Remembrance of Foods Eaten

Some people recall the places they've been by the sites they've seen. With me it's by dishes eaten. 

The other day I asked James, "Remember that huevos rancheros I had in Utah?" 

It took him a moment, but then he replied "You mean at the place we stayed in Zion?" 

Yes, that would be Zion National Park, one of the most awe inspiringly beautiful places I've ever been--like, beautiful beyond words beautiful, which is a lot coming from me. 

See what I mean?

And yet, my whole experience can be boiled down to a plate of eggs, rice, beans, and salsa.

But man, it was a good plate.

Since I won't be going back to Zion anytime soon, I decided to make my own huevos rancheros:

This is not a particularly hard dish by any means, but there are a few things one must do:

1.) Pan fry your tortillas.

I'll admit, I had never fried corn tortillas in oil, preferring instead to follow the stupid instructions to 'warm' them on the back of the package. Don't do this. Fry them in a little oil until crisp. Then, while the pan is still hot, fry your eggs. Which brings us to thing you must do #2:

2.) Don't overcook your eggs. 

Seriously. Part of the deliciousness of this dish lies in the egg yolk running together with the beans and salsa and tortillas.

3.) Keep your tortillas warm while you cook your eggs.

A pretty basic tip, but one that can make all the difference. No one wants cold, soggy tortillas with their huevos. I kept mine warm in an oven set on 150. 

Now, aside from these tips, you can pretty much do whatever else you want; use store bought salsa, beans, no beans, rice, no rice--I don't care. For this dish I used salsa verde because I love it and refried black beans. Add a little cheese, sprinkle a little hot sauce and voila! Or, rather, ole!

Summertime Tomato and Cucumber Salad

When it's this hot outside, I don't even want to look at the stove, much less use it. So I whipped up this tomato and cucumber salad yesterday with some heirlooms I picked up at the farmer's market. I don't know what the heck they did to the yellow tomatoes, but my God they were outstanding. As I mentioned before, I tend to eyeball ingredients a lot when I'm cooking and flavor to taste so this isn't an exact recipe.

1 lb heirloom tomatoes chopped
1 cucumber peeled and sliced
1 shallot thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp EVOO
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
S & P to taste

Basically, you mix everything together in a bowl then let it marinate for an hour or so. You can serve it with some hearty bread to soak up the juices. Freshly chopped parsley would also be a nice addition.