot purchase a taco for certain hours during the day. Mexican tacos are often filled with “chili sauce, beef (ground or shredded), chicken, pork, chorizo, or sausage, egg, tomato, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, onions, and refried beans” (food.oregonstate.edu), similar to what is found in American tacos.
Tacos have also become part of the fast food revolution. This was made possible by the invention of “small-scale tortilla-making machines that could churn out hot, steaming tortillas every two seconds” (whatscookingamerica.com). Now, tortilla shells that had once been made by hand could be pre-fried, and “the shells could henceforth be mass-produced and shipped around the world, albeit with some breakage” (Pilcher 73). This new invention gave Glen Bell the tools he needed to found one of the most recognizable fast food restaurants in America, Taco Bell. After a successful run with various small restaurants that sold tacos, Glen and his partners built the first Taco Bell in Downey, California in 1962. In February of 1978, Glen Bell sold Taco Bell to PepsiCo for just “under $125 million in stock” (referenceforbusiness.com). PepsiCo began an aggressive campaign to challenge other leading fast food restaurants, by making “Taco Bell less of a regional ethnic food phenomenon and more a national fast food chain through Spartan simplicity in décor and menu, with a concentration on predictable quality, affordable prices, and clean and convenient surroundings” (referenceforbusiness.com). PepsiCo’s campaign was successful, and today Taco Bell is one of the most profitable and widely recognized fast food restaurants worldwide.
The tacos served today at Taco Bell are a far cry from the tacos that were first consumed in Mexico. Taco Bell tacos have undergone a standardization, “replacing the endless variety of local cuisines with the artificial choice of numbered selections from a value menu” (Pilcher 73). Tacos were now listed under the convenient category, and these “so called convenience foods became synonymous with saving effort, time, and money and with ending the drudgery of home cookery” (Haden 345). What could possibly be more American than having convenient foods available in every neighborhood, enabling an ever-faster pace of life?
While the tortilla making machines allow mass quantities of tortillas to be produced, it is corn that keeps their prices low and allows fast food restaurants such as Taco Bell to sell tacos cheaply and still make profit. Corn has become a cheap substitute for just about everything, and it is found not only in the tortillas, but was probably fed to the cattle that would become the taco meat and produced the milk for the taco cheese. Corn is also a key ingredient in the soft drinks that are sold at fast food restaurants. Since there is so much corn, and it is so cheap, “the smart thing to do with all that surplus grain is to process it, transform the cheap commodity into a value-added consumer product – a denser and more durable package of calories” (Pollan 103). This is exactly what fast food restaurants have done with the taco.

yumm, soup

I have to admit, when I found out the soup that we were going to make in class was vegan, I didn’t think it would be any good. So imagine my surprise when I tried the soup, and I discovered that it was awesome! The wine gave the soup a pleasant taste, and the vegetables were just delightful. I have decided to make this soup at home, and let the soup cook the full time that the recipe calls for, as we were running out of time in class and couldn’t allow the soup to simmer as long.

I have always enjoyed making soups, as I find them to be a comfort food. Soup is really easy to make, and can be a wonderful way to use any vegetables or leftover meats that may be hanging out in ones refrigerator. One of my favorite soups to make is vegetable soup – simple, basic, and delicious! To begin with, I chop up any vegetables I have on hand – including but not limited to: zucchini, celery, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and onions. I usually sauté the carrots, celery, and onions in a bit of oil, and then add in chicken or vegetable stock. I bring this to a boil, and then add the rest of the vegetables. I also usually add a can of diced tomatoes with the juice to help flavor the soup. I then allow the soup to cook for a while, and then add in some sort of small noodle. Then, after allowing the noodles to cook for just a few moments, I serve the soup with a hot, crusty loaf of French bread and cold butter. MMMmmmmm!

Choices, choices

I like meat… what can I say? I have always enjoyed a big juicy steak, or a tender chicken breast, or even a roasted turkey at Thanksgiving. I don’t think I could ever give up eating meat, even after reading Pollan’s discussion of killing animals for food.

I have always been one of the people who think it is easier to not think about where my food comes from. Taking this class has made me rethink that it is important to know where one’s food is coming from. While I would never be able to actually kill an animal myself (I can’t even kill a spider), I do think it is important that animals that are going to be used for food should be treated with dignity and respect during their lives. When animals are not treated humanely, it is a reflection on human nature, and shows us just how cruel we can be.

