This afternoon when I was at the local store, I had a taste for Mexican food. I already had frozen taquitos in my freezer (I’m too lazy to make them myself), so all I needed was avocado. Well, surprise, surprise my little store didn’t have any, so I decided to make the white sauce similar to the fish taco white sauce at Rubio’s.
I also had some cabbage in the refrigerator. I love cabbage and it’s very good with Mexican food. I picked up a can of black beans so I could make the same black bean dip I used for my Black Bean Tacos.
There is a wonderful restaurant in Glendale, California, called Elena’s Greek Armenian Cuisine that we go to quite frequently. The rice pilaf is just the best, I could eat it every day. Dinners are usually served with a tomato and green Anaheim chili that have been grilled on the barbecue. Often, we don’t finish everything, so I wind up picking up the rice, tomato, and chili pepper in a to go box.
In 2010, I threw together a dish for Teacher Appreciation Day at my son, Spane’s elementary school. I was in a rush, and when I was asked later how I made it, I didn’t even remember. In 2012, the PTA is now putting out a cookbook, and I was again asked about that recipe, so I started wracking my brain to figure out what it was.
Tonight, being a Friday, and wanting to use up leftovers, but not eat meat, I remembered there was a box from Elena’s in the refrigerator. I also had some corn tortillas, some cheddar cheese, and a half-full jar of green enchilada sauce. Serendipitously, while making this, I rediscovered that old recipe!
I was thinking today that school is going to start soon, so it is time to start making quicker dishes, eat dinner earlier, and get Spane to sleep earlier. That way, going back to school will not be such a big adjustment.
Our dinner tonight reflected a holiday dinner, but was much simpler, and not any where near as much food. Having a ham steak lets you get a nice thick slice of ham, with the bone if you like the marrow like I do, without having to buy the whole ham.
Did you know that the long, red skinned, orange fleshed vegetables Americans call yams are in fact sweet potatoes? They are. I like the orange sweet potatoes a little bit more than I like white sweet potatoes. They have more sugar and are moister than their whiter cousins. Even though American grocers label them incorrectly, they are not even distantly related to yams.
When I was a little girl, my mother would get sweet peas in their shells, and we would sit and shell them. The peas never made it to the stove, though, we ate them as we shelled them. I have yet been able to find big fat sweet peas like those, but I did find some with smaller peas, whose shells were still soft enough to eat, and I used those.
I also had some lovely peaches in the refrigerator, ice cream and a new jar of rose preserves. I made Peaches Raleigh for dessert.
I love mushrooms, and lately, I have been finding nice big ones at the local corner store. I picked up six of them and decided to wait and have them stuffed for our meatless Friday meal.
The Nesco is the perfect appliance to cook them, as they do not dry out, and can steam in wine. Clean up is a snap, and your kitchen does not heat up.
Risotto with saffron and mushrooms is a real treat. The rice used is Arborio, from Italy, although most supermarkets carry it these days. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world – but fear not. You can usually find very small amounts of saffron in markets like Trader Joe’s. Luckily you don’t need much.
These Fennel Pork Chops will remind you of Italian sausage. They have a lovely wine sauce and go beautifully with risotto. Enjoy them with a nice glass of Shiraz and an antipasto salad to start.
Chicken Croquetas Croquettes are very tasty and make a great appetizer. They are also a wonderful way to use up leftover chicken. If you’re tired of chicken salad, this is the way to go.
