Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday. Most of us seem to think it’s about the Mexican Revolution, Mexican Independence Day, or the Day of the Dead (not naming names, but someone I polled actually said that.) It actually happens to be a largely military holiday in Mexico, commemorating the army’s victory over the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla.

That said, who doesn’t like tacos and Corona? Especially in the middle of the workweek, just when the weather’s starting to get nice. No wonder Americans co-opted it. Can you blame us? So, moving right along. My attempts to be culturally accurate this Cinco de Mayo included buying Manchego (which is Spanish), using taco shells with only three ingredients (corn flour, salt and coconut oil) rather than the partially-hydrogenated-corn-syrup variety, and - yep, that’s about it. The rice in my rice & beans was left over from Chinese food yesterday, and I incorporated both basil and garlic tomato sauce and Trader Jose’s taco seasoning. Full disclosure. 

If nothing else, Cinco de Mayo is a good opportunity to start using some early summer produce. The avocado and tomato in the guacamole were pretty decent, and I made some sauteed zucchini and onion on the side. The burritos were ground beef and Manchego, the beans and rice included tomatoes and jalapeno, and I did some spicy sauteed chicken too.