Simple Mexican Recipe

“Taco USA: How Mexican Food Became More American Than Apple Pie” was written in 2012 by Gustavo Arellano, a prolific food author for the Orange County newspaper OC Weekly. This article originally appeared as an online publication in Reason Magazine. Arellano has written books about Mexican food and its role in the American experience. His writings explain how this genre of cuisine has evolved and transformed as it has spread geographically throughout the United States. Growing up in Orange County California with two Hispanic parents, Arellano experienced firsthand the transformation of traditional Mexican dishes into the tex-mex that most American families are familiar with today. The online news site, Reason Magazine, originally published this article to accommodate to an audience of readers who want to be informed but also entertained by the news. These readers care about what is happening in society but are not considered scholars on the topics presented. Although the readers of Reason Magazine might not have any formal knowledge about food and its role in culture, all of them have experienced the importance of a meal in their everyday lives. The author uses the experience and background of his audience to show them the importance and prevalence of Mexican food in the American culture. In “Taco USA” Arellano uses personal stories, ethnic language, and historical information to show his

Jeffrey M. Pilcher is a food writer, professor of History at the University of Minnesota, and author of several award-winning works. In his book !Que vivan los tamales! Food and the Making of Mexican Identity (1998), Pilcher explains that every society creates for themselves a cuisine, a set of foods that the people

Although their tastes differ when it comes to types of chiles, the grandmother and the speaker share a love for the traditional Mexican-American garnish. They also respect each other, simply based on their actions. Here we have two individuals, from different generations, that bond over the age-old tradition of food and love.

The aroma of my mother’s Mexican heritage always has permeated my childhood. From day one, her authentic cooking has been a tradition in the house. As the many scents of tamales and tacos drift, there is one specific food that makes even my mother reminisce. Learning how to make them from her mother, tortillas are a staple food, since they are so versatile. I remember as soon as I could peak my small head over the kitchen counter, my mother began teaching me the art of sculpturing a round tortilla.

When most people hear the word “Mexican”, a person instantly thinks of food. This is because Mexicans have been known through out America as a culture to have a variety of some of the best dishes. Hispanics males take pride in working, just as the females take pride in cooking. The women don’t do it just for the heck of it, they make a form of art and also competition. Every Mexican family has a person who competes with another, to see who can make the best dish. Mexicans have different dishes from soups to rice. The one soup you will here in the Mexican generation is pozole. This is a soup that consists of pork, hominy, and spicy herbs. This recipe has been in my family for a more then a decade, and now I share it with you. In

Tamales have the power of merging family. Christmas eve in Mexico means interacting and bonding with the whole family. When the holiday season begins and everybody gathers at Grandmother’s house you can trace the smell of tamales getting cook in the kitchen mixed with the smell of cinnamon. The Christmas tree is bursting with presents and on the side the nativity scene which is always present in a Catholic Mexican family. The table is brimming in flavors, with a variety of dessert and snacks and delicious hot drinks. As appetizing as the table looks the whole family is barely touching the food because the tamales are almost ready and everybody wants to eat as many tamales as possible. When the tamales are ready it means that Christmas Eve celebration is staring. Everyone from the oldest in the house to the youngest gets a plate and eats as many tamales as possible while sharing stories and laughs. The tamales are the main guest of the celebration. The tamales are a traditional Mexican food that can be traced to the Aztecs. The word tamale comes from the Aztec word tamalii which means wrapped food. The Aztec women would cook the tamales for the soldiers because they were easy to carry and eat. Today making tamales is a bonding event for all the women in the family,

Within the first few paragraphs of this section Arellano not only describes the setting of his work he also jumps right into the main topic that he will be discussing, Mexican food. Arellano coming from Hispanic heritage himself grew up eating and loving Mexican food. So when he traveled to South Dakota in the middle of the United States, he was greatly surprised to find out that google maps found four Mexican restaurants in one city. But he was even more surprised to find how many locals enjoyed these restaurants and how Americanized the food was. He described his astonishment when he tried his first Potato Oles from fast food giant Taco Johns. They were “Stuffed into a breakfast burrito, nacho cheese sauce slowing oozing out from the bottom of the flour tortilla. There is nothing remotely Mexican about Potato Oles-not even the quasi-Spanish name.” And it's with this creative and insightful description that we learn that the author really knows his stuff when it comes to true Mexican cuisine.

