Quick Taco Wraps — There’s Always Room for Improvement

The week after the anniversary. Lighter every year. Not light — lighter. The difference between carrying a bag of bricks and carrying a bag of stones. Still heavy. Just different. Possible. The kind of weight you adjust to, the way a baker adjusts to the weight of dough: it's there, it's real, and your arms are strong enough now.

Jasmine has been cooking more since the anniversary. Every night, she asks to help. Not just stir — she wants to season. She wants to choose. She reaches for the Folgers can and she seasons the way I season, the way Mama seasoned: a pinch, a taste, another pinch. By feel. She is eleven and she cooks by feel and the feel is right. Sometimes the feel is too much cayenne, which is also right, because Jackson women like things hot and the heat is genetic and the genes don't lie.

Marcus had a conversation with me that stopped me mid-stir-fry. He said, "Mom, do you think Grandma would like Derek?" I set down the spoon. I looked at him. He was fourteen, sitting at the kitchen table, asking the question that I have asked myself a hundred times in the quiet hours when the house sleeps and the Folgers can catches the moonlight. I said, "I think she would." He said, "Why?" I said, "Because he listens. Because he shows up. Because he cooks terrible chicken marsala and doesn't pretend it's good." Marcus smiled. He said, "She would have told him his chicken was bad." I said, "She would have told him to his face and then taught him better." He laughed. I laughed. We laughed about Mama at the kitchen table and the laughter was not grief. It was memory. It was the version of Brenda that lives in our mouths when we talk about her: honest, blunt, loving, impossible, eternal.

Made shrimp tacos — a fusion thing, lime slaw, avocado crema, blackened shrimp. The kind of meal that belongs to no single tradition and therefore belongs to mine. Marcus rated it "9 out of 10." I said, "What's the missing point?" He said, "There's always room for improvement." He is his grandmother's grandson.

That 9 out of 10 from Marcus lives in me the same way Mama’s bluntness lives in him — it’s the highest praise he’s capable of, and we both know it. These quick taco wraps are what I reach for when the week has been heavy and I need something that comes together fast but still feels like I meant it: blackened shrimp with a lime slaw that cuts through everything, a crema that smooths it all out. Jasmine seasoned the slaw by feel. She got it exactly right on the second pinch.

Quick Taco Wraps

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
• 2 tsp blackening seasoning (or smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8 small flour tortillas (6-inch)
• 2 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 2 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• Black pepper to taste
• Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the lime slaw. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cabbage and cilantro. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour over the cabbage, toss well, and set aside to marinate while you prepare everything else.
2. Make the avocado crema. Scoop the avocado flesh into a small bowl. Add the sour cream, minced garlic, remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mash and stir until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Season the shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Toss in the blackening seasoning until evenly coated.
4. Cook the shrimp. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook 2 minutes per side, until deeply charred at the edges and cooked through. Do not crowd the pan — work in batches if needed. Remove from heat.
5. Warm the tortillas. Char each tortilla directly over a gas flame for 20–30 seconds per side, or warm in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until pliable and lightly blistered.
6. Assemble the wraps. Spread a generous spoonful of avocado crema down the center of each tortilla. Top with a pinch of lime slaw, then 3–4 blackened shrimp. Fold and serve immediately with lime wedges alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 27g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 39g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 610mg