Naomi: Cooking for one and for friends



For years now, even before I wrote the recipes in what I think of as my "static blog," Fiftytworecipesfrommymother, at the request of my children, Sarah and Sam, Sarah had been urging me to keep a daily (more or less) record of my cookings--the meals I make for myself in my (surprisingly) solitary life as well as those I make for friends. For whatever reasons, I've never done it.


But, after months of wandering, I've finally begun. As I haven't quite mastered the art of cooking for one, and love throwing together grand meals at the last minute, I have been encouraging friends to call to check on what I might have on hand any evening for a quick meal. Instructions can be found in my entry for March 20th--What's in Naomi's Refrigerator.

This is primarily a record of the meals I prepare for myself and others, accompanied by "mug shots" of the food (when I remember to photograph before eating). Shot by my phone, with no styling, they may not capture their subjects at their best, but so be it.



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Leftovers plus rajas con crema with a Digression for Home Repairs.

Another lunch of leftovers. Made a quick lunch for myself and Madison (Sam had eaten breakfast with Russell and claimed he wasn't hungry--which didn't stop him from  eating a good share of our mango salad).

We'd roasted a huge pile of pasilla chiles--a small pile of limp, unpeeled and stuffed pasillas were waiting in a tupperware and happy to be sliced for rajas con crema.

We'd first had this dish years ago at La Super Rica Taco in Santa Barbara--where I'd stop whenever possible on drives north.  A few years ago, I discovered it was a traditional Mexican dish and easy enough to replicate.  I don't often think of it--and when I do, I usually don't have the ingredients on hand--but today, substituting sour cream for Mexican crema--i did.

INGREDIENTS
8 pasilla chiles, roasted, peeled, and cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 good sized onion, thinly sliced
a few tablespoons Mexican crema--or any thick cream--I used sour cream
queso fresco (White Mexican cheese)--


Saute the onion in a bit of oil.  When it is soft, stir in the pepper strips and cook for a minute or two.  Add the cream, warm through, sprinkle with the cheese.
Lunch (Madison Condon, 2012)
I was planning to spoon them into quesadillas but instead made cheese quesadillas with a mixture of queso fresco and pepper jack, and served the rajas, black beans and avocados on the side.

Gate with Footprint
Lunch done, Sam pointed out the damaged front gate, which I'd completely forgotten. Last summer during a small brawl on the walk street, the gate was kicked and damaged.  Perhaps the recent rain had made it worse.

The wood was split and seriously in need of repair.   We decided it could be adequately, if not perfectly, repaired, with some wood glue and a few long screws.
Sam was going to do it, but, inexplicably
seized by
do-it-yourself fervor, I
pulled out the wood glue
and the little power drill, and, with just a drop of advice from William, who was working on repairing the deck, next door, I managed to heal the gaping wound.
I did however preserve
the footprint for the
historical record.
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