Celebrating the Real California

Welcome to the 22nd day of February. On the National Calendar, today is both California Day and Margarita Day. That’s a good thing, since in my book California should be celebrated with Mexican Flair, and what goes better with a Taco than a Margarita?

A little while back, I recorded a series that was airing on the History Channel. The series originally aired in 2018. It was about Frontiersman. The last two-hour installment dealt with the battles fought in California to win the lands and form America from sea to shining sea. Hubby was a little shocked. He knew about the Alamo, and the civil war but he really didn’t imagine the type of battles that were fought up and down the California coast. He grew up in Wisconsin. There wasn’t an emphasis on California History. I knew the stories. The names were familiar, having grown up in California. Lieutenant Colonel John C. Fremont, General Stephen Watts Kearney, Commodore Robert Stockton and Frontiersman Kit Carson. The California Campaign was fought from 1846 to 1847. No one knew at the time that in 1848 gold would be discovered a day’s ride from Sutter’s Fort, triggering the great Gold Rush of 1849. Just think how different the world would be today, had Mexico not lost California.

I often wonder what the world be like, had things gone differently at key points in time. What if the Germans had managed to hold on to their scientists, and developed the atomic bomb? What if Bobby Kennedy had not walked through the kitchen that night in June 1968 to avoid the crowds? What would the world be like? Better? Worse? All it takes is one link in the chain to be broken, and history as we know it would be very different.

I love California. It’s my home. I love the land, and the beauty throughout this great state. I don’t like the dominating politics. There are two Californias – the liberal one that controls the major metropolitan areas, more heavily populated and thereby controlling the politics. And then there are the small towns, the farming and ranching communities. The California that puts God, family and duty to country above all else. That’s the California on my childhood. It’s also the silent California, with no voice beyond local politics. We are not represented on state or nation level. Just as the folks of the Midwest outside of big cities are forgotten.

Today is supposed to be about honoring California. There’s a lot of good things still here. You just need to get away from the noise of the cities, and the hippie-dippy sprout-eating coastal communes to appreciate the true backbone of California. This is the California I call home.

Oh, and by the way, the photo with the horses tied up in a parking lot. That’s a restaurant just up the road from me, Cahoots. Best darn breakfast and lunch in the area, with real friendly folks.

---

Considering the history of California, making Tacos and serving up Margaritas to honor both the State and the Drink seemed the logical thing. I love making little street tacos. And Mexican Rice. And serving up Margaritas. Don’t you?

Fried Street Tacos
2 firm Roma Tomatoes
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 cup Lettuce
1 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb Chorizo
1 (16 oz) can Refried Beans
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons New Mexican Red Chili Powder
1/4 cup Taco Sauce
24 Street Size Corn Tortillas
Cooking spray as needed
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Nacho Cheese Sauce
1 cup Sour Cream
Parmesan Cheese (green can) for dusting

Heat oven to 300-degrees. Place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet, hold in the oven.

Seed and dice tomatoes. Finely mince the onion. Shred lettuce. Set aside until ready to use.

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, slowly brown the ground meats together. Break meat apart into tiny pieces as it cooks. When the meat is browned, drain off excess grease. Return mixture to the skillet. Add the refried beans. Use a rubber ricer or the back of a wooden spoon to smash any whole beans in the refried beans. The mixture should be as smooth as possible. Add Red Chili and stir to blend.

Add the taco sauce a little at a time until the mixture is moist and almost paste-like. Remove skillet from heat.

Spray a flat bottom skillet or tortilla pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-low heat. Warm tortillas until soft and pliable. Stack warmed tortillas on a plate until ready to fill.

Divide the meat mixture between the tortillas. Spread the filling from the center point outward to cover half of the tortilla. Spread the Nacho Cheese on the remaining half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over, press so that the meat filling and cheese spread act as an adhesive to hold the shape of the taco.

In a flat-bottom skillet, heat about 1 -inch of oil. Test the heat of the oil by dropping a small piece of a tortilla into the oil. It should bubble up immediately when dropped into the oil. Carefully lay tacos into the hot oil, working in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan. Fry for about a minute or two, then turn with a spatula and continue to fry another minute or two.

Blot excess grease from the fired shells. Place on the prepared rack and hold in the oven to keep warm while frying the remaining tacos.

When ready to serve, gently open the shells, add sour cream, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and onions as desired. Serve alongside rice and enjoy with a margarita.

---

Farmhouse Ro-Tel Mexican Rice
2 cups Water
1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel Tomatoes
1 box Farmhouse Mexican Rice
Pinch Salt

Fill a sauce pan with water. Add Ro-Tel and seasoning mix from the rice package. Whisk to blend. Add rice and a pinch of salt.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes off-heat. Fluff rice with a fork just before serving.

---

Lord, on the day I called for help, You answered me.