cinco de mayo 2016. — quinn's place

holaaaaa mis amigos!

its cinco de mayo. i just love this day mucho.

i know its become a crazy americanized holiday these days, but i just like to think of it as a celebration of how wonderful mexican food is. haha. gooooooo mehicoooo.

i felt the need to do something else fun for my cinco de mayo spread again since i went a bit kooky for it last year, too.

i made homemade tortillas, chimichurri (not very mexican, but oh so good on tacos), mango grapefruit salsa, various taco combinations, black bean & white cheddar taquitos, guacamole, and grilled corn with white cheez, cilantro, lime & cayenne. OLÉ!!

the black bean and sharp white chedda taquitos are just simple little things that i don't feel require their own blog post... here's how i made them:

first ya take the homemade tortilla. ya stick the smashed black beans on the tort. THEN, ya sprinkle the cheese.

pro tip: use some smashed beans on the very edge as a sort of glue to hold the tortilla in rolled up position. slowly place each taquito in 1/2 inch of medium-high heated vegetable oil in a skillet. let brown, and flip once to fry and brown the other side. remove and let drain on paper towel covered cooling rack.

THEN you scarf. aah the sandlot. how i love thee and all your nostalgia. and s'mores. summer is coming!!!!!!!!

ps. i had my first s'more of the year this week. thats how you really know summer is nigh. also have you ever made a s'more with the chocolate graham crackers?? scrumptious!

i filled the inside with just beans and cheese because i prefer toppings (like salsa, greek yogurt or sour cream, guac, etc.) to be cold on top. btw, we exclusively use plain greek yogurt as our sour cream agent anymore. i like the thick texture and tart creamyness. and plain greek yog is much more versatile to have around anyway.

i brought my mango grapefruit salsa to our cinco de mayo potluck at work today. here's some feedback that i got:

"this would be good on a pork chop!"

"your salsa is amazing!"

"this salsa is just the perfect refreshing summer salsa. and not too spicy!"

why thanks, people! i would agree with pete on the bitterness of the grapefruit now that i've eaten it on two separate occasions. be sure to get a nice ripe SWEET pink grapefruit for it.

grilled corn is a great thing to have around for tacos, in salads, with everyyyyythinggg during the summer :) we grill up a bunch of ears, cut it off the cob and store in the fridge to have on hand for all the eats.

normally i shy far far from taking any food photos in bright uneven sunlight like so ^^^ but for cinco i make exception! the sun is shining and the guac is flowing!

lalalala la bambaaa. livin la vida locaaaaaa. adios!