Taco Salad

Through a misinterpretation of my poor spanish speaking skills, my mom thought that I wanted to cook supper for the family.
What I had tried to ask was to help Rosa cook the food and learn the Ecuadorian Way of spices, food, and whatnot, but what ended up happening was me agreeing to making a //American dish// called taco salad for my family katie´s family since we eat Sunday supper together. I had really been missing fresh vegetables, and taco salad seemed like a simple first attempt at cooking abroad, so I was excited.
My mom had almost everything I needed for this feast of feasts. All that was left to buy was the taco seasoning, doritos (my family crushes them up for our taco salad), and then perhaps some salsa and chips.
I entered SuperMaxi (Ecuador´s equivalent of a superWalmart) with high hopes, but after looking down the aisles, could not find a single taco seasoning packet. Discouraged, I tried to think what my Dad(USA), the spice king, would put into the meat. I actually even attempted to call home through skype to get his spice recipe, but alas... no one picked up. (I was later informed that they were at the lake enjoying themselves, yay!)
So I went back to SuperMaxi and found something called Salsa Jaliso that had a picture of tacos on the front. I asked an employee if it was good to make tacos and he said yes. So I grabbed it. I also found some salsa and figured that could work with the salad and the tortilla chips (which were limited but I did find some). Paying for expensive imported salsa was tough knowing my family back home will have jars and jars of homemade salsa very soon... BUT I did it and went back home ready to try my best.
Now one thing you must know, my Mom here--- she´s very in charge all the time. She helps Rosita and Aurora with all the meal preparations and she just likes to run the show. So when I entered the kitchen she of course wanted to know what to do and then Rosa helped and soon, all I was really doing was just saying what needed to be done. I cooked up the hamburger and tasted the //salsa jalisco//, but it was spicy... and I knew that my Mom did NOT like spicy food. So I had her try it and sure enough... she started yelping and made the cutest disgusted face ever. !!
I decided the best thing to do would just be to have the regular salsa and this other hot sauce thing out on the table and people could just put in what they wanted. Sounds good right??
Well, my mom couldn´t really comprehend that we were just going to have hamburger with a little onion cooked in set out on the table without some sort of sauce on it. So she starts whipping out all the //salsas// she has. First she brings me some Chinese soy sauce type stuff... then it was another Salsa americana= Teriyaki Sauce = no thanks... Then she whips out //salsa de tomate//= ketchup... and finally a different salsa de tomate = barbeque. So after trying my hardest to politely turn down each of her salsas and explain that it wouldn´t be mexicano o the flavors I was looking for she eventually was ok with this strange idea.
Next, we took all of the salad toppings (carrots, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, beans,crushed up doritos, and salsa) and put them in serving bowls/plates and set them on the table. Now you have to understand, in Ecuador, you don´t eat family style. Your plate comes to you with the food already on it.. there´s no serving or deciding at the table, so all this was new, and the table was absolutely FULL of colorful dishes. My mom was so impressed with //que atractivo// the table was.
I also decided last minute to make nachos, so I put those on two plates and got them ready for the microwave. It was so cute, my mom was so excited for everything that was going to happen. Rosa, God bless her, was just amused at my inability to cook and the fact that mom was letting me cause chaos in HER kitchen. And Aurorita, didn´t even show up to help until right before we sat down to eat.
So eventually my mom, dad, Katie, and her mom all sat down to this big table full of options. Dad was overwhelmed and didn´t know what to do, so of course mom served up his plate. Katie and I, comfortable with everything that was going on, were really happy to have lettuce and fresh veggies for the first time! At first, Dad didn´t know where his fork was so he was eating his entire salad with a spoon and knife. so funny.
In the end I found out that Mom and Dad both don´t really like fresh vegetables... what a bummer. They ate a lot of everything, minus their lettuce. It was hillarious. But everyone was pretty happy (at least they told me they were) I was happy and I got my taco salad, so all was well. I guess my first attempt at cooking for my family was a success, although there was such a fiasco for so simple a meal. This cross-cultural clash made me smile inside.
For my next cooking adventure... I want to challenge myself to make homemade pizza. I´m worried about the yeast and the change in altitude, but hopefully my family will be just as happy as they were this time. I also saw Karo syrup in Supermaxi, so this means I can make scotcheroos here too! YAY!
After supper, I was talking with Mom and Rosa and finally got my original request across about learning/helping cook with Rosa. I think we´re going to cook together this week. Oh, the adventures in Ecuador!


And with that, I end my (terribly long) story of the TACO SALAD!!

hasta luego,