My Grandfather's Famous Black Bean And Cheese Enchiladas

“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

Thinking about the importance and significance of food respective to our health, ethnic culture and society can cause cavernous, profound, and even questionable thoughts such as: “Is food taken for granted?”, “Is specialty foods just a fad or a change in lifestyle?”, and even “Is food becoming the enemy.” Mark Bittman, an established food journalist, wrote an article called “Why take food seriously?” In this article, Bittman enlightens the reader with a brief history lesson of America’s appreciation of food over the past decades. This history lesson leads to where the social standing of food is today and how it is affecting not only the people of America, but also the rest of the world.

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.

Cooking tortillas at home is a common family tradition in Hispanic homes. Families pass down special recipes

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

Pollan first establishes his ethos by citing nutritionist Joan Gussow. This shows us that he has done his research in the field and provides his reflection to her speech; this makes him appear more as an equal peer talking to us about why food should be redefined. He continues to draw the reader in by bringing a pathos aspect; bringing up your great grandmother. Pollan explains, “We need to go back at least a couple of generations to a time before the advent of most modern foods” (107). He continues to encourage the reader to imagine grocery shopping with your great grandmother. Pollan brings an emotional aspect to making the reader reminisce about great grandmother’s cooking and possibly remorsefully reflect how grandma would complain about how unhealthy food is today. Then he tells us to avoid foods she would not recognize as a food that contains familiar ingredients, no extra additives

That is how I prepare a simple yet satisfying meal for my family that takes roughly 45 minutes to prepare. Cooking meals like this saves money compared to going to restaurants all the time. I spend 15 dollars to make this rather than 25 to feed my family at McDonalds. If you’re either the cooker or the eater you get satisfaction by seeing your family enjoy the meal you prepared or enjoying the meal your loved one prepared.

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).

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.

Why is a simple Mexican recipe extremely important? A food that is meaningless without my mom’s laughter, Uncles Miguel’s redundant childhood memories, and grandma’s joyful eyes. Tamales to me mean unity and new memories; no one from my family can argue otherwise.

I always love family gatherings and parties for the simple fact of what food dish everyone would bring. Some brought rice, others beans, and many other Mexican dishes. Although it was never a true family gathering without posole. All the moms would get together and help out making it, and it would always run out because everyone ate it. I never really gave much attention on how important the dish was to my culture until this assignment came along. I was trying to select a dish to write about. Mexico is very well known for its food ranging from tacos, beans and rice, chips and salsa, and so many more. Although, posole is the one that really represent our culture the most.

The name came from the verb empanar, which means to wrap or coat in bread. Empanadas first appeared commonly in a cookbook published in 1520 named Libre del Coch by Ruperto de Nola. These treats remained in the European country until the Portuguese invaded and colonized Brazil in the mid-sixteenth century and brought these treats along. Now, over ten thousand kilometers, or about seven thousand miles, empanadas find themselves popularized in Argentina.

The homemade empanadas at Sophies Restaurant are a must try! They are delicious, flaky, and can be purchased with fillings like chicken, beef, spinach and cheese, or guava and cheese. When trying one of the savory options, be sure to order the restaurant’s special green sauce. Other notable items to try at the venue are the stuffed potato, ham croquette, and yellow rice and beans. As always, every self-respecting Cuban restaurant needs a classic Cuban sandwich, and this

When I initially searched up images of the dish, I had thought the dish would be complicated to make and time consuming. During the actual process though, it was very simple to make because all the ingredients are combined into one large skillet. Other than the previous preparation of marinating the chicken with spices, the recipe was easy to make with simple steps of stirring, boiling, and simmering. The big open dish reminded me about the topic of convenience, as “it encompassed variables such as price, availability, and ease of preparation, which are all related to the requirements of energy, time, labor, and skill“ (Belasco 9). Along with this convenience, the dish is designed to bring people together, as everyone can easily share their servings from the large skillet. We simply had one big spoon in the skillet, and everyone eating would adjust their serving

Spain is famous for its huge dried mountain hams, jamon serrano, eaten raw, made from the lean meat of the wild Red Iberian pig. The consumption of ham is a contribution by the