Texas Tacos -- Cooking Every Dialect, One Experiment at a Time

Fall. The rhythm of the academic year returns: Aiden in second grade, Zaria in pre-K, me at the plant, the kitchen running every evening. The routine is the dream in miniature — every dinner is a menu test, every morning is a prep session, every Sunday at Mama's is a continuing education class. The life and the dream are merging, and the merge point is the kitchen. I have been cooking a new dish every week, expanding beyond the soul food core into flavors that interest me: Thai curry, Mexican carnitas, Ethiopian injera and doro wat (from a cookbook I borrowed from the library). The experiments are not for Carter's Kitchen — the restaurant will be soul food, pure and deep. The experiments are for me, for the education, for the understanding that cooking is a language with many dialects and fluency in one makes you better in all of them. The savings account continues to grow. Jerome and I meet every Wednesday. The plan is taking shape: target lease by 2035, open by late 2035. Three years away. Three years of saving, planning, building the fund through catering and rub sales and the relentless, daily practice of cooking food that makes people close their eyes. Sunday dinner was Mama's gumbo. I ate three bowls. The gumbo is home. The kitchen is home. The dream is home. All of it, home.

Mama’s gumbo had me full in body and soul Sunday night, but by Wednesday I was back at the stove with something new—because that’s the practice, that’s the education. The week I borrowed that cookbook and worked through doro wat, I understood something: every cuisine has its own logic, its own grammar. These Texas Tacos were my weekly experiment, a nod to the Mexican carnitas I’ve been chasing and a reminder that fluency in one dialect makes you sharper in all of them. Aiden and Zaria cleared their plates, and that’s always the truest review.

Texas Tacos

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
• 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 small flour or corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until no pink remains, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2. Season the meat. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the browned beef, add 1/2 cup water, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the mixture is saucy, about 4–5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Warm the tortillas. Heat a dry skillet or griddle over medium heat. Warm each tortilla for 30 seconds per side until pliable and lightly charred at the edges. Stack and cover with a clean towel to keep warm.
4. Build the tacos. Lay a warm tortilla flat. Spoon a generous portion of seasoned beef down the center. Top with shredded cheddar, lettuce, diced tomato, and jalapeños.
5. Finish and serve. Add a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of salsa to each taco. Serve immediately while the beef is hot and the tortillas are still warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 510 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 27g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 870mg