lots of stuff

 I swore this year would be different for me and the rhubarb plant.  I wouldn't just let it sit there and get all old and fibrous and unusable.  I would use it, all growing season!

I cut maybe 3 or 4 bunches and then was like my god, who can use up all this bloody rhubarb???  Why can't my teeney blueberry bushes that have each produced 2 berries be as hardy as this rhubarb?

I made Rhubarb shrub, which is rhubarb picked in sugar and vinegar,  Once it's had its pickling time, the liquid is the shrub, to add to cocktails or mocktails, and the pickled rhubarb can be eaten.

It smelled very vinegary, but also sort of delicious when it was done.  But no one would try it but me, and I did not enjoy either the shrub or the pickled rhubarb.

rhubarb and star anise shrub 

Below is an AMAZING rhubarb and apple crisp, that was so good, but I can't find the recipe.

I also made a whole bunch of rhubarb butter.Recipe here.

These were delicious roasted carrots with parmesan.  Maybe from tick tok?

Also from tick tok - my kids were dying to try the smores cookies where you put a graham cracker on the baking sheet, a marshmallow on top,  and then cover with cookie dough and bake.  I think 2 things went wrong for us - the kids eagerness to help meant none of the marshmallows were fully covered by the dough, which I think was important, and also I think you need A LOT of dough, and I only bought one tube, because I'm cheap.  And, they tasted gross anyway.

Yes, I am an old lady,  These applesauce prune muffins were SO DAMN GOOD.

We always seem to have bags of frozen ham in the freezer.  This ham tetrazzini was delicious.

I am truly upset that I can't find this recipe.  These were pork tacos with pickled onions and they were some of the best tacos I've ever had. 

Also, a recipe without a photo - we bought some peaches and I decided to roast the ones that were still around after a week.  I used this recipe and man, they were so freaking good.  I'd planned to take a photo of the leftovers, but my dad scooped them all up and took them home. 

And lastly, these chocolate and peanut butter cookie bars were chefs kiss.

First a bunch of jumbled thoughts and then stuff I cooked last week

We are still here, still doing ok.  I hope you are too.

We started homeschooling this week, which is a lot of work.  For me.  More than I expected, and I did not find a good balance this week between doing my own work and dealing with the kids.

If I still drank, I would have had many many large drinks this week.

We don't get out for as many walks as I'd hoped, between me trying to get in a full days work at my desk in the basement and the quite uncooperative weather.  We had a beautiful weekend a few weekends back that made met think Spring had arrived, but since then Mother Nature has treated us to a long spell of cold temperatures, cloudy days, SO MUCH WIND, and then yesterday a full on snowstorm that deposited quite a bit of snow on our driveway. 

We ignored it, but it isn't melting and I feel like we are going to have to shovel but shoveling in April seems so wrong.

I am eating way too much food, especially early in the morning before anyone gets up.  I guess I am looking for comfort somewhere since there seems to be very little in the world right now.  I watch and read too much news and get myself upset and worried and head for the kitchen.  I'm putting on more weight which upsets me but at the same time I can't seem to muster up too much emotion to care.  I feel numb, I guess?  Every day I tell myself today is a new day but I fall into the same patterns as the days before.  Perhaps today will be different?

I just wrote out a post for the last book I finished reading - Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and one line I wrote is :

....I resurrect myself every day, in every moment that I allow myself to feel and become.  It's my daily reminder to let myself burn to ashes and rise, new.

So maybe today can be different.

Hmmmm, what else.  We've been watching a lot of movies lately, especially the Jumanji's - both the original with Robin Williams and the remake, and last night we watched the new one, the third one I guess it is.  I didn't get to hear or see a lot of it as the kids talk and fight and stand in front of me to stare at me, but what I did see what pretty cute and we laughed and I got teary at the end, and I'll have to watch it again to see what else I missed.

I have not been watching any shows for me lately - once I get The Girl to bed I try to stay away for a bit to do one last ill-advised scroll through the social medias before I get all bummed out and try to sleep, BUT 2 shows that I started and want to get back to are Anne With An E  - we tried to watch this with the kids but The Girl isn't old enough to be interested and it didn't have enough guns or action scenes for The Boy and Wynona Earp, which I started watching in February when I got a gross stomach bug and was awake all night so I watched a bunch of episodes all night and Tim Rozon is deeeeeeeelightful to listen to (and look at).

