Recipe - Beef Tacos (w/Tajin)

This recipe for beef tacos has validated me as a decent cook of Mexican food...and it's soooo easy! I made up the following marinade:

-1.5lbs of beef (a thin cut like skirt steak/brisket)

-1/4 cup of yellow onion, cut in thin slices

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-3 tbsp soy sauce

-1 tbsp canola oil (I use olive oil for everything, I probably shouldn't)

-Black pepper to taste

-Salt to taste, though you might not need any
-2 tbsp Tajin (see below to learn more about Tajin)

Marinade the meat, preferably for a couple of hours in the fridge.

Make some guacamole...

-1 avocado (I prefer small Haas avocados)

-1 garlic clove, minced

-1 or 1/2 serrano pepper minced (the more seeds you leave the hotter)

-1 lime, squeezed

-2 tbsp yellow onion chopped (I don't put onion in mine...don't like it)

-2 tbsp Cotija cheese (parmesan is a good substitute)

-Salt and pepper to taste

Mash it all up!

Cook the meat to your liking on a very hot, oiled grill pan, make sure the onions get nice and brown. In another pan, make (folded) quesadillas with soft corn tortillas and, preferably with adobera cheese...remember that the beef goes in the taco so don't use too much cheese.

To make your taco, slice the meat, put some in a quesadilla followed by some guacamole. If you want more kick, add some red or green salsa.

This recipe yields about 4 servings of 3 or 4 tacos per person. Enjoy!

So, What Exactly Is TAJIN?

Tajin is actually pronounced "taheen" but 'til this day, I'm still calling it Tagine -- like the Moroccan dish, sometimes also spelled Tajin. Why is this, you might wonder! After all, I'm a native Spanish speaker. Well, I have unresolved issues, I guess. Yes, I'm talking about a love affair with an amazing Chicken Tagine I once had. The details escape me...I can't recall if I had it at a Moroccan restaurant in Montmartre, Paris or at a Moroccan-influenced French restaurant in the East Village of New York. Anyway, I digress...back to Mexican Tajin!

Tajin is a seasoning or at least I treat it as such. The bottle says that it is powdered Mexican salsa. That makes it a seasoning to me and therefore I gave myself full culinary license to use it as such. So I started cooking up a storm with it - beef tacos, chicken soup, grilled fish, chili, salad dressings -- you name it! Tajin is my secret ingredient. My weapon to charm every Mexican cooking mama this side of the border.

So what's the big deal? Well, according to Mexican eating laws, Tajin is solely used as a seasoning for fresh fruit. They put it in all fruit: mangoes, watermelon, pinneaple and so on (see the promotional picture). Apparently, Tajin doesn't get used to cook savory dishes. From what I can taste, since I haven't bothered to read the label, the powder has dried tomatoes, salt, lime juice, and spicy chiles. Do you see my point?

Well, I ain't liking it with fruit although I was happy to oblige when it was suggested as the "salt in the rim" for a tamarind margarita. OK, bring THAT on! That's the closest my Tajin has gotten to fresh fruit.

So, when some Mexican foodies taste my tacos and ask what's in them. First, I say that it's a secret ingredient...then I promptly reveal my secret with a smirk. They look at me in disbelief, even shock, then let out a chuckle, even a laughter, and keep on eating. I'll take that as a compliment.

You should be able to find Tajin at any Mexican supermarket in your town. Come on, admit it, every American town probably has at least one Mexican grocery store by now. Right?

For history minded folks, you might be interested in knowing that El Tajin is a fascinating pre-columbian city in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. There's actually a resemblance between the pyramids at El Tajin and the shape of a Moroccan Tagine clay pot. Check it out -- use your imagination:

In looking for the promo picture, I found the Tajin website and in their recipes, they do suggest it for savory dishes...go figure. It turns out that their Barbecue Beef recipe is very similar to mine. Alright then! Check out their website:

http://www.tajin.com/english/recetario.html

Until the next time, be well!

It's Been Five Months...

Wow, some days it feels like I've been in Guadalajara all my life, other days it seems like I just got here. And some days I just want to get in my car and drive north...that only happens when it gets really, really hot here which so far was only for a week back in May. But, I'm still traumatized!

Life is quiet here. Very quiet but in a good way. I quite like it...I can hear myself think!

Guadalajara is a busy city. Busy in the sense that everyone works hard. So, in general everything around here is quiet, because everyone is going at it, quietly. Work comes first. Actually, work comes second to family duties and values. So far, what I've experienced is that people work hard but not because they can get rich, they actually make little money; they do it because they're glad to have a job and are able to provide for their families. There is great respect for having a job and for trying your best not to f*&^ up and lose it. The ethic is really admirable.

That makes me one luck guy, actually. Yes, I work, but only 18 hours a week, teaching English. The pay is very good for Mexican standards, OK for U.S. standards (if you're, say, in Mississippi or Arkansas), and laughable for New York standards. Yes, it's easier to think of NY a its own country. So, with my low wages and few work hours, I've managed to find a nicer balance in my life. I feel richer in having more free time!

So, what else do I do with rest of my time? Well, I spend a decent amount of time developing this idea for a business that I want to start here (more on that later). I also try to cook everyday. I love it. It's like a meditation for me. Chava is my tester and he's a hard one to please so that keeps me on my toes. Lately, one of my biggest joys is to be able to use herbs from my garden to create my recipes. Ah, the simple life!

I still go to the gym and I do my yoga pretty regularly at home (Chava is a convert now). We download some fantastic classes from the Internet thanks to a podcast I found called Yoga Today. Speaking of podcasts, I don't know how I lived without them. They're free audio and video programs on everything imaginable. I love the fact that I have time to listen to many of these and they help me not feel so far away from US life...I try to keep a pulsebeat on things that interest me, much of it from the US.

Wait, I still have time left to do a lot of other thinking. These days, the environment seems to be a concern of mine...Guadalajara gives you plenty to think about, frankly. I already know that the green movement is the "in" thing but I do feel that my current concerns are well inline with this evolution that has taken over my life for the last 3 years or so...I'll be sure to share some more thoughts on that.

Well, I think this is getting long for my first post. I plan to share many of my thoughts here and keep everyone updated on my life here in Mexico. I guess I feel that I have something to say so, stay tuned! Until next time, adios!!!