Soul-Full Sisters: Taco Salad
From the recipe box of the Soul-Full Sisters
There are those certain images/moments in your mind that you picture when you’re having a bad day. Everyone has their “happy place” – the place they go in their mind when feeling anxious, unsure, the news is scary, you got a speeding ticket, or maybe it’s just one of those days you need an unwarranted smile.
“Happy places” can be personal, but I am going to share a few of mine with you: my wedding day when I saw my husband at the end of the aisle for the very first time, Paten and I exploring our yard and searching for Morning Glories as little girls, my tennis doubles partner Allie and I beating an undefeated doubles team on our senior night at East Duplin High School with a majority of our friends and family watching, the touch of my grandmothers’ hands, being cozy on my couch wrapped in my favorite childhood blanket with candles burning and the glow of the Christmas tree, and lastly, the smile of my mother behind the kitchen island while I come downstairs or through the backdoor from Raleigh. I am blessed to have many experiences in my life that I can include in my “happy places” bank in my brain, but seeing my mama smile and laugh will always be high in the ranking.
It’s not that my mama doesn’t smile or laugh often, she does, but maybe it’s the divine realization that this woman grew me and her heart beat was one of the first sounds I ever knew – it’s just something special. It’s almost like I knew her laugh before I knew her, which in reality, I probably did. Now, you’re probably thinking “this is sweet and all, but how the heck does it relate to taco salad?” Well, taco salad is one dish that makes mama happy. You can bring it up to her because you’re making it for dinner and she’ll smile and say “I love a taco salad.” As if Paten and I didn’t already know. She can see it on a menu and say “Oh, they have a taco salad!” And when she found out Duff’s Cafe has a taco salad as a daily special, you better believe she was one of the first to try it.
This may sound interesting, but if my mama were a food, I think she would be taco salad: full of spice, many different jazzy ingredients, a party pleaser, colorful to look at, with a sweetness that makes the entire dish (a secret ingredient you’ll see later).
Photo by the Soul-Full Sisters, Quinn Carlton Bostic, Paten Carlton
