I Love You More Today than Yesterday

Turkey soft tacos! Just saying tacos make me smile. Tacos of almost any variety spell good eatin'. Dark leftover turkey meat from Thanksgiving dressed up with some cumin, chili powder and fresh jalapenos. Cue angels singing and sunshine blanketing the world.

That's all good. Now to the beans. Beans for me had been a little touchy over the years. I was a tiny timid little kid with a bad stomach from as far back as I can remember. Big mealy beans were way too scary to eat back then and a pinto bean was as big as I was willing to try but only smashed up and disguised. Later my mom made huge pots of pinto beans for refried beans at the restaurant but I'd wait until they were all flavored with bacon and creamed up, completely unrecognizable from their hard state, thank you very much. Small white, like the Great Northern bean - fine. No whole beans for me. Small and soft meant they didn't reek havoc on my tender young gut. Then in California I fell in love with the tiny black bean. Rinsed and put in salads with feta cheese and cucumbers - loved them! I made lots of whole bean soups but always with the small assortments.

But it wasn't until this recent visit with my sister R in Colorado where she brought out the pinto beans that I remembered just how flavorful and rich THAT particular bean could taste. The pinto, the original. The only bean my sister has eaten in all these years. The only bean my mother had cooked with. Why had I gone astray? Before R did her magic and transformed them into refried I snuck a big mouthful wrapped up in a warmed tort with a little cilantro and salt. Meaty yes, but oh so delicious! Perfectly satisfying, just like the taco itself.

So with those soft flour leftover turkey tacos, I served a side of hot unabbreviated whole pinto beans with pickled jalapenos. Don't ever doubt. Pintos are THE ideal bean to use with your next if not all Mexican dishes.