soft tacos & cream pies

soft beef tacos are what's for dinner tonight. a family staple. another one i remember momma cooking at home. we even had soft tacos for my 15th bday party, with shredded beef. they are addictive and almost impossible to stop eating. i remember both my parents and my grandma wanda cooking away in the kitchen of our little town house while all my buddies and i were bouncing on the trampoline in our backyard that was only slightly bigger than the tramp. there were a lot of dents in the fence.

cooking the beef is very important. ground beef tonight. i'm pretty sure that there is a mexican influence on the method, i think maybe "joe" from "la esperanza" in california. i think he was a high school buddy of dads, but not sure. i do know that if i could transplant one restaurant from my hometown, it would be "la esperanza". they have the best beans, rice, chile rellenos and espe (sp?) chips on the planet, or at least the part of the planet i've been to. espe chips (forgive me joe, i know i'm spelling it wrong) are crispy corn tortilla chips with chile verde and queso drowning them. anyway, brown the ground beef in a little oil, breaking it up well, then add water to cover and salt, pepper and seasoning of your choice and simmer. this makes the meat so tender. the great thing is that you can simmer for a while then keep the meat in the water to stay warm until you are ready to eat. drain the meat and your ready to eat! tortillas are the next consideration.

if i could i would get freshly made corn tortillas from the little "get n go" mart that momma used to drive us to in the middle of nowhere in the valley. they made fresh corn tortillas, fresh salsa and the best dry rub ribs i've ever eaten. we would eat the meltingly warm tortillas and salsa all the way home. i recently found salsa that tasted just like this salsa at "petra", a wonderful mexican restaurant just down the street from our home. i could drink it. it must be roasted...speaking of which they make a "roasted pasta" that i crave. it is so simple, thin spaghetti in some kind of roasted salsa broth. its so much better than it sounds...i could drink it too.

anyway...if your really into it, fry the tortillas in a shallow pan of oil, just a little. or just warm them up. top with meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sauteed onion, salsa, cilantro and gobble. i've even used basil when i was out of cilantro and lettuce and it was great, maybe even better.

when a more decadent beef is called for, we slow braise beef or pork...i prefer pork above all meats, either way, braise until it falls apart, shred and try to get some into the tacos before it is all picked away.

i couldn't help myself and made another pot of beans. i'm willing fall to come soon, thru bean cookery, almost like a magic potion. the weather guy said a cold front is coming, so maybe its working. my birthday is in the fall which is the main reason i think i love it so much, and these tacos always bring back memories of that 15th bday party and my friends throwing "cream pies" in my face and grandma found no humor in this. it was a game momma came up with that was hilarious at the time...but grandma did not like people throwing paper plates filled with whipped cream at her eldest grandchild. so sweet... good to know grandma would stand up for me. this party was one of the last memories of my childhood that my parents were standing united on my behalf...its a long story, but with a happy ending to come over 15 years later...you'll have to stay tuned. i'm sure some other meal with bring us back to the topic of mom and dad. i just remember how loved i felt that day, surrounded by friends, my parents, my grandma, a cake signed in frosting by all my friends...and all the soft tacos we could eat.

soft tacos

• ground beef (at least one pound)
• beef buillion
• salt, pepper, bay leaf, cumin...what ever spices you like
• water, a couple cups
• corn tortillas
• lettuce-the crunchier the better
• tomato
• salsa, taco sauce
• heavily carmelized, sauteed onion, my favorite ingredient of all time
• cheese
• cilantro or basil
• sour cream
• lime

brown ground beef in a little oil, breaking it up well, add water to cover with buillion and spices. taste the "broth" to make sure the seasoning is enough. simmer until very tender, and drain when ready to eat. warm or fry corn tortillas. fill tortillas with meat and toppings. eat with a big bowl of beans...or put the beans in the taco too...scott puts so much stuff in the taco it doesn't close...oh yeah, don't forget the ketchup if you have a resident ketchup lover like scott...no judgement please...remember it has lycopene which makes it healthy! that's what i learned to tell myself so as not to be offended.