ANYHOW

I started following Ina Garten on Instagram last week and she posted a link to her Weeknight Bolognese sauce which I had all the ingredients for (except the wine) and it was very delicious and 3 out of 4 of us liked it and the little one ate all of her noodles that didn't have any sauce touching them.

I have not had rice balls since I posted this THIRTEEN YEARS AGO so it was time! 

I made leftover cheesy bacon rice croquettes with leftover ham instead of bacon and knew why I hadn't made them since having kids - neither kid liked them.  The Mister and I did, and they were super easy, but it might be another 13 years before I get to make them again.

 

We love Coolio's cookbook, and especially his banana bread, but this is the first time I've made it into muffins.  So good.  And peeking from the back there is Spicy Applesauce Cake from Homesick Texan.  It was AMAZING.  I omitted the chile powder and the nuts and everyone was crazy for it.  A good Sunday Dinner dessert.

Well, if you made it to the end of this your rewards are my thanks and all these delicious recipes you should try.  And also this thought that we should all keep with us today, and maybe all of the days - 

French Toast cups, banana muffins, chicken cordon bleu and meal planning

I am mentally and physically stuck in huge ruts right now.  My house is cluttered and unorganized and none of my good intention projects have been started.  I am GAINING weight, I feel like this is something I need to focus on here soon as I just can't seem to find long lasting motivation for that either.

Winter has done me in, I think, even though up until the end of January it was not a particularly hard one, but I am done.  I need blue skies and warm air and green grass.

I need happiness and gentle talk and encouragement and I can't find any of that in me lately.

ANYWAY, here are 3 recipes that I made in the past bit that turned out quite well.

French Toast Cups from Chrissy Teigen -

SO good.  Croissants instead of bread mixed with beaten egg and milk and sugar and such and then nestled into a little ham nest for baking.

I made these best ever banana muffins (added some chocolate chips!!!)  and everyone loved them.

They were super easy and good.  My family mowed through them in no time and requested more.

We all really loved Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu  it was an easy weeknight dinner and very delicious.

The idea of just laying the ham and cheese on the chicken is so smart and saves so much time and headaches.  And the sauce was deeeelish.

_____________________________________

I'm heading into the kitchen to start menu planning for the week so I can get groceries today.

I'm considering the following - 

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Crock Pot Gyros - The Mister is particularly excited about this one.

Slow Cooker Cajun Fettuccini   - with probably all the spice left out for the kids.

Curried Lentil Tomato and Coconut Soup - no one will eat this but me.

Honey and Ginger and Garlic Meatballs

Pina Colada Cake - I really wanted to make this for work but one of the ladies hates coconut so I might make this for Sunday Dinner.

 

What's on your meal plan this week?

Recipes I've made - no photos

I am always on the lookout for new pancake recipes and this one was a real winner. Light and fluffy and a hit with the kids. I froze the leftovers and they reheated quite nicely. Pete's Scratch Pancakes

I made these ham quiche cups for a Sunday dinner and they were easy and tasty.  The leftovers were delicious for breakfast.

Another Sunday dinner was this very very delicious slow cooker creamy beef stroganoff which was amazing!  Of course the kids didn't like it, but the adults did.

For dessert one night I made these peanut butter and jelly bars which were good but very very rich.  But good.

I have made this Asian peanut butter pork three times since finding the recipe.  Delicious tender pork with a killer sauce.

My end result looked nothing like the photo in the recipe- I either over cooked  my squash or over mixed it, so it lost the  individual strands, but the flavor of this yakisoba spaghetti squash was really great.

Chicken Cordon Bleu-ish

Before Christmas my friend at work brought the 2 of us in lunch that she had made at home -a Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole. 

It was really tasty, and I added it to my mental list of dishes to make. 

Last weekend I realized I had all the main ingredients for such a casserole - chicken, leftover New Years ham, cheese - but I couldn't find a recipe online that sounded nearly as good as the one made for me. 

So I made Chicken Cordon Bleu. Ish. 

All my stuff -chicken breasts, ham, cheese (I had mozzarella), seasoned flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs.