One thing I have always had a problem with is the superiority attitudes that vegetarians take on. After announcing that they don’t eat meat, they look at the person who does eat meat as if they are the scum of the world. I remember my sisters best friend would lecture on and on about how it was cruel to eat meat and how she was a better and healthier person for not eating meat. Then, one day when she was over at my house watching me cook dinner and telling me what a bad person I was for eating meat, I happened to look down at her boots. The boots reached to over her knees, and were made of good old fashioned leather. I started laughing, and told her that I thought she was a hypocrite – she wouldn’t eat meat, but she would WEAR animal skin? To me, that made absolutely no sense. My attitude has always been, I respect what you choose to eat (or not eat), and I expect the same respect back.

While I will continue to eat meat, I have decided to start buying and shopping for my meat differently. I have decided that I will search out a local source of meat, and start buying my meat from that source, instead of a grocery store. And while I do not condone hunting just for sport and pleasure, I would never think less of a hunter who hunts for food, and respects the animals that he kills. I believe this is the key to ethically killing and eating animals, treating them well in life, and making their death as quick and painless as possible.

****Is Ignorance Bliss?****

Reading Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore Dilemma, I find myself starting to become truly grossed out by processed food. I was absolutely shocked to discover that corn is in almost everything that is processed and eaten by Americans today. I was also horrified to learn about CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. I always knew that food animals weren't treated great, but I didn't realize the true extent of their torture until reading this book. I know that I don't want to give up eating meat, therefore I have decided to start buying free range and grass fed meat products. While I realize that large warehouses full of food animals, such as free range chickens who are kept inside for the first six weeks of their lives, and then allowed access to a tiny piece of grass this is not necessarily an ideal setting for food animals, at least I know that these animals are being treated a little better than other food animals. All I want is that animals who will be used for food to be treated humanely. To me, I feel that the best option for domestic food animals are to be raised on small farms and fed what the animals have evolved to eat. Antibiotics would be used only when the animal was sick, and slaughter would happen quickly and with the least amount of pain as possible.

I guess what has surprised me the most is the reaction I get when I talk to people who are not in my Anthropology of Food class about these issues. Hearing about corn taking over the supermarkets and ill-treated food animals really makes people uncomfortable. My husband told me that he would just rather not know this information (which surprised me, because my husband is an extremely intelligent man and usually absorbs all sorts of information like a sponge). My friends just completely changed the subject, choosing to ignore the truth. They say something along the line of isn't it just easier not to know all that?

I guess it really is easier to just not know where our food comes from. Its a lot easier to think of food animals roaming around on a farm in a beautiful green pasture - although this couldn't be further from the truth. I found myself wondering why it makes people so uncomfortable to know where their food comes from.... because obviously it just doesn't magically make itself!

Just as in the movie the Matrix, I find myself awakening to the truth of the world, as if I had taken the blue pill. However, I find that most people have already taken the red pill, which allows them to continue on in their own little perfect worlds, where they never have to really open their eyes and confront the harsh realities of what is going on around them. I guess in this way, that ignorance of the truth is truly bliss.

****MMMMMMmmmmmmm****

Ever since I was a little girl, I always remember loving Hostess Cupcakes. I just can't resist them, with their sweet creamy center and moist chocolate cake. I know I shouldn't eat them, but I just can't help myself.

When I was younger, my mother would buy a box of 8 Hostess Cupcakes for the week. I would try and ignore them, pretending they weren't there, but I would hear the Cupcakes calling my name...."come eat me, I'm sooooo good!" And any sense of self-control I had would be out the window, and I would find myself indulging in the Cupcake. The only problem was, once I ate the first Cupcake, it was like I opened Pandora's Box.... I would go into something that could only be described as a feeding frenzy. I would eat the entire box of Cupcakes in less than an hour! Afterwords, I would always feel guilty, especially when my mother would discover that I had eaten the entire box!

