The Hazards of Tacos

I hope everyone had a festive Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo is such a funny holiday. To me, it’s on par with St. Patties Day – just another ‘holiday’ for kids to go out and get schwasted. Most people even think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s independence day. Wrong! The holiday is actually only celebrated in a small Mexican community in remembrance of………..

I had originally planed to do nothing for this not-holiday, but once I got home and was looking for recipes for dinner I stumbled across this beauty : http://www.imadedinner.net/2010/04/15/tax-day-tacos/ I saw the thick avocado slices and I was sold. So with a pannier in tow, I biked in the evening sun to the store to get my loot.

A few substitutions were in order, though. While at the store in the Mexican food aisle, the shiny bags full of eccentric spices hanging on the shelf was quite overwhelming. After a good minute searching for bag or can or something labeled ‘smoked serranos’, I gave up (I’m impatient, ok? Deal.) and went for the fresh ones. I knew it wouldn’t be quite the same and my tacos would be now be referred to as Smokey Spicy Steak Tacos. Of course, later I found out that smoked serrano peppers = chipotle peppers, and there were ALL sorts of those in the little shiny baggies. OH well.

Also while at the store, I picked up a sixer of Coronas, how could I not?

Other substitutions included my lack of garlic powder, subbed for by fresh garlic. I also used 1 ½ limes, because the other ones were commandeered by the Corona.

Quick HORROR story: so there I was, minding my own business and choppin away at some fresh serrano, dicing em up real good. I stubbornly ignored the internet when it told me to always wear gloves when chopping these dudes because they are, like, 10x hotter than jalapenos. Really, I don’t have open wounds on my hands, I’ll be fine. About a pepper and a half in, a spot just below my eye starts feeling hot. Hmmm… I don’t remember touching my eye, maybe it will go away. 1 ¾ peppers in, my eye is still hot. Maybe if I wipe it down with a wet paper towel (don’t worry, I made someone else get it for me so I didn’t get pepper juice all over a nice clean paper towel that’s going into my eye). THAT only made it worse! It’s now burning my eye! So I put my whole freaking face under the sink and run cold water on it, seems like a good idea, yeah? NO! I don’t even know how, but it spread to my entire eye, which is now on FIRE. And I’m cursing and hollering at people to google ways to make it stop, and by now that eye is watering enough to make my nose runny, which somehow carried the spiciness INTO my nose so now my nose is burning. Great. How bout makeup remover? Nope! That only made my eyebrow start burning. The only solution I found was to stop trying and just put a cold beer on my eye. I’m pretty sure (at least, I hope) I learned my lesson.

Horrors out of the way (well, besides stabbing my finger in the blender… don’t ask.), the tacos turned out flipping AWESOME. I invited a neighbor up, plus my normal roommates, and the tacos were gone in a flash. I also served them with black beans and normal fixins for the kids who like the such. I fancy mine with just steak, beans, cheese, avocado, sour cream and a quick squeeze of lime. And maybe a shake or three of good ‘ole Tapatio. And when all the steak was gone, veggie tacos ftw!

Make again? You betchya. What would I change? I’d wear goggles while chopping, and also like to try the smoked serrano peppers a.k.a. chipotle peppers.

Happy holidays y’all.

Dara