I haven't spent much time in the kitchen lately. Last weekend I was away at a family gathering. Today I flew to a conference in Cleveland. The conference is the U2 Conference, "U2:Trans-." My Mom is joining me for the travel, though not the conference. I'm not sure why Mom was so excited to come along to Cleveland but I look forward to hearing what she explores while here. I'm pretty excited to visit the RRHOF which has been on my bucket list since it opened in 1983.
This is the second U2 academic conference. The first one was in Raleigh, NC, in 2009. I was very lucky to attend that conference as well. I had bought tickets for my Mom & me to see U2 at their Raleigh show and then the conference was announced that same weekend. Mom & I extended our trip so I could attend the conference.
Unfortunately this year's conference doesn't coincide with a show. U2 isn't on tour right now. Nevertheless I'm extremely excited to see friends from all over, meet friends I've only previously known online for the first time, and meet new fans. I've already met two women on my very flight. My fellow passenger-conferees were easy to spot in their Vertigo tour and (PRODUCT)RED shirts.
Since Mom & I had such an early flight this morning she arrived at my house while I was still at work yesterday & made dinner for us. What an awesome treat not to have to cook after work & then finish packing my suitcase.
I couldn't have been more surprised when I realized Mom was making Taco Salad. It's a recipe that's in the Red Box but I think it might be a late addition. I think it's actually one of my Aunt Bet's finds. Mom was surprised to discover it's in the Red Box.
Taco Salad is something I make pretty frequently. Frequently enough I have the recipe memorized. It's super easy to make & you can make some of the components ahead (the seasoned meat even freezes well). Jeff loves the salad. He loves it so much I've surprised him with it for his birthday a couple times.
My Mom hadn't made it in years. So she brought along her own handwritten recipe. I snapped a quick photo before we caught our BART train this morning.
I think it's written on the thinnest non-parchment paper I've ever seen. It's a pretty wrinkled little piece of paper. If I close my eyes I can picture it sitting in its home in Mom's own (off-white) recipe box. There are some treasures in there too.