Here in California, there are several Mexican supermarkets that offer almost all of the basic and essential products in making or preparing the dishes common for this culture. This is an advantage for Mexicans that reside here in California. The interviewees also mentioned that in other states, Mexican food products are scarce making it difficult for some of them to prepare the meals that they are used to eating.

Hispanic Americans have a strong tie to their culture and display it in their cuisine. Rice and beans are staples to la familia, together they provide a complete protein, and are inexpensive. Spicy peppers and hot sauce provide antibacterial and digestive health qualities that were imperative to provide healthy meals in Mexico because the water supply isn’t guaranteed to be safe for drinking. Historically, many tomato products were introduced to the United States by Mexico, including burritos, tacos, other Mexican cuisine and even ketchup (Sowell, 1981).

I have never tried to make it, but my mom has tried to make it, but it’s not the same from my grandma’s champurrado. Drinking champurrado with my whole family always reminds me where I am from and who I am. But more importantly, it is because Spanish is all we speak when the family comes together and it connects us all together with our native language. One day, I do want to learn how to make it so when my grandma and mother are not here, I can make it for my friends and future family in the years to come. So. They can also feel the same feelings I have when I drinking champurrado with my

At 9:00 pm on July 10, I took my first steps in the country that would change my life forever. As my sister, grandma, and I stepped outside the airport into the hot, humid, and dark place, talking with my (simply put) cousins, Chicho and Mirza, I realized I was in the country my grandma and her family had grown up in; Panama. I met my grandma’s aunt, Luz, who made food I never tried before such as, yuca frita, plátanos, chicha de arroz con piña, arroz con gandules, arroz blanco, and chicken. There are different types of food Panama, including many I have never heard of. I learned words in Spanish I had never heard before, differences and similarities between the United States and Panama, and they way people live. Panama City is much cleaner

One of the families assessed for this assignment was a first generation Mexican American family originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The family consists of a young couple and two young children. Religiosity plays a big part in the lifestyle of this Mexican American family and this was evident in the rosaries worn by the couple. The couple regularly attends a local Roman Catholic Church for spiritual renewal and to pray for good health. Like other Catholics, they believe sickness is a sign of spiritual weakness and whenever individuals are sick members of the family pray for them (O’Brien, 2011). The family strongly prefers to prepare its own food, and its favorite dishes are traditional Latin American cuisines such as Chile, tamales and tortillas. Latin American cuisines are high in calories, high in salt, cooked in grease or deep fried, and contain lots of flour. When the family cannot cook they usually eat out, mostly in Mexican restaurants. Mexican Americans have a strong attachment to their families so they talk to their parents and siblings on an almost daily basis. Members of the family interviewed also communicate with their cousins, uncles, and aunts back in Mexico through online social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Communication between the couple and with other family members is almost always in Spanish.

Most importantly, this dish is a symbol of identity that connects my Colombian family with my Venezuelan nationality. Coming from a

Before the show begins, everyone was sitting around waiting on someone ti give us permission to eat the snack that was prepared for this event. Once one person got up, so did everyone else. The snack that was prepared for us were Mexican food. The Mexican food that was provided for us was avocado, cheese, and much more. I didn't enjoy the food because I'm not a big fan of Mexican food. I did enjoy the lemonade and cheese. After everyone was done eating there, the show begin. At the beginning of the show, there was a speaker named Ricky. Ricky was the coach of this dance. He taught this dance team everything he knew. First, he started off by telling us where we were from, places he has been, and much more. He also talked about his dance team

I believe that the local Milpa Alta people take their traditions and culture to heart. Because of the local’s devotion to this yearly feast, all the dedication and hard work put into it gives them the joy and spirit of faith. I believe the importance of this is that the people believe that through cooking and eating this meal, the sole faith of God comes upon them and gives them love, happiness, and strength to continue on. No matter the state they are in, this “miracle meal” bonds the region together and gives it life. As Josefina García Jimenez said, “In my experience there is a glue, a bonding, that comes from the time together at the table.”