I sliced the chicken in half horizontally, and bashed them with a mallet until they were quite thin.  Then I seasoned one piece, layered on some ham and cheese, and topped with a second chicken piece.  I used a couple of toothpicks to try to keep the pieces as one.  

A quick dunk in the flour, egg wash bath, roll in the bread crumbs.  Easy.

I heated some olive oil over medium heat and cooked the chicken until nice and brown.

THEN, I popped them into a 400' oven for about 10 minutes, to make sure they were cooked through.

Ooooh, look at that ooey gooey cheese.

Yum!  These were so good, and from start to finish took less than an hour.

Just remember to take out the toothpicks before serving.  I didn't.

So good, so easy, so going to be made again soon.

Ham and Vegetable Gratin

This recipe was in the latest issue of Food Network magazine, and I wanted to make it because I had all the ingredients in the house.  I love it when that happens.

I stuck to the recipe except for 2 things - I didn't have a frozen pea and carrot mix, I used just peas, and I "bammed" the crisp panko bread crumb topping with a handful of crispy onions instead of the parsley (which I thought I had but didn't).

This was really good, really filling and made lots.  If made my way it tastes just like split pea and ham soup, and you know that can't be a bad thing.

Recipe: Ham and Vegetable Gratin

Holiday Food 08

Before I show you all our foodums we ate on Christmas and New Years, let me show you how spoiled I was again this year! I got these magazines/cookbooks:
plus this Australian Women's Weekly Stew Cookbook. We picked up the Stew cookbook from Costco in November for $5, and I asked Scott to put it in my stocking. On Christmas Day I was so excited to get it, however it took me almost 2 hours before I realized that I had actually picked it out myself. I thought I'd seen it somewhere and somehow Scott read my mind and bought it for me. That poor man, he's stuck with me forever.

You don't know this about me, but I am a sucker for food related infomercials. I'll watch them over and over again. Some I could probably recite word for word. I do, however, draw the line at actually ordering them. So I was pretty excited to open THIS!
My very own Magic Bullet Single Shot! Scott bought me this with the hope that I will make less of a mess in the mornings when I make smoothies. We shall see, sir.

Now if I only had a Shamwow and a Slap Chop, my life would be complete (Vince: "You're gonna love my nuts!" Me: *snicker*)


SO! For our Christmas Dinner this year, we went Italian. (You may remember, or not, 2006 our dinner was Swedish, and 2007 we did French Canadian). We decided on 8 dishes. We ate over at my parents house, and they had the first course ready when we got there: Antipasti.

The top platter has bread, 2 types of cheese, 3 kinds of olives, and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. The bottom dish has salami, marinated eggplant, and a marinated mixed seafood salad. The seafood salad (jarred, store bought) was the least popular. Tough and just not very good. The cheese and the eggplant were my personal favorites.

An hour or so later we sat down to Insalata Caprese (tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella salad):
And for those in my family who like sardines (that's everyone but me) a marinated sardine dish:
The sardines were beheaded and cooked with vinegar and raisins and pine nuts and other stuff. That's all I can tell you, the recipe came from my parents cookbook. But they all enjoyed it.

After another break we headed into the kitchen to make the next 2 dishes. First up was a dish from the October La Cucina Italiana magazine - beef rolls with pancetta and parmesan. The original recipe called for veal, but I don't eat veal, so we used beef instead.
You pound out some beef, top with a thin slice of pancetta, a sprinkle of fresh parmesan, roll up and use a toothpick or 2 to keep them closed. The rolls are sauteed in olive oil and butter. Then you remove them from the pan and make a sauce with tomatos, wine and more butter. Add the rolls back to re-warm, remove the toothpicks and you are done. Not really pretty, but very yummy.
From the December issue of La Cucina Italiana we made Patate in Tecia, pan fried potatos. They were cooked with pancetta and onion and broth. Not bad, but I'd make some changes if I were to make them again.
After yet another break in the living room we talked about our last 3 courses. We still had a pasta, a pea dish and dessert to go. Everyone was getting full. Because the pea dish had already been started and the dessert was done, we skipped the pasta. An Italian dinner without pasta! What is up with that? Here's the pea and pancetta dish, which I'll tell you more about later. For now I'll just say it was fabulous.
And then after yet another break, we had some dessert, tiramisu. Here's what they looked like after I made them at home Christmas morning. So good.
And then! We went into a food coma.

