This. Is. Bliss.

Just a quick post before I fall into a deep and fantastic food coma. The great experiment of making a Mexican dinner using ingredients purchased in Australia went down tonight, and it was definitely successful. There were a lot of ingredients I didn't have, so what I ended up with tasted exactly like a Del Combo burrito. This is an item I have only eaten between the hours of 3 and 5 a.m., while in a state of inebriated hunger so severe that only sitting in a parking lot in the Inland Empire eating the greasy meat/bean mush will make me happy. What I made tonight was warm tortilla + ground beef with taco seasoning + refritos + jalapeño slices. I also had some Italian cheese, Mediterranean style tomato rice, and avocados, but none of them looked or tasted right.

I'm so used to the uncooked tortillas that we've been eating at the Spada household, but the Old El Paso ones were fine. The refritos were manna from heaven and nothing less. I don't know why I love the pinto bean so much but it is just the most delicious thing. The beef was decent. I would make burritos or tacos with it again, though it's not my first choice. The big difference from what I'd usually eat is that there was no salsa. The stores only sell "mild" or "medium" which is like...I might as well just eat a tomato, and then kill myself from shame. But I am going to experiment with some recipes and try to make my own. I bought peppers and tomatoes, but I just need to get a mortar & pestle. I actually have the salsa that I brought in my suitcase (the favor from Kevin & Stephanie's wedding), but I'm rationing it to eat with the organic corn chips I found at the market (which are roughly similar to Trader Joe's tortilla chips). Rationing in this case means I ate half the jar in one sitting. And it's labeled "hot," but let's face it, it was medium, and I was inhaling huge scoops to compensate.

Topping off the meal tonight was horchata, sweet milk from the gods. My lovely parents sent me some powder to make aguas frescas, and I couldn't resist. What a fantastic half-hour I just spent eating. I was very close to taking my dinner out behind the middle school and getting it pregnant, but I think I'll save myself for the even better burritos I'll make next time.