the cucumber has exploded...
Ok, I will stop with the gushing over the cucumber.... I thinned out the Tomato plant, so all of you thinking I should of done it when you looked at the last pictures of it, its done... hopefully its not totally pissed.
I stirred up a lot in the kitchen today. After budget planning (why do I get a sick enjoyment out of it, even when the numbers don't look that good) which calmed my nerves and helps me know its going to be ok (not like the job is changing right now or anything). I decided to make a grocery list and only go to the store and by those things....
Successfully at 2 of 3 stores (curry paste is only at one store, and veggies and nuts are better at Trader Joes then at Fred Meyer, which had the best deal on flour). I did end up with two bottles of wine, but that was in the plan to stock up slowly when its on sale, so that I am not running out to the store for a bottle all the time, thus only buying it when its on sale and saving money and time all around. (the wine was 3 for $10, I had to)
Anyhow, on to the exciting part...
To the kitchen:
1. Pesto.... it had to happen, the basil is out of control, and it uses up a lot of basil, and can be frozen....
Start with a food processor, makes it easy, all just goes in until its done.. throw in a few cloves of garlic (recipe said 2,,, i said 3 1/2) (also I was trying to make an extended amount, so I winged some of the recipes numbers) Pick lots of Basil (2 1/2 cups)...
Olive Oil (1/2 cup) and Lemon Juice (1 Tbpn) (this recipe actually didn't have cheese in it, I think its b/c its a sorta vegan focused cookbook, either way, it makes pesto a tad cheaper to make so I am giving it a go)
Throw everything in the food processor on top of the garlic already in there... (pine nuts - recipe called for a cup... I did 1/2 cup pine nuts 1/2 peanuts... then modified as I taste tested.. would probably do 75-25 pine to peanut next time)
Make lots and lots of noise and bother all the neighbors... hopefully they are at least content knowing you choose the middle of the day to make this rather than at 10 pm at night :) ...
I went back and added more basil.. and a bit more garlic and pine nuts... although I wouldn't recommend it, I had to fight alot b/c I ended up with chucks of garlic and pine nuts I had to re-arrange and re-blend to get all chopped up...
But I ended up with enough pesto for probably 4 dishes. I put it in these little Tupperware containers and threw it in the freezer to wait to use until the boy is back... lucky him. I did taste test it though and its pretty delic.
Then it was on to new adventures.
I have been craving tacos for probably a month, no joke. Probably due in part to getting spoiled with free tacos at happy hour in SLO and not ever having to actually make it. I decided I was going to try it all, tortillas included.
Flour, baking powder, oil ( I used grapeseed b/c thats what I had), and hot water... and a dry skillet... see the steps below (oh and I used a rolling pin after the first one, the recipe says to just press them out, but they are too thick for my liking, the rolling pin worked great)
1. Dry ingredients, (3 cups flour, 1/2 baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt) and then the oil (2 Tbsp.). I just folded it in with my hands.
2. Add hot water, it doesn't actually say how much, just until the dough is smooth, start small..
3. It should end up looking like this...
Bam... Tortillas (cheap and delicious and warm too!)
I think I would make less tortillas and make them larger next time, but they are perfect for small little tacos.... and they are easy to make, seriously... and delicious. A dangerous combo...
Then I went on to make the taco meat, which after making both (the tortillas and meat) I would suggest doing the meat first (that way it can simmer and get more flavorful while you make tortillas)
I tried to modify the recipe b/c I got a deal on ground beef at the store... def don't need 3 times the water (calls for 1 cup)
For the standard recipe...
Bring 1 cup water
2-3 california pepper pods (I used 1 jalapeno)
and 1 to 2 skinned whole tomatos to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes....
Remove from heat and set asside, you will puree it once its cool in a food processor or a blender...
Dice 1 medium size onion (This one was huge.... look at that, and remember I have small hands!)
I suggest smaller-ish pieces if you aren't a huge onion fan.
Brown the Ground beef and the onion on a large skillet (I used the same large pan to save on dishes)
While its browning, puree the tomato/chile sauce, be careful... to much water, and you will have a mess all over :) *no comment on why I say this...
It has you serve after about 10 minutes but mine had too much water (the reason I would suggest using less if planning to double or triple the recipe) so I left it on simmering... it still is, and its getting better flavors too... I think I would ad the seasonings when browning the meat and onions next time as well to help with the same thing.
Otherwise, it was delicious with the tortillas and some lettuce, cheese and tomato cut up....
Now the only problem is that I realized after making this one for the picture that I have enough taco meat for weeks... but I guess in that aspect it is a great left overs dish... and I will have plenty for awhile... : )
Now... one last thing, b/c I realize I have a long post going here... I was at TJ's and found this... they had some instant coffee thats suppose to be really good, like a regular cup of joe.
I got it for camping so hopefully this will do the trick and be delicious... otherwise I am returning it and crying... and continuing to hope for a good instant coffee to come about.
Anyhow, enough for this weekend... until next time, I will be eating tacos... lol
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