Thankfully we were revived in time for New Years. Unfortunately, as I have already whined, I got my usual flu between Christmas and New Years. So we scaled back our New Years Eve dinner by a couple of dishes. We had some raw veggies and dip and then our main course. We made 3P Fried Rice (Pork, Pineapple and Pea) and Egg Rolls from Paula Deen.
Hey y'all! I'm Paula Deen's egg rolls!
Here's her recipe - Pork Slaw Egg Rolls, and really, they are very very good. It also makes a crapload, so if there aren't 10 of you, you may want to half the recipe. But, the slaw and pork mix on its own is actually quite good.

And finally!

New Years Day my parents came over for dinner. We made baked ham and used our new favorite baked ham recipe for the second time. And for the second time I did not take pictures. But you don't need to see one of my bad pictures to know this recipe is a winner when you read it. I found this in Move Over, Santa - Ruby's Doin Christmas! by Ruby Ann Boxcar. This is a simple easy and fast ham recipe and so darn tasty.

Vance Pool's Tis The Season Maple Ham
adapted from Move Over, Santa - Ruby's Doin Christmas!

Ruby Ann says: One bite and you'll know why he weighs almost 400 pounds

5 lb precooked smoked ham*
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat your oven to 325'. Place the ham skin side up in a large roasting pan. Score the ham in a diamond pattern. Do not add anything else to the pan. Bake the ham uncovered for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, remove the ham from the oven. Pour the maple syrup over the ham. Place back in the oven and bake for 45 more minutes, basting 2 or 3 times.
When the ham is done, remove from the oven. Place the ham on a platter or cutting board and cover with foil. Set aside.
Carefully pour all the drippings into a pan. Add the flour and whisk until blended. Add the water, mustard and worcestershire sauce.
Whisk over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. If the gravy seems too thick, add some more water.
Slice the ham and serve with the gravy on the side.
*If your ham is not precooked, cook as above until the ham is ready by a meat thermometer.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge 25 - Nigella Lawson

Ani from Foodie Chickie is hosting her second Weekend Cookbook Challenge and her brilliant theme for February is Nigella Lawson.

I love Nigella. I love her books, her show, the fact that she is not a twig sized person.

I love the way she talks about food, how passionate she is. I love the sounds on her show - did you know she wears a microphone in her hair to pick up the cooking sounds?

It was pretty easy to pick a recipe to make this month. I've spent a few hours flipping through her newest book, Feast, and the first recipe that caught my eye was the Chicken Caesar Cornets, chicken Caesar salad wrapped in a corn tortilla. I couldn't find corn tortillas, so I stole from my second Nigella pick, Green Eggs and Ham (ham wrapped in pesto crepes), and made the chicken Caesar wrap with a sundried tomato pesto crepe instead.

Other than fiddling with finicky crepes, something I haven't made since last April, this was easy and delicious. The crepes were a beautiful color and the pesto added a flavor that went nicely with the chicken. The crepes could be made in advance and then filled up with yummy chickeny goodness when you're ready to eat.

And then since I'd mastered crepes once again, the next day I made Green Eggs and Ham for lunch. I had more trouble with this batch of crepes, but a slightly mangled crepe tastes just as good as a prettier one.


We found this one a bit boring, frankly, and even after we'd added some cheese it still left something to be desired. But the recipe is not a bust; it just needs more tweaking. Maybe a nicer cheese, and more of it?

Want to join in the Nigella fest this month? Send your Weekend Cookbook Challenge post to Ani by February 28. Her email is foodiechickie at yahoo dot com.
Chicken Caesar Crepes
adapted from Nigella Express

6 to 8 Sundried Tomato Pesto Crepes (see below)
200 g cold cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
60 g mayonnaise
1 large garlic clove, very finely minced
50 g shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce
2-3 dashes (or more) Worcestershire
salt and pepper.

Make the crepes and set aside.

Mix the chicken, mayo, garlic, cheese and Worcestershire together. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the lettuce.

Divide the filing evenly between the crepes. Roll or fold the crepes around the filling, and eat!