When I discovered that Hostess had recently started making 100 calorie packs of their Cupcakes, I got excited. I bought a box, and I thought since I am older and wiser, that I would be able to control myself, and just eat one package of the cupcakes..... WRONG! I soon found myself devouring the entire box of the 100 calorie Cupcakes. I knew right then and there that I should never again buy the box of 100 calorie Cupcakes, because I still couldn't control myself.

Now, when I really get the urge to have a Hostess Cupcake, I purchase the individual 2 pack. I enjoy my treat, knowing that there is a limit to how much damage I can cause. I know I shouldn't eat the Cupcakes, as there is absolutely nothing natural or normal in the ingredients. I know that scientists figuring out what tastes like chocolate is"just one aspect of the technical information-gathering eneded to produce a growing range of chocolatized products" (Haden 354).

picture URL: www.pamelamichellejohnson.com/images/cupcakes.jpg

Food Prices on the Move

On Thursday, our class had the opportunity to hear Raj Patel speak on the food issues that have recently begun to become worse in the world. It was really interesting to hear his opinions on why food prices have recently risen. His first reason was oil. This was interesting because so much of the food grown in the US depends on oil, either for shipping or growing. With the recent explosion of the price of a barrel of oil, I can see that food prices will continue to rise sharply. Raj's second reason was the bad harvests that have plagued various countries due to bad weather. Recently, anyone who even slightly pays attention to the news will have noticed the horrific weather that has been experienced worldwide. While the weather not only destroys crops, it displaces people who are often already very poor, and makes it even harder for these people to afford food. The third reason proposed by Raj about the rise of food is the recent demand for biofuels, especially ethanol. Ethanol is made from corn, and when more corn is being used for fuel, there is less corn for food. I predict that ethanol demand will eventually drop, considering the large amount of corn needed to make ethanol. The fourth reason for the rise of food according to Raj is the growth of developing countries such as India and China. As Raj said, with a growing middle class comes demands and desires, like wanting to eat. The final reason that Raj said that food prices are rising is due to the speculation that there is a food shortage and the prices are rising. When this happens, the general public starts to get worried and wants to store excess food. Food companies such as supermarkets take advantage of this public panic, and uses this as an excuse to raise food and increase their profits. I find this especially relevant as the US is not experiencing any food shortage, but stores such as Sams Club and Costco are limiting the amount of some rices that can be purchased.

2 Weddings & an Ethnicity

Growing up in an Irish family in Chicago, I was always exposed to basically the same foods. This was especially apparent at any wedding that I attended. There was always some variation of the Irish "basics": soup, salad, meat - often chicken or steak with varying sauces, a vegetable, and of course some form of potato. The main meal was followed up with a yummy dessert of wedding cake. Minor variations did occur, but the menu was usually pretty similar. I was never pushed out of my comfort zone, and had never left a wedding hungry (often the opposite, left way to full!).

My comfort zone was pushed to its ultimate outer edges when my husband and I moved to Seattle. As there is an extremely diverse population living out here, we made friends with people of other ethnicity's. My husband's office mate was a really nice Chinese man who grew up in Australia, and they became good friends. My husband's office mate had just gotten engaged and was in the middle of planning his wedding. We were invited to the wedding, and I became nervous about it when I discovered that it was going to be a traditional Chinese wedding. I had never had any experience with 'real' Chinese food, just the American versions which included chop suey, sweet and sour pork, egg rolls, and fortune cookies.

After a beautiful ceremony, everyone headed off to the restaurant for the reception. I immediately felt out of my comfort zone, as the table we were at, which was composed of my husbands co-workers and their wives, was the only non-Chinese table in the reception. There was a menu in the middle of the table, and reading it over, i recognized nothing!

When the first dish was brought out, I was relived. I recognized pieces of pork, and there was some form of 'noodle' sitting next to them. I poked the 'noodles' and asked what kind of 'noodles' were a clearish white. My table mates informed me that it was shredded octopus, and I knew I was in for a long night. My comfort level was tested at each of the 10 courses served, as each dish brought out was more strange and exotic than the previous. Goey-duck, shark fin soup, barnacles, and a whole fish complete with eyes were some of the courses served. I found myself extremely uncomfortable and out of place. I didn't want to insult my hosts by being disgusted, and I knew that the meal was really expensive. I picked at various things through the night, but ultimately left the reception still hungry.

