Cinco de Mayo

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Even though I've heard that it's a day not celebrated in all parts of Mexico, here in the US it is also a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

In our family, no one even has a stitch of Hispanic heritage in their bloodline, but–always looking for inspiration for what to cook for dinner–Cinco de Mayo translated in my head into tacos, salsa, and guacamole. So we cooked some Mexican food for dinner tonight.

I have to admit up-front: Mexican food is not my favorite. I will eat it in a pinch, but when hungry, Mexican is not what comes to mind. Mostly because I didn't grow up with it, and, no matter where I've eaten it, Mexican food has usually struck me as an over-sized plate filled with overly cooked and mashed foods, doused with enchilada sauce and melted cheese. A picture of yellow, brown and red–not exactly pretty.

However, when we make tacos at home, I absolutely love them. I also love all the accompanying dishes, such as salsa and guacamole. So, for the record, I'm going to share our favorite (MY favorite) Mexican dishes with our favorite trimmings. I have absolutely no idea how authentic our recipes are, but suffice it to say that I love 'em, and they look beautiful because they're vibrant and colorful and not covered under a layer of melted cheese.

Tonight we made shrimp tacos with mango salsa and guacamole. It was a terrific meal with fabulous flavor. It took a while to prepare because washing all the veggies and chopping them up takes time. But the result was well worth the effort. Here are the recipes:

Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 lb. shrimp, preferably uncooked

butter

fresh garlic, minced

cayenne

cumin

lemon pepper

salt

soft shell tacos

Preparation:

Sauté shrimp in butter with garlic. Sprinkle with a little cayenne pepper, cumin, lemon pepper and salt. Shrimp are done when opaque. Serve with warmed soft taco shells.

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

1 mango, diced

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

juice of 1/2 lime (about 1+ Tbsp.)

a couple of dashes red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let stand, in the refrigerator, for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Guacamole Calabas

(This recipe is from Marilyn Diamond's The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 green onions, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed

1 large tomato, minced

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup minced cilantro

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili

Cayenne to taste

4 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded, and mashed (approximately 2 cups)

Salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Chop all vegetables by hand or use a food processor, to process ingredients in the order given, using the steel blade. Yields 3-4 cups.

Tip: We like our guacamole a little chunky, so I usually mash the ingredients with a fork or a potato masher. If completing the guacamole in the food processor, use the pulse setting only and scrape the bowl frequently, otherwise it's easy to over-process.

To serve, we layer a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese, shrimp, guacamole and salsa and top the taco with chopped fresh cilantro and a drizzle of salad dressing (optional). Enjoy! This is really good stuff.