Orange Eggs and Ham and Cheese
Adapeted from Nigella Express

Crepes:
75 g sundried tomato pesto
1 egg
75 g flour
150 ml milk

oil
thinly sliced ham
thinly sliced or shredded cheese

Place all the crepe ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. **I usually add 1 or 2 tb of water to the batter to make it a bit thinner**
Lightly oil a pan heating over medium heat, and pour in enough batter to thinly coat the bottom, swirling the pan to cover.
Cook the crepe until lightly browning on the bottom. Flip over and briefly cook the other side. Remove from the pan, cover, and repeat, to use up all the batter.
To assemble, place as much or as little ham and cheese on each crepe as you want. Fold in to a triangle, or roll up, and enjoy.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge 21 - Halloween!

OK, first off, take a look at this totally adorable and amazing logo that Michelle from Je Mange La Ville made up for her round of hosting Weekend Cookbook Challenge:



Ahhh! My eyes are blinded by the wonderfulness!

Michelle chose Halloween to be her theme this month, and I decided to do something with apples, as apples used to be what all kids hated to receive for a treat on Halloween.

I figured I'd end up making an apple dessert, but came across this savory apple dish that just called my name. I made it before we moved, for brunch to celebrate Scott's last day of work. My WCC submission is Pam's Ham and Apple Breakfast Pie.


Pam's Ham and Apple Breakfast Pie
adapted from Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork: A Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking the World's Favorite Meat

Crust

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 tb cold butter cut into pieces
3 tb cold water

Filling

oil to coat baking pan
5 granny smith apples peeled cored and thinly sliced
2 tb cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
200 g ham, chopped (I used deli ham)

Stir together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter, then add the water and stir until just combined. Knead the dough gently until combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to350'. Lightly oil a 9 or 10" pie plate or baking dish. Toss together the filling ingredients. Pour the filling into the baking dish. Roll out the pastry and cover the dish. Make a few slits in the crust for steam. Bake for 50 minutes until the crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


I am not a fan of pies because I don't like crust. I didn't like this crust either. It was difficult to work with - you can see in the top picture it's basically just a bunch of scraps of dough - and not much in the taste department either. The filling is fantastic though and I was glad I tried this. It would be a super brunch dish to have on a cold day when you don't have to go outside. I will look for a better crust recipe, then try this again.

Get your Halloween themed post to Michelle by October 21 to take part in the scary fun. Michelle's email is mlb at jemangelaville dot com.

Croque Monsieur

Oh, how I love a Croque Monsieur sandwich. I don't know if I'll ever be lucky enough to eat one at a cafe in Paris, but no matter. My version is pretty wonderful.

This is definitely NOT an everyday sannie. But for a bit of a fancy dinner, what is better than ham cheese and white sauce? Not very much.

4 sandwiches - for 2 to 4 people.

1 1/2 tb butter
1 1/2 tb flour
1 cup milk, warmed in the microwave
salt
pepper
nutmeg
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
3 tb grated Parmesan cheese
8 slices white bread (Scott likes this sandwich because it's one of the few times he gets white bread!)
dijon mustard
8 slices of ham
Preheat oven to 425'

First, make your sauce:

Melt the butter over medium low heat, add flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add in the milk and whisk until thick. Add half of the cheeses and whisk until melted. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt pepper and nutmeg.

Toast the bread. Spread dijon on 4 pieces. Top with 2 pieces of ham each and spoon some sauce and cheese over top.
Top with the remaining bread, sauce and cheese. Place sandwiches on a baking tray and bake for 5 - 10 minutes.

Turn on broiler and broil until lightly browned on top.
Serve immediately.

Cheddar and Ham Biscuits

This recipe is from a friend of a friend and was given to me years ago. These are very tasty, and will keep for 4 or 5 days, if you didn't gobble them down as soon as they came out of the oven, like we usually do!

3 cups flour
1 tb dried rosemary
1 tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup grated cheddar
3/4 cup chopped ham
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400'. If you have a pestle and mortar, grind the rosemary until fragrant. If you don't have a p&m, place the rosemary on a cutting board and roll over it a few times with a rolling pin or heavy jar. Combine the flour, rosemary, baking powder salt and pepper in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Stir in the buttermilk just until it forms a dough. It will be crumbly. Turn out and knead to incorporate any loose crumbs. Pat the dough into a 6 inch square and cut into biscuits. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook, turning halfway until cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.

