Puako Tacos Posted on April 10th, 2009 Last year some friends of ours and ourselves, placed a bid at a school fundraising auction. We bid on a week-long stay at a house on the island of Hawaii, specifically Puako. This was the second time we had bid on it. The first time it was again at a school fundraising auction. That time it had been in the silent auction and we were the only bidders. There were a few mummers circulating the bidding room about its funky qualities. We don't usually mind a bit o' the funky. Equally said we don't mind the lap of luxury either. Mark grabbed the pencil and with that middle age devil-may-care attitude scribbled the bid and won. Our friends were excited and anxious to book the week. I had lingering fears of just how funky "funky" meant. I feared for the safety of the children with images of centipedes lurking in dusty corners. I pictured a worn out kitchen with a broken oven and a microwave. Yet again bolstered by the enthusiasm of my family and friends we arranged our visit for spring break. If this was funky, then bring it on! Perfection can only describe the house, the week of swimming and cycling, ice cream afternoons at the General Store, late night card games with the warm night air blowing in through the screened doors, the sound of the wind through the coconut trees like crackling and sighing simultaneously. Oh and the turtles, ahhh... the turtles, sunning themselves on the smooth black lava rocks outside this house in Puako on Turtle Bay. General Store Eddie made tacos. Crispy white corn tortillas filled with just the right amount of ground beef and the fixings, minced onions, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, grated sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced avocados. McCormicks Taco Seasoning is one of the secrets. The other secret is the frying of the corn tortilla shells. I never use packaged seasoning. I must admit that before I could turn my nose up at it, I was singing praises to the chef about just how delicious these tacos were. I know that this is not health food or even food without additives that we may think are potentially harmful. But for the love of God, they were good. The other necessary technique was to fry the corn tortillas in a small pool of corn oil. Eddie fried them carefully, turning them in half so that they were slightly opened half- moons. They were just barely browned, more like tanned. Eddie lined them up on a paper towel lined tray and when he had finished frying them all, filled them with the meat and our personal additions. We tore into those warm crispy shells and caught the drippings on our plates while we watched the whales splash in the approaching twilight. The wind performed its symphony through the coconut fronds, dry and whistling, sweetly comforting, just like the tacos. We played our favorite card game Krups after dinner and feasted on butter cookies filled with Lilikoi jam I had bought at the Waimea farmer's market. taco Puako Tacos * 1 package of McCormicks Taco Seasoning * 1 1/2 lb of ground chuck * 2 TB water * 1 package (24) white corn tortillas * 2/3 cup corn oil "Fixings" * 1/2 bunch minced green onion * 1 avocado sliced * 2 tomatoes diced * 8 leaves of lettuce finely shredded * 1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese Fry the ground beef and when done spoon the drippings out of the bottom of the pan and discard. Add the taco seasoning and the water. Stir into the cooked meat until well distributed and absorbed. Have all the "fixings" prepared and placed in separate bowls. Pour the oil in a saute pan and heat until hot, not burning. Add the corn tortillas one at a time. Using a pair of metal tongs fry on one side for approximately one minute and then turn over and fry a half minute on the other side. At this point fold the tortilla in half to form a half-moon. Fry until tanned. Take out of the pan and set open side down on a paper towel lined tray. The shells should be stiff and stay standing up. They will harden more as they cool, this is good. When you have finished frying all the shells, pick one up at a time and fill with meat, then the desired "fixings". Place on a plate and serve. A good serving is three to four per person. One warning is to not over fill with meat. They are not to be hearty. The meat and the "fixings" are delicate and not too much of one or the other.