This wedding made me acutely aware of the power of ethnicity in choice of food. Never before had I ever been exposed to such exotic foods, and it made me uncomfortable and pushed me outside my comfort zone.

****Connections****

The connection between Ruth Ozeki's book All Over Creation and the film the Future of Food is fairly obvious. Both are concerned with genetically modified foods and what these foods mean for the future of the human race. Ozeki's book creates a group of characters that are described as intelligent hippies. These hippies travel all over the country to try and raise consumers awareness that the food they are consuming has been genetically modified in some way. The film also talks about how consumers are frighteningly ignorant of the ingredients that have been used in their food. The film and the book both point out how companies are not required by the US Government to label something that has been genetically modified in some way. This is all the more concerning considering the intimate relationship between the government and companies that genetically modify food. I found it really interesting, but not surprising, that many of the Monsanto employees were now working in the government, in positions that would be able to protect their former employer.

There are some things that consumers can do to fight back against the corporations who want to genetically modify our food. To start with, consumers need to change their shopping habits, and start buying fruits and vegetables from their local farmers. By buying local food, the consumer would be helping not only the environment, but public health as well. Consumers must also educate themselves and be aware of what is happening with their food. Most consumers do not know where their food comes from, and this information can be difficult to find as most grocery store workers also don't know where the food has come from. In order for things to change, consumers need to change their habits, even if this means paying a little more for food or having to plan meals differently so consumers can shop at their local farmers market.

Conspiracy?

After reading the book All Over Creation and then watching the film the Future of Food, I am more convinced than ever before that there is a conspiracy of many corporations to take over the world. What better way to do that than through food? It is something that every human being on the planet needs, regardless of race, gender, religion, or political affiliation.



I personally find the idea of genetically modified food terrifying. I hate the idea of ingesting strange chemicals, especially when the creator of many of the genetically modified foods we eat is Monsanto, the corporation that brought us such wonderful chemicals as DDT and Agent Orange. I find it highly ironic that the same companies that own seeds also own the chemical fertilizers and insecticides that are needed to "protect" crops. Conventional farming methods worked for thousands of years, obviously these were quite sufficient to sustain the human race as it didn't die out, but flourished. There are now roughly 6.6 BILLION people in the world, so humans were doing something right!



The prospect of the terminator gene is truly mind blowing. I don't quite understand how this works, as it seems that the company who sells this seed should put itself out of business due to the vary nature of the product they are selling. However, if this gene were to become "loose" and contaminate crops, the food crisis that would follow would make the world's current situation look like a joke!



I feel that no one should have the right to patent life. Companies that do this are desperately seeking new ways to make profits, and have found an interesting niche to take root in (no pun intended :)

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

I moved to the Seattle-land area almost 3 years ago. Since moving here, I have been exposed to more different foods than I ever thought possible. Growing up in a small suburb of Chicago, our menu was fairly simple: Mexican food, (American) Chinese food, American food, and of course, pizza! Words cannot even being to describe how sad I was when I discovered that Chicago style pizza, something that I had once taken for granted, was now to become a distant memory and the occasional treat. Whenever I head home to the Heartland, I always want to indulge in the thick gooey delite that is Chicago Style Pizza!



There is nothing like a deep dish Chicago pizza. The outer crust is crunchy on the outside, but chewy on the inside, and can be the depth of a finger! This thick barrier of crust is filled with greasy, glistening Italian sausage, crisp green peppers, succulent mushrooms (if I'm ordering it!), and a mini-mountain of cheese. These toppings are covered with another layer of dough, and then that layer of crust is covered with thick pizza sauce. This wonderful concoction is popped into an over for approximately 45 minutes and then is removed and served piping hot. The cheese is melted to perfection and the crust is crisp. The pizza slice is so thick, only someone who wishes to wear it on their shirt would eat it with their hands. A fork and knife are the preferred method to enjoying this perfect pizza. MMMMMMM.... I'm so glad I'll be back in Chicago in June!



