Organic Taco Seasoning: Fear or Fun

On the menu tonight, tacos.

It’s funny, when you have 4 organic kids there’s very little organic about your life. 2 plus hours of carpool today, a track meet, homework, dog, it’s all quite programed really. “Honey”, the organic wife says, “I’ll stay and pick up soccer organic kid and track organic kid. If you’ll take the other two home and make dinner. I cooked the hamburger, everything is ready.” Seems easy enough to me, “I’m in.” And that’s when the organic wife drops the big one, “Oh, we might be out of taco seasoning.” Oh, the humanity!

Fear, that’s the initial response, followed closely by denial, leaving only bitterness and pain for the slow trip home. I can still smell the smoke of the starter’s gun as I drive past the first large building where normal people buy their food. I remember vaguely, sexy little packets of taco seasoning sitting on the shelf, stacked smartly in their little boxes. They cry out to me and yet I drive on. A pantry and kitchen full of ill labeled and mismatched bottles and bags await me. Where the bulk organic spices are, that is where I must go.

It’s welcoming, like an Indian bazaar, without the honking cars and feral bovine. Frantically I push through the rows of pungent pints and pouches, searching, hoping for just enough taco seasoning for tonight. There it is! Behind the jars of organic chili powder and Chia I see the faded “taco seasoning” labeled lid. I lift it out of its hiding place and…sorry, there’s no happy ending here. Now, where’s that taco seasoning recipe?

Google, that’s the ticket! “Organic taco seasoning recipe,” pulled up the regular cast of characters; “homemade,” “without additives,” and the obligatory “gluten-free.” Whatever, just give me a straight up taco seasoning recipe and make it snappy! The babies are going to be rioting for dinner before I get the “T” in “Taco!” So here it is, a terrible mash-up of all the recipes I found and enough organic taco seasoning for the next 2 months…

Organic Taco Seasoning Recipe III.a.675(Beta)

• 1/2 C. + 2 Tbsp. Organic Chili Powder
• 2 tsp. Organic Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Organic Dried Garlic Flakes
• 2 Tbsp. Organic Black Pepper
• 2 1/2 tsp. Organic Onion Powder
• 2 1/2 tsp. Organic Dried Oregano
• 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Organic Paprika
• 1/3 C. Organic Ground Cumin
• 2 Tbsp. Sea Salt

Add these items to a pint or quart sized glass jar. If you are creative it will look like this when you are done. Shake it up and sprinkle enough of this stuff to cooked and drained hamburger meat, about 2 Tbsp per lb., or to taste. (If possible, use grass fed and locally grown beef raised by Coby’s Grandma and butchered by Jerry from your church.) Throw enough water in to make it all barely soupy and let it simmer while you get enough plates out for your whole family with equal numbers of forks and cups. I think you have it from here…We wrap our taco meat in handmade tortillas that the organic wife makes and if she’s busy we use Stacey’s Big Organic unbleached white flour tortillas. Put your favorite stuff in with the meat and you are ready to go.

It would have been easier to stop at the store and buy taco seasoning packets. Who cares that their labels read like some sleazy chemistry novel. For me the fear gave way to fun. I encourage you to make organic taco seasoning. Call it Earth therapy. If you don’t have an organic wife that is dragging you kicking and screaming away from pesticides and HFCS’s then start small and just make taco seasoning from scratch with what you have, organic or not. If you want to have your own Indian bazaar head on over to www.amazon.com and search for Frontier Organic bulk spices.

What are you making from scratch at your organic home?

2 Tips to being a great Organic Husband

Men, do you want to be the best organic husband you can be? Nod your head and cross your toes if you have to. Do you want your organic wife to think you know your HFCS's from your GMO's? Again, just nod, it's OK that you don't know what those mean. That's the beauty of my system. You don't have to know.

If you are living with an organic wife, experiencing organic living, and just want to make it through to the next steak night with the boys then I recommend the following responses be mastered.

Let's look at a few scenarios. First your wife will say something that makes no sense and you can't understand why it's even an issue. When this happens watch for the following key words and lay some of these sweet lines on her.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (You may also hear the abbreviation HFCS or HFCS's)

Wife: [Standing in the grocery store] Jay! These granola bars have high fructose corn syrup!!
Organic Husband: [Through pursed lips and a scowl] That is sooo wrong!

