I can still remember Carl's first day of school after moving to CT from Texas. That day I not only made a new friend I inherited a new family and love of homemade Mexican and Tex Mex food. Carl's parents embraced me as one of their own and while this blog is about food I was nourished both mentally and physically during my teenage years at their house. To this day I still keep in contact with my surrogate family despite all of us being in different states. Tonight while wandering around in the produce section of the store I found myself recalling the times spent in Mom Howard's kitchen talking about life while she prepared homemade pico de gallo with a roast slow cooking on the stove in preparation of being shredded by hand for taco meat. The food was always the perfect accompaniment to the conversation that seemed to flow around the family dinner table. These thoughts were disrupted by some stranger bumping me back into reality with their shopping cart but I knew that I wanted to make something that would bring my taste buds back to my youth.
I started by making my homemade pico - fresh diced tomatoes, jalapenos, poblanos, cilantro, garlic, sweet onion, fresh lime juice with a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Next I mashed up some avocados, added a little of the pico and a squeeze of fresh lemon to make this beautiful bowl of guacamole.
It was too late to try and slow cook a deserving piece of meat so I used ground turkey and seasoned it up the best I could.
I decided with the additional ingredients we had that I would make some nachos that could qualify as a meal!
I started with a layer of tortilla strips and from there I carefully heaped on the remaining ingredients to end up with this!
After a short visit to the oven I was ready for my taste buds to travel back in time to my youth!
While this couldn't even compare to the food Mom Howard prepared for me on so many occasions I think she would have been proud of my attempt and after texting her a picture of my creations she concurred making my night that much better!
Thank you Mom Howard for introducing me to your homemade cooking, for the great conversations and guidance over the years and for always accepting me as your other son!
