Eat zucchini fresh, breakfast tacos hot
- Melissa Herrera: Not Waiting for Friday
- September 10, 2023
- 1630
“I need more zucchini” is a sentence you rarely hear uttered. But I’m not the gardener, see, and I buy them one at a time to use daily for breakfast tacos. The tomatoes are still rich and bountiful right now, and fried up delicately in a little butter with some zucchini and jalapeño and stuffed into a charred tortilla is — muah — chef’s kiss.
I have a friend that messaged me the other week (after seeing my IG story) willing to barter for the breakfast tacos. I’m all about bartering. One Monday I drove uptown with hot breakfast tacos nestled in tinfoil and handed them over for some sweet baked goods. We were both content with the trade.
Today I’ll make a quick trip over to the farm market and pick up a few zucchini as well as some tomatoes. They have beautiful grape tomatoes in yellow and red that pop in your mouth like the sweetest grape. I’ve made myriad cucumber salads this summer with those babies, throw in some garbanzos, maybe some bow tie pasta, salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil. It stays good in the refrigerator for days to nosh on.
When my fave farm market started growing poblano peppers, I nearly screamed with joy. This meant several times a summer I get super fresh chiles rellenos, which is by far my favorite Mexican dish to eat. It’s not my favorite to make, however, because of how time-consuming it is.
I watched George’s mom make them when we lived there, and it took me a good 25 years to get them down pat: char, scrape, stuff, roll, dip, fry, cover in sauce. It takes a good 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. Needless to say, the end result is worth the sweat effort. Every bite is an explosion of flavor.
Did you know Mexican breakfast tacos don’t have cheese? If you’re eating a Texas breakfast taco, yes, but not one from south of the border. In this house there is no southern border, just the border — or sometimes Rio Grande. But that delineation is nearly invisible.
Northern Mexico has a completely different style than the states of Guerrero or Oaxaca. If you eat a breakfast taco (please don’t say burrito, which is a little donkey — though the burrito did originate in Ciudad Juárez and become a Tex-Mex staple) in Sonora, you’re probably getting cheese and a fried egg on top. If you’re in Oaxaca, you’ll get veggies, eggs and a salsa for topping. See also chorizo and papas (potatoes).
I don’t care what region I’m in, I’m going to eat. In Zipolite, Oaxaca they serve thin crisps of tostadas, lightly salted and so crunchy — baskets of them, like chips. I dream about them and the platters of salsa they serve them with: hot, mild and creamy yellow salsa. I’ve never had them anywhere but in the south of Mexico, sitting on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
But right now I’m in Ohio, and that means the growing season is short. Time to stuff our faces with what’s fresh. Our lawns are still lush and green, and my son sent a picture of his lawn lines to compare to mine. I don’t can or preserve because I don’t enjoy it. We don’t have to weather hard winters, and I can drive to the store if I need something. Besides, I only make fresh salsa!
Last Saturday we went up to Canton and went to a taco truck that’s been grilling fresh sweet corn. They put them on the grill with the husks on and, when done, peel them back, whip the husks into a braided handle, and lightly slather with mayo, Tajin, cotija cheese and lime. I dug into those rows of kernels like I’d never eaten corn before. I took my girlfriends there the week before, and they moaned and groaned eating the succulent elotes (corn) this way for the first time.
I know the season is almost over, but I have a bag of poblanos burning a hole in the bottom of my crisper. I’m going to keep enjoying them until the last leaf falls and the gardens are put to bed for the winter.
Melissa Herrera is a published author and opinion columnist. She is a curator of vintage mugs and all things spooky, and her book, “TOÑO LIVES,” can be found at www.tinyurl.com/Tonolives. For inquiries, to purchase her book or anything else on your mind, email her at junkbabe68@gmail.com or find her in the thrift aisles.