So one can only imagine my shock in learning of the poor selection of pizza that Seattle offered. Pizzas out here are offered with strange and foreign ingredients....sorry, goat cheese and basil on a whole wheat multi-grain crust is NOT a real pizza! When I complained to the locals about their lack of good pizza, they suggested various pizza joints to try out. I complied, but still found the pizzas lacking as there was a lack of sauce used, or not enough cheese, or no Italian sausage. It's sad to say, but now if I really want a pizza, I either go to Pizza Hut (which has horrible pizza) or go to the grocery store and by a DiGiorno (which really aren't all that bad, considering they are frozen and all). My husband and I have tried a few times to make our own deep dish pizzas, but these homemade pizzas cannot even begin to compare to an authentic deep dish Chicago Style Pizza!

Oh, what a night

Every time I see a double baked potato, I am reminded immediately of my father-in-law. Let me explain why.



It was the first time I had ever met my future in-laws. I was really nervous, understandably, as I was now 5 hours away from home in a city that I had never been too and was spending the weekend with them. On Saturday night, we all went out to a restaurant. Not just any restaurant, but a really fancy-schmancy restaurant. Great. Now not only did I have to worry about impressing my boyfriend's parents, now I had to worry about am I using the right fork? What if I don't know what the food items on the menu are? What if I have a piece of salad or pepper stuck in my teeth? Thankfully, the restaurant was a steakhouse, so the food choices were recognizable. Now I had the worry, looking over the menu, that the cheapest item was $45 and of course was chicken, and I wanted a steak, going to a steakhouse and all, but they started at $50. My future in-laws insisted that I get whatever I wanted, so I order a fillet and double baked potato, with a salad as a starter. I really wanted to order about 3 glasses of wine, but I restrained.



So the table was rectangular, and sat 6 people. My boyfriend and I sat on one side, his sister sat on the other side, and his parents sat at the head of the table. My father-in-law was on my left, my boyfriend on my right, and his mother to his right. When the server brought out our food, she placed my plate down first, and my boyfriend promptly took his fork and went for my potato, and I slapped his hand away. His mother looked a bit surprised, and I explained to her that I HATE when people eat off my plate.



Before I go any further, I should explain why I hate people eating off my plate (besides the obvious reasons that it's rude and gross). When I was younger, my Mom made my sister and I a frozen pizza. When it was ready, she cut it into slices, and I went and took my pieces. It was then that I noticed that I had the king of mushrooms half hiding under the melted cheese. I was super excited about this mushroom, and couldn't wait to eat it. I placed my plate on the table, and went to the sink to get a glance of water. When I went back to the table, practically drooling in anticipation of eating that king mushroom, I noticed that it was gone! I looked up, and my little sister was smugly chewing and smiling.... she had stolen my prize mushroom! From that moment onward, I became protective of my food, and have stabbed a few people (well, just my sister and husband) with a fork to keep them from eating off my plate (I'm a bit better with this now that I'm older).



So back to the restaurant. As I am explaining to my future mother in-law that I despise and hate people eating off my plate, out of the corner of my eye I see a fork approach my plate and DIP INTO MY DOUBLE BAKED POTATO. I turned in shock and horror to see my future father-in-law grinning from ear to ear as he is sampling MY potato! I was stunned! Everyone at the table started laughing as I sat there helpless with my mouth hanging open. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't stab him with a fork, or slap his hand away, as he was already eating the forkful of potato. I turned to my future mother-in-law, and when she was finally able to stop laughing, she explained to me that it was her husband's company's big joke that they should buy him an extra long fork because he loved to sample other people's food.......right off their plates!

This has now become the big family joke, and I am teased mercilessly about how mean I am that I don't like to share food. However, everyone has discovered that is in their hands best interests to ask me to cut them off a piece of my food and hand it to them!

****Moms and Lunchboxes****

In class the other day, when the obento box was being passed around, someone asked if this was a small box or for a small child. My first thought upon seeing the box was "I think I'd still be hungry after eating what was in the box.... I'd probably need 2 boxes!!" I reflected upon the lunches that I ate growing up.... a sandwich with lots of meat, lettuce, mayo, and maybe a tomato. Accompanying this would be a bag of chips, a cookie or a cupcake, and a piece of fruit. To wash it all down was a juice box or a Capri Sun (once I was old enough to learn the trick of inserting my straw through only one side of the pouch). My lunch would be packed into my My Little Pony lunchbox, and I would head off to school. I found it interesting to note that both American and Japanese students held the containers of their lunch in high regard. In the US, one's lunchbox container could be the deciding factor if you were cool or uncool. In Japan, unlike in the US, the inside of one's lunchbox container was the telltale sign of social class. Children of wealthier families who could afford the mother to stay home had complex designs made out of food, while children from less affluent families had simpler arrangements of food.

