National Taco Day

By Diane Forrest

It's 1:00 am and you have been up studying all night for that big test.  Your stomach lets you know that all that extra work requires some extra energy...fuel.  You think to yourself, its too late to cook something, and a sandwich just won't do.  So what do you do?  Make a run for the border!  I'm mentioning this because today is National Taco Day.

Tacos are one of your near perfect foods.  Not only do kids love the, and they are inexpensive and easy to make, they also contain all the major food groups.  With one taco you can get meat, dairy, fruit, vegetable and grain.

There are so many ways to make a taco too.  For example they have hard or soft shells, and you can get beef, chicken and even a fish taco.  My husband and I had strange sleeping habits.  Since he was bedridden, he slept a lot, while I hardly slept at all.  He had to be turned every 2 hours to prevent bedsores.  Occasionally during the turning times he would be hungry and ask me to run to the border.  He was a fan of the soft shell chicken taco, while I like the crunch beef taco.   My son, who recently graduated from college, made many trips to taco bell for that "4th meal". 

Cat Fish Taco's

Of course late nights aren't the only time to eat tacos.  They are great at any meal.  In fact they are perfect for a group of friends.  All you need is some bowls with the taco fixins, brown some ground beef and heat up the shells, and you have a party!   I was talking to my cousin from Texas last week.  It was my aunt's (his mother's) birthday, so he took her to lunch.  When I asked him what he had, he told me fish taco.  Well I have to say I had trouble picturing a catfish sticking out of a taco shell, but I'm sure they must fix a different way.  He told me they are very good, so I will have to try one when I get out to San Antonio.

In a sadder note, Mr. Arch West, creator of the famed Dorito's chips passed away at the age of 97 on September 20, 2011.  The original flavor was Taco.  On Saturday, October 1, his family sprinkled his urn with the taco chips following his ceremony.  Frito lay reintroduced the Taco flavored chips last year.

Let's all celebrate taco's today, and either scramble up your own beef or chicken, or make a run for the border and have a fiesta!

Did you know that the first documented consumption of a taco occurred in 1520 by Spanish soldiers Bernal Diaz del Castillo and Hernando Cortez while visiting the New World of the Aztecs in Mexico? The soldiers loved the Mexican tacos so much that they wrote to King Charles V of Spain about them. (Akindman)