Breakfast Casserole

Here's a recipe that my Mom made for Christmas Day breakfast a couple of years ago. Scott just loved it. We have it every couple of months. Very nice in the winter. It's not a complicated recipe and could be made for 1 or 10 people. Just throw in how much of each ingredient you want.

Frozen commercial hash browns, or potatos, parboiled and diced
Sliced deli ham, diced
Brie, diced
Eggs

Fry the potatos until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Set them aside into a large mixing bowl. Add the diced ham and Brie and mix well. Preheat the oven to 375'. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour the mixture into the dish and lightly press it down. With the back of a large spoon, like a ladle, make an impression in the potatos. This is where your egg will sit, so make as many impressions as you need eggs. Try not to crowd them too closely together. Crack an egg into each indent. Season with salt and pepper. If you are like me and don't like eggs any way but scrambled and hard boiled, just scramble your egg with some water and pour into the indent. I always do mine last as it seeps a bit more than the whole eggs. Bake for 10 minutes or so, until the eggs are done to your liking. Plate up and serve with ketchup and Tabasco.

Bad - Mac and cheese with bacon, truffle oil and orange essence. Good - Orzo with ham and goat cheese.

So lets say that you are out and about on Saturday and happen to stop in at The Cookbook Company, a store you love that sells great books, food and equipment. Let's say that they are selling frozen mac and cheese (in their packaging, they have made it) with bacon, truffle oil and orange essence. Your husband is so excited by the description and adds it to your basket.
We'll skip the part when you tried (unsuccessfully) to get baking instructions from the owner of the store. The mac and cheese goes home with you and Sunday night, very tired from a day of working in the yard, you throw it in the oven.
Wow. After a hard day's work, there is nothing like a big bowl of pasta that tastes like it has been soaked in orange juice.
This was beyond bad. This was inedible. The only thing you could taste was orange. The cheese (in the macaroni and cheese!) had no flavor. The bacon was made up of hard overcooked bits and fat. There was no hint of truffle. It was orange-flavored noodles.
Mmmmm...Sandwiches for dinner.
Next time you are in the mood for mac and cheese, try this recipe instead. It is quick and very tasty. AND you won't have wasted your precious gas to drive downtown to buy sludge!

From Gourmet magazine:

Orzo with Ham and Goat Cheese

1 lb orzo
1/2 lb ham, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 lb soft goat cheese crumbled
5 green onions

Cook orzo until al dente. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the water. Mix the orzo, ham, cheese, onions, salt and pepper to taste, and add the reserved water to your liking. Toss until the cheese is melted.

Serves 6.

** The magazine says to broil it until the top is golden, but we never do that.

Orzo, and then Burritos

Sunday night, I made Orzo with Goat Cheese and Ham from my November issue of Gourmet.

It was very good, very fast to make and I love recipes that have few ingredients. Halved the recipe, as there are only 2 of us, and there was still enough left over for Scott's lunch the next day. Only downside - he said it didn't taste as good after being microwaved.

Last night I made Pan Fried Bean Burritos also from the November issue of Gourmet.

While the overall outcome was good, I did some pretty dumb things along the way. While roasting the peppers,onions, garlic and tomatos, I burned myself when my hand slipped. Then, I cut my finger while cutting up the peppers. I couldn't find a seranno pepper, so I used whatever kind of pepper it was that Sobeys's was selling the other day. Since the pepper was one of those funny shaped ones that make it hard to half and seed, I used my fingers to get the seeds out. I don't know what that pepper was, but damn, it was spicy. The salsa was so hot, it was almost inedible. And I didn't have any more tomatos to calm it down with. The last straw for me was that, after washing my hands, I touched my face near my nose, and my skin felt like it was on fire for the better part of an hour afterwards. AND, I forget to put the cheese in the burritos too!

But, other than all that, they turned out fine; I would definitely make them again. The reviews after the recipe mention that they all found the salsa to be bland. Well, not ours, but maybe next time, if we do it right, we may have to "jeuje" too.

On my to-do-list - buy more band-aids, and some rubber gloves.

Ham and Kale

1/2 onion chopped
1 lb kale, washed, stems removed and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup beef broth
1 cup water
1 cup chopped ham

Saute the onion in some oil until softened. Add the kale and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, covered for 45 minutes until kale is softened.