Defense of Dr. Jill Biden’s Breakfast Taco Simile.

Defense of Dr. Jill Biden’s Breakfast Taco Simile,
by J.D. Meyer

Earlier this July, Dr. Jill Biden attended the Unidos US Annual Conference, but the First Lady got criticized for stating that the Hispanic community is "as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio." The previous week, President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Raul Izaguirre, a past director of the program. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) asserted that we are not tacos. Actually, by using the words "as" or "like," makes the statement a comparison between two things--a simile. Who remembers that old rock love song, "You are like a hurricane. There's calm in your eyes"? A metaphor is a direct comparison between things that doesn't use "as" or "like." "Her smile is sunshine" was the metaphor example used by www.dictionary.com my source for these two definitions. Being like something isn't the same as asserting something is something else, so the critique is glaringly wrong.
 
My initial reaction to the controversy were my memories of soft tacos at taquerias--the traditional Mexican taco. As a kid growing up in Dallas, we just had corn tacos with the hard shell. Ground beef was the filling, not the variety of stew meats. Cabbage and cilantro were unheard of as vegetable toppings. Furthermore, breakfast tacos that included eggs hadn't made it to North Texas yet. La Michoacana is the major taqueria in Texas, and I've gone to this restaurant/grocery store in Dallas, Garland, and my current home for 21 years: Tyler. 

So I asked myself, did Dr. Jill grow up in a city with many Hispanics? I bet she's from "way up north." So I went to the Britannica website for her biography. Dr. Jill grew up in Willow Grove, PA from age 8 through high school in 1969. Willow Grove is a suburb of Philadelphia with a population of only about 16,000 in 1990, and it's been shrinking since then. Its White population has stayed over 80% while its Hispanic population is under 5%. She got her Bachelors degree in 1975 at the University of Delaware, which is in Wilmington--a city of just over 30,000 that is nearly 90% White and 2.5% Hispanic. After earning two Masters degrees in Pennsylvania, she returned to the University of Delaware in 2007. She has taught high school--public and private--as well as community college. Dr. Biden's dissertation was on retention in the community college.
 
To conclude, Dr. Jill Biden is a life-long teacher who merely used a simile to express her joy over discovering the diversity of soft breakfast tacos in San Antonio. Assuming she's a racist is ridiculous. She's the first First Lady to keep her job while serving as the First Lady. My suggestion for her is to hook up with "AOC" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat congresswoman from New York who used to work at a taqueria. Keep searching the taquerias menus!

Mex-Pac Dishes

I’m a fan of Mexican and East Asian cuisine; in fact, I try to merge the two regions at times. I have resolved in 2022 to develop Mex-Pac Cuisine! “Pac” is short for the Pacific Ocean. I grew up enamored with Tex-Mex cooking. Then I became a fan of taquerias, a more traditional style of Mexican cuisine that is more likely to have soft tacos and more diverse meats than Tex-Mex.

My first Mex-Pac dish was pork chorizo and firm tofu. Pork chorizo has substantially less fat than beef chorizo. Furthermore, the firm tofu stretches out the strong-spiced meat. Of course, I add minced garlic and chopped onions to everything. Mexican Kim Chee was inspired by Kim Chee of Korea; it starts with Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles with Sauerkraut. Then I add chopped onion, minced garlic, cactus slices (nopalitos), and Sriracha hot sauce. Finally, ramen noodles, a Japanese invention, provide a great base for many meat and vegetables. More details later!

Cactus (Nopalitos): Why Fresh is Better than Pickled, by J.D. Meyer

I’ve been a major fan of sliced cactus (nopalitos) for many years.
I’d compare the flavor and texture to a cross between a bell pepper or
poblano pepper and okra. Admittedly, I’ve never bothered to buy the
whole pad from the vegetable section of the grocery store and carve
the quills out of them in my kitchen. However, usually I get the pickled
variety in a jar, and I save the jars for leftovers. Fresh bags of sliced
nopalitos in the vegetable section are confined to Mexican grocery
stores—such as La Michoacana. Cactus (Nopalitos) seems to find its
way to restaurants/taquerias either with beef fajitas or scrambled eggs
in a breakfast taco.

Finally, I read the nutritional information from two empty bags of
fresh nopalitos, and two jars from pickled nopalitos. The nutritional
data is staggering. Vinegar and salt deplete nutrients!
Let’s start by looking at that fresh bag of sliced cactus by Latin
Specialties. One cup contains the following: Calcium—39%,
Potassium—17%, Vitamin A—22%, Vitamin C—36%, Dietary
Fiber—20%, Iron–8%, Sodium—2%, Protein—6%, Carbohydrate—3% &
Fat—0%. The statistics for Ortega’s Nopalitos are virtually the same,
except the Potassium amount is unknown.

On the other hand, let’s look at the convenient pickled cactus in a
jar. Two tablespoons of Dona Maria Nopalitos has no Calcium, no
Potassium, Vitamin A—2%, no Vitamin C, no Dietary Fiber, no Iron,
Sodium—23%, No Protein, Carbohydrate nor Fat. Meanwhile, a half
cup of El Mexicano Nopalitos has the following: Calcium—5%, no
Potassium, no Vitamin A, no Vitamin C, no Dietary Fiber, Iron—6%,
Sodium—21%, Protein—2%, Carbohydrate—1% & Fat—0%.