Answer:
My first is a creature whose breeding is unclear. My second, a price you must pay. My whole can be found in the river of Time and refers to events of today.
My first keeps time, my second spends time, my whole tells time.
My thunder comes before the lightning. My lightning comes before the clouds. My rain dries all the land it touches.
You seek it out, when your hunger is ripe. It sits on four legs, and smokes a pipe.
During the 1800's these turned women into hourglasses and is becoming more popular again these days
This food is a tortilla filled with cheese and sometimes chicken before being heated or cooked.