Lunch was always my favorite time in school. It was a time to eat (of course), bond and connect with your friends, and get away from the structure of a teacher's classroom. I found it interesting that the Japanese children were expected to finish their entire lunch, and were reprimanded by the teacher and their classmates if this was not done. I don't think I EVER had a problem with this!

What struck me the most was the similarity in the relationship between the Japanese students and their mothers with the relationship between my mother and me. The Japanese student's mothers put great care, love, and pride into preparing a tasty and aesthetically pleasing lunch for their children. My own mother, while not cutting things up into bite sized pieces (although she did cut the crust off my bread for years), put the same amount of love and caring into my lunch. My mother took the time to make sure that my lunch was well balanced and nutritious. She followed the rough guidelines of the old school food pyramid, and always made sure that my lunch had something in it that was fresh and good for me. My mother and the Japanese mothers had a common goal: to make sure their children were well fed.

****Food and social connection ****

I have always found food to be a bonding experience, and I believe that most people would agree with me. Three years ago, my husband and I moved to Seattle, leaving behind all of our friends and family. I especially miss my Mom, as her and I are extremely close. Whenever I head back to the Chicago land area, my Mom and I have a tradition. She picks me up, and we head home, where we make one of our favorite h’orderves of all time – taco dip. We start by mixing the taco seasoning with sour cream and spreading it out in a glass baking dish. Then we take a head of lettuce and a tomato and chop them up into bite sized pieces. The lettuce and the tomato are then spread over the sour cream mixture. We top off the lettuce and tomato with cheddar cheese and black olives. Then my Mom and I, and sometimes my sister if she is home, each open a Diet Coke, sit down at the table, and enjoy our taco dip with tortilla chips. We all talk and catch up, and always comment about how nice it is to talk face to face, over taco dip.

Recipe:

1 container of sour cream (could also use a block of soften cream cheese)
1 packet of taco seasoning
1-2 cups of iceberg lettuce
½ - 1 cup of chopped tomato (could also use fresh salsa)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup of black olives
Tortilla chips

Combine sour cream and taco seasoning, spread in a glass baking dish
Chop lettuce and tomato, spread over mixture
Sprinkle cheese over lettuce and tomato
Top with black olives
Serve cold with tortilla chips

Reconnecting with food 4/8

When I was a little girl, my father and I used to grow tomato plants. I remember being so excited when the spring would come, and we used to head out with our wire rabbit “stoppers” and the baby tomato plants. We would plant them in the dirt (one of my favorite parts, I loved to dig in the dirt and get all muddy), and it would be my job to water them every day. I loved watching the tiny green tomatoes emerge and grow into plump juicy tomatoes. I remember when we would pick the tomatoes, and would encounter one that had been eaten by bugs. The front of the tomato would look fine, but then the back of the tomato was observed, and it was nasty. The tomatoes juicy insides would drip down onto the ground, and cover the picker’s hand. Sometimes, if my little sister was around, and I was feeling devious (as I often was, being the big sister and all), I would have her come over and pick the rotten tomato. She would freak out as her hand sunk into the rotten, bug eaten part of the tomato. I attribute this to why she doesn’t like tomatoes today.

Trying this Blog thing out.....

Let me start out by saying I'm Irish. So that means I love potatoes. Potatoes have always been an important part of just about every meal, especially when I was younger (my husband is NOT Irish, and does not appreciate spuds for breakfast.... and lunch......and dinner). One of my favorite memories from my childhood was waking up on a Sunday morning, heading out to the kitchen, and discovering what my Mom was cooking for breakfast. My mother was not the best cook, although that never stopped us from devouring everything on our plates. My mom would boil a pot of spuds (did I mention that Irish cooking is boiling everything?), slice them up, put them back into the pot with some water and onions, and make a kind of potato soup. She would make enough so we could have the leftovers with our dinner that evening. Breakfast would be a combination of Irish ham, potato soup, eggs, grilled tomatoes, and sausages or bacon. MMMM, makes my tummy growl just thinking about it.