Muy fresca, muy badass.

The middle of July finds us in the throes of fresh produce season

in the Ohio Valley. The farmers markets are busting with bounty and fruit and veggie stands seem to pop up at every bend in the road. It is the easiest and best time to "eat local" in these parts. This week my Mother in Law stopped at Ebbert’s, a wonderful farmstand in St.Clairsville, OH. Ebbert’s operates off and on throughout the year —with a copious spread of home-grown veggies in the summer, a pumpkin patch in the fall, Christmas trees in the winter, etc. They have only just opened with the first wave of summer crops, and the M in L stopped to get first crack at the new sweet corn, the market’s specialty. While there she also picked up a bunch of little yellow onions, some huge, gorgeous tomatoes, a smooth, compact little cabbage, some hot peppers and yes, some of the famous sweet corn. When I opened the bag, I immediately thought TACO NIGHT.

Taco night has long been a tradition at our house. We started making our own when we realized that around here, good vegetarian tacos are extremely hard to come by. Usually we make a bean and canned salsa plus seasoning packet concoction, wrapped in flour tortillas with lettuce, tomato, onion etc. With the addition of the fantastic fresh produce to my arsenal of ingredients, I decided to step up this week’s taco night with a salsa fresca, and in the spirit of creative cooking I went packet-less with my black bean taco filling. I held the cabbage in my hands, looked at it, thought on it a moment. Then I heard something. I leaned down and listened to the cabbage. It whispered "cuuuuuuut meeee uuuuuup…. puuuuuuut me in a fish taaaaacooooo… maaaaan. The cabbage was right. It was the only thing to do.

I had become hopelessly hooked * snort * on fish tacos during my brief stint as a resident alien in Southern California. I’d had Mexican food before living in San Diego, but not REALLY. And I’m not talking about fancy gourmet 25-dollar grilled tilapia tacos with radicchio and passion fruit reduction or some such lot. I mean fish tacos like actual Mexican people eat. Fried fish. Cabbage. Salsa. White sauce. Little Mom & Pop taco stands are EVERYWHERE in San Diego County, and I had the pleasure of visiting some of the very best, under the guidance of my buddies and co-workers at the moving company for which I was employed.

In Escondido, right down the street from my apartment (and incidentally only 2 blocks from Stone Brewing Co.) was the stand where I most often indulged in fish taco bliss. It was also where I was introduced to the shrimp taco. Shrimp tacos are just as popular in San Diego, and just as tasty. Maybe a little more so, as a handful of fried shrimp —being individually battered and cooked— has more fried and breaded surface area per volume than does a piece of fried fish.

I decided on shrimp for this meal because 1) they cook faster, and B) they are cheaper. So I was looking at 2 types of tacos, bean and shrimp, salsa fresca and some of those big white corn tortilla chips. Easy.

Preparing tacos is so ridiculously simple that I felt very confident in my ability to rock this meal. The new food processor makes it even easier. My biggest challenge this time was getting the seasoning just right in the bean filling, as too much of any of the traditional Mexican seasonings (I’m lookin’ at you, CUMIN) can be bad news.

Tacos are also a great way to eat fresh and local and cheap. In this simple meal, I was able to use local tomatoes, corn, onions, cabbage and peppers from the farmstand; lettuce, dill, oregano, chives and garlic from my own garden; only a few supermarket items like tortillas and black beans, and feed 3 people for under 15 bucks. Not too bad, eh?

So take a look around. In most small towns, ‘burbs, and big cities these days fresh, local produce can be had. Even if it’s not organic, chances are it’s fresher, healthier, tastier and required less energy dirt-to-table than food from the supermarket. Viva la vegetables, yo como fresca!

Salsa Fresca

3 large, ripe tomatoes

2 medium yellow onions

(sweeter varieties are nice with all of the acid and spice in the salsa)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 hot pepper, with seeds removed (whatever pepper you like, depending on your hotness threshold, I used a medium hot banana pepper)

1 lime, halved or quartered for juicing

4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped up a little bit so it will break up in the processor

Salt and black pepper to taste

This is the easiest thing ever to make. Cut up the big stuff into quarters, throw everything into the food processor but the limes. Pulse the processor a few times to start chopping stuff up, then squeeze the lime juice into the mix. Hit it again a few times, add spices, then pulse until everything is chopped up into small bits. I like to let it sit a little while. Refrigerate for a few hours to let it all mingle. It’ll be very wet, so scoop the salsa into another bowl with a slotted spoon so that it drains and doesn’t get too soggy. Done.

Shrimp Tacos

Quantities of all ingredients depend on how many people you intend to feed.

Frozen breaded popcorn shrimp, cook in the oven, follow the directions

1/4 head of cabbage, shredded

Shredded cheese (chihuahua if you can get it, I used mild cheddar this time)

Small corn tortillas

Stack each taco with shrimp, cheese, your fresh salsa and drizzle with the white sauce. Gorge.

Shrimp Taco White Sauce

1/2 Cup Mayo

1/2 Cup Fat Free Sour Cream

1 Lime, Cut in half

1/2 Tsp. Cumin

1/4 Tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

Appx a tablespoon of each of the following fresh herbs, chopped finely:

Oregano

Dill

Chives

Cilantro

Whip mayo and sour cream until blended, squeeze half of the lime, mix. Add lime juice until sauce gets to the consistency of creamy salad dressing: pourable, but not too runny. Add spices and herbs one at a time, mixing well after each.

Whip it up well and let it set up in the fridge. It was really tasty after sitting for 2 hours, but I tried some the morning after on my huevos rancheros, and it was so flavorful it nearly blew my face off.

　

Bean Tacos

Bean filling

1 can (15oz) of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup or so of salsa

1 ear of fresh sweet corn

A tablespoon or so of flour

2 cloves of finely chopped fresh garlic

A bunch of the following spices, added in a "pinch and taste" kind of method:

Cumin

Onion Powder

Salt

Black Pepper

Chili powder

Paprika

In a small pot, over low to medium heat, dump beans into the pot. Add the salsa, and if necessary a little water to get a good, soupy consistency. This will help it all cook together better. Cut corn from the cob and add. Add garlic. Mix together frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the spices, one by one, tasting as you go so as not to overdo any one of them. When it tastes good to you, add a little flour as you mix, to thicken it up. It won’t take much. Reduce heat to low and let simmer while you prepare other stuff. It’s ready now, but It will only help to simmer it a bit before go time. I like it to get really nice and thick, so I simmer for about 10 minutes while I set the table, usually.

Spoon the beany mix into a tortilla, then top with onions, salsa, cheese, lettuce and a little sour cream. Eat.

Many thanks to my lovely and talented photographer/wife/breadwinner/babymama for making this stuff look so beautiful and delicious.