Cotija!

Last week was one full of hispanic meals for Lukey and me. It wasn't intentional- I didn't plan the meals thinking, "Let's eat the food of our friends down south!"- but that's the way it ended up. Deliciously.

Luke lived in Guatemala for a couple years, and made for me the breakfast he had every day while there: black beans, homemade tortillas, and eggs with table cream. He fancied it up for me with a sprinkling of cotija and something he got very rarely- fried plantain (we used green bananas).

Turns out, ten years hasn't been long enough for Luke to like this meal again. I loved it, though, and was surprised at how good it tasted for how simple it was (the only spice was salt).

For dinner one night I made mexican corn cakes. I think because I never saw my parents use it the whole time I was growing up (and they cooked interesting stuff from all over the world), I'm delighted to find different recipes that use masa harina. This was one of those. Topped with tomatos from the garden and a slice of avocado, they were a simple, satisfying meal (and then for dessert I made my first flan with homemade caramel, and it was decadent and wonderful. Definitely one to save in the recipe box).

The best tasting (and least photogenic) meal was the night we had flautas. This is the meal that made me SO glad that I make extra food and preserve it- these flautas (I guess just taquitos that are folded instead of rolled?) were filled with the cilantro pesto that I froze this summer, and a little cheese. That's it. The meal was quick and so good that I made them again for lunches for days (until the last of the cilantro pesto was used up, actually. Time to replenish).

Week of dinners:

Luke and I are continuing with our goal to spend $35 on a week's worth of meals. It's become sort of a weird obsession, not because we couldn't afford to spend more on groceries, but because the challenge is really fun. On Friday nights I spend almost an hour planning the menu for the next week, including an estimate for how much each item is going to cost, and then we go to the grocery store to buy everything at once (I remember a time when I'd get kind of sad if I didn't feel like I was being social enough on my weekends. Things've changed). It's become one of my favorite weekly activities (aside from Wednesday night quiz night) of the week.

This week was an especially good one for meals, so I thought I'd share the recipes:

On Saturday we had black bean soup with coconut milk and cilantro. My friend Drew had made it for a potluck last week, but ours turned out differently because we had the time to blend it and let the flavors simmer (he was in a hurry because all the potluck guests had arrived). Both ways were good. A creamy, spicy, vegan soup with a nice blend of flavors (would be good without the cilantro, too, for people like Whitney who don't like the taste).

Picture from Fab Frugal Food

On Sunday we had Asian chicken noodle soup, which was instantly a family favorite. We left out the mint, because we didn't want to detract from the lemongrass, ginger, and lime. Don't skip the sriracha- it makes the soup perfect!

Picture from Martha Stewart

On Monday we had caramelized salmon with mango salsa. So fresh and summery tasting, and not heavy. We ate it with tomato rice (rice + tomato bouillon in the rice maker), and it was a hearty (and very orange) meal.



On Tuesday we had tacos with homemade tortillas. For the tortillas, mix corn flour (buy a big bag of the Maseca brand for three dollars in the hispanic foods aisle of the grocery store) and water together until it's the texture of playdough. Roll out (I found it easiest to put a little patty between to pieces of seran wrap, and then smash flat (as opposed to actually rolling) with a cup), and grill. These simple tortillas are good with stuff in them, but if you wanted to eat them plain, you'd want to add salt to the dough. Soon we'll invest in a tortilla press, so we we can have round, perfectly uniform tortillas. I know it doesn't make them taste any better, but for some reason it matters to me.

Picture from Adventures in Shaw

On Wednesday we had grilled chicken gyros with tzatziki sauce. Rather than using pitas, we used a naan recipe my mom gave us (a favorite since our experiment with indian food). This dish was so good. So good!!! We changed a few things: 1) We didn't marinate the chicken for as long as we were supposed to, because we figured if we were cooking the chicken in the sauce, that was good enough. And it was. 2) We didn't remove excess water from the cucumber for the tzatziki sauce. We kept it wet, and eliminated the oil in the sauce. 3) we used cucumbers instead of red onion (partially because Luke doesn't really like onions much, and partially because the cucumber sounded better). This is one of those kinds of meals that if you ordered it at a restaurant, it would become the only thing you'd ever order there.


And last I didn't have dinner. I went to make dinner (at 11:30 p.m.)* and realized that I'd forgotten to get tofu.** Luke was getting off work at midnight and said he'd pick up some DiGiorno, but he ended up having a work meeting that kept him until two. I fell asleep around one thirty, waiting for pizza.

*One thing I find myself loving about it just being me and Luke is that we can eat dinner in the middle of the night if we want.
**Actually, I didn't realize it. I called up Luke at work, annoyed that the tofu had mysteriously disappeared (just like a can of black beans had earlier this week), and he reminded me that I actually hadn't gone to get it.

Week of Dinners: Day 7

No picture for the seventh day of dinners, because Luke and I neither cooked nor ate together. Luke had leftover miso soup at home, while I watched Olympics and ate biscuits and gravy at Drew's house.

So that's it! The end of Heather-takes-pictures-of-her-food week!

Week of Dinners: Day 6

One of my new favorite meals: miso soup with soba noodles, spinach, and tofu. So good!!

For dessert: coconut tea with lychee and boba

Week of Dinners: Day 5

Today my mom and two younger sisters came up to hang out with Luke and I. We played dominoes and talked and for dinner ate "fresh mex" salads like you'd get at Cafe Rio/Bajio/Costa Vida.

You can't see it all, but this freshly-cooked tortilla is packed with black beans, sweet pork (Luke's mom gave us the easy recipe- pork roast, picante sauce, and brown sugar), lettuce, cheese, mango salsa, guacamole, and cilantro lime dressing.

Week of Dinners: Day 4

I spent all day at work, and now we're heading to Whitney and Scott's house for some movies. So tonight for dinner we're having:

Turkey and provolone sandwiches from my work. Sandwiches I take home on Saturday evenings so they get eaten over the weekend and not thrown away on Monday morning. Sandwiches made on fluffy, freshly-baked kolaches by this really kooky guy, who I assume is Johnny, because he owns/runs Johnny Kolache's deli.

Week of Dinners: Day 3

Gnocchi with sweet tomato and mushroom sauce*, and a spinach side salad with pear ginger dressing.

A bowl full of gnocchi

Tonight was the first time that Luke and I made gnocchi. It was really fun, especially waiting for the pasta to float, indicating it's done. Now that we've tried making it with regular potato, we want to try it with sweet potatoes or squash.


For dessert: vanilla ice cream with warm carrot and walnut bread (which I did not make, but got for free from a Winder Farms lady who seemed to have a crush on me).

*It's a bummer both last night's and tonight's dinners kind of look like dog food piled on pasta (tonight's sauce is kind of a weird color because it's made with golden tomato sauce- canned last year- which doesn't look nearly as pretty as the tomatoes it comes from). They were both delicious.*

Week of Dinners: Day 2

Honey sesame "chicken" with baby bok choy. We made the seitan last night, and it simmered while I read recipe books and Luke made Spanish conjugation lessons for me. We brought dinner to Ben's house, where we watched six episodes of Better off Ted.

A week of dinners: Day 1

Spinach and mushroom quiche, made while the Comcast guy was hooking up the internet, Luke was smoking cigarettes, and I was drinking a stein of Diet Dr. Pepper.