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!

Kale Storm

This week has been a little hectic. I started a new job and thus have not had much time to sit on the couch and come up with punny blog posts. But, I've still been making stuff, so never fear. Earlier this week, I was leafing through my cousin's copy of this month's Women's Health and Fitness. In between guessing how long it'll be before Brooklyn Decker realizes she's too hot for Andy Roddick ( 2 years) and finding new ways to 'shake up my make up' (plum eyeliner) I found something toting kale as a good swap for spinach. Now, I can see how maybe in terms of nutrients kale comes out on top, but there's a reason it's not as popular as spinach: it doesn't taste that good. Perhaps it's all that lutein.

Regardless, I've been trying to eat healthier since last weekend's baked good n' booze fest so when I happened upon a nice bunch of kale at the farmer's market, I couldn't resist. First I was going to try a recipe for spaghetti with kale that I had seen in Bon Appetit a while back but it called for lemon and I didn't have any. I was also too lazy to leave the house and go buy one...but, then I remembered something a former roommate had made for us last December: kale popcorn, or kale chips.

All you do is tear the kale leaves from the stem, toss them in some olive oil and sea salt, then bake at 300 degrees for about half an hour. This turns those tough and hearty kale leaves into crunchy, salty deliciousness AND supplies you with enough lutein to give you x-ray vision. I used up the whole bunch and ate most of it, though I was nice and left some for Katie. She was equally impressed and now won't stop asking for more. Luckily, she's in Amish country for the weekend (seriously) and I have a nice bunch of kale in the crisper that I can keep all for my self.