Taco Seasoning for Dummies

For the purposes of this blog it’s not necessary for me to ponder the origins of the taco and all of the taco's accessories (not to be confused with literal taco accessories) because in the book Taco USA  the writer Gustavo Arellano does that in a chapter called: “How Did the Taco Become Popular Before Mexicans Flooded the United States.”

However, I will ponder taco seasoning. Let’s start with the oversized bottle sold at a club store.

I made this seasoning. It took two minutes.

When you aren’t feeding a family or throwing a party the club store’s oversized offerings can seem just a tad ridiculous. Sure, that giant bottle of taco seasoning isn’t going to rot on your kitchen shelf but how many tacos do you plan to eat? Do you plan to eat tacos everyday for the rest of your life? Are you going to feed every guest in your home a taco? Does your dog eat tacos?

These were the questions I asked a friend as he contemplated purchasing enough seasoning to last several lifetimes. He agreed it was unnecessary, besides a person can just buy packets of taco seasoning, right?

Wrong.

"Yes, But What Are You?"

Ethnicities are in aisle four next to the socks.

“Are you from Lebanon?”

The old man and his wife, behind me in line at the dollar store, asked me this question with no provocation.

He hadn’t heard my Arabic first name or my vaguely Mexican last name, a combination that normally causes the listener to tilt their head, squint, and ponder my ethnic background.

He hadn’t caught a view of my license.

I was in leggings and a track jacket on my way to yoga so there was nothing in my dress to indicate I wasn’t just a...woman in clothes on her way to somewhere.

I cheerfully replied, “Oh no! I’m from here! I’m American: born and raised!”

Then it happened. The thing that always happens when I say, “I’m American!” (or Mexican-American depending on how into this I want to get) - he didn’t believe me.