Tips:

1. Try not to put too many o's on "sooo", organic wives are extremely sensitive to sarcasm.
2. This response is almost universally applicable when you hear the tone of voice that accompanies any of the key words but please use sparingly.

Alternative response: [Stated matter of factly] "Cheap sweeteners make me feel sick to my stomach."


Genetically Modified Organism (also heard, GMO)

Wife: [Sitting at a restaurant] Don't get the brocolli! Suzy said it's GMO.
Organic Husband: [With measured disgust] Man, I wish they'd quit messing with Mother Nature!

Tips:

1. Depending on how things are going, ask the waiter to replace the brocolli with cauliflower "as long as it's not been genetically modified".
2. An advanced phrase when you're ready: "I bet the green beans are too!"
   

Alternative response: [Reaching across the table to touch her arm] "Thanks for keeping me healthy."

Chicago kids grow, sell organic produce

Chicago kids grow, sell organic produce




Alright, this is just cool that kids are getting a chance to grow organic stuff in Chicago and then sell it. What a great way for them to learn about our food and to try things they probably wouldn't eat otherwise.

Nicole Richie Will Only Eat Organic Food | TheCelebrityCafe.com

Nicole Richie Will Only Eat Organic Food

Nicole Richie has fallen off the deep end my friends. Only organic food, clothes, diapers, for her babies. No cell phones anywhere near them. Only non-toxic cleaning supplies. I applaud Richie for her caution and stand against the traditional thinking of the food industry. I know for a fact that my wife's push towards organic eating has greatly improved the health of our family. But, boy am I glad that she isn't an organic freak. We are taking this thing one step at a time.

Movie Night In: Free Willy Sweepstakes | Nature's Path Foods

Movie Night In: Free Willy Sweepstakes | Nature's Path Foods - click here until April 8th.

My organic wife just won one of these sweet packages from Nature's Path foods. It won't be the same as sneaking Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into the movie theater, but I'm excited nonetheless. Click on through and try to win.

Organic Shopping vs. Wal-Mart

Well, we had a good thing going. This organic eating thing had decreased the amount of time I had to spend wondering around Walmart with my organic wife. Life was good. No longer did I have to endure the "friendly" greeters or stand for 20 minutes trying to figure out why Walmart installs 30 check-out lanes and only opens 3 of them at any given time. But now we're all doomed!

Last night walking through Walmart (this is what we do when the kids are engaged at nearby activities), minding my own business, dutifully pushing the cart when my wife nearly gets whiplash and exclaims, "I didn't know they had those at Walmart!!" Shaken at the moment from my Walmart trance I slowly turned my head to see floating towards the cart...Before I knew it, it was in the cart and I was having a conversation about organic food at Walmart. I didn't want to see that.

I've always been somewhat of a cereal snob, preferring some Frosted Flakes to the organic fare. But, broken, I have begun to enjoy the Mom's Best Naturals - Honey Nut Toasty O's.

Meanwhile back at the house, I was tempted. What was the allure of the Peanut Butter Panda Puffs? How could this little box incite squealing in the dark dungeon of a Walmart isle? I opened the box. I peered inside. They looked normal. They smelled of peanut butter. I reached for some near the top and popped them like vitamins I take (more on that later). They were good, I took another handful. This went on for like 5 minutes, when I realized my 8 year old was staring at me. I closed the box and put it away.

What time is breakfast?

Is your organic wife making chips the latest, "no go", food category at your house? The solution may be just a click away. OK, so these aren't organic, but let's keep it our little secret because these Boulder Canyon Natural Foods's Jalapeno Cheddar flavored chips are irresistible. A case of these baby's would last like a week at my house. They are crispy, crunchy, clean tasting, with a bite you have to respect. I had my 5 year old son try one and he took a little bite and then the whole thing and said, "They aren't hot!" Well, he was back asking for a drink of water in about 30 seconds. That's the kind of respect these chips deserve.

You can try to win a free case of these by tagging yourself in the photo of the chips at their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boulder-Canyon-Natural-Foods/52723884910?ref=ts