microwave popcorn fail

A recipe for microwave popcorn, from The Food Matters Cookbook, also by Mark Bittman:

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"Real hot popcorn is one of nature's ultimate convenience foods.  I can't say this strongly enough: There's no reason to use microwavable packages, no matter how "natural" they claim to be.  Any popcorn can be microwaved, as you'll see below.

Toss the popcorn with extra ingredients while it's still warm and the seasonings will stick pretty well, even without adding any more fat.

Microwave Popcorn (Makes 2 to 4 servings).  In a small glass container, or a brown paper lunch bag, combing 1/4 cup popping corn with 1/4 teaspoon salt and fold the top of the bag over a couple of times.  Microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, until there are 4 or 5 seconds between pops.  Open the bag or container carefully, because steam will have built up.  Toss with your seasonings and a drizzle of butter or olive oil or serve as is.

A Dozen Ways to Spike Your Popcorn

Toss any of these with just-cooked popcorn, alone or in combination.  Since some are more potent than others, start with a light sprinkle and taste as you go.

Chopped fresh herbs

Black pepper

Chili powder

Curry powder, or garam or chaat masala

Old Bay seasoning

Five-spice powder

Toasted sesame seeds

Cayenne or red chile flakes

Grated Parmesan cheese

Brown sugar

Finely ground nuts or shredded, unsweetened coconut

Chopped dried fruit"

 

***

 

So I tried the paper bag version just now and made a horrible burnt mess.  Perhaps the paper bag wasn't big enough?  Will try with a container next time.

Does anyone have any experience with homemade microwave popcorn?

Sunday, September 18: A Raisin in the Sun

Sunday, September 18 I went to the grocery store and made a late lunch out of Ma-Po Tofu with Tomatoes, from The Food Matters Cookbook:

We were not impressed, so I was quite surprised when my leftovers the next day had vastly improved over the initial lunch.  I guess the rice soaked up the liquid?

We went up to Bohemian Coffee House to finish reading our climate paper.  We tried to go to Club Charles for dinner, but apparently it doesn't open until six, so we went to Soup's On Baltimore instead and then saw Everyman Theatre's production of A Raisin in the Sun.

I'd read A Raisin in the Sun for seventh-grade English.  Mostly I remember Bennie being the only sympathetic character, and I didn't remember Asagai or George at all.

This time, I found Mama much more sympathetic (my very favorite line from the play is one I have no recollection of from reading it 14 years ago: "Well, good night, George"), and I even found Walter Lee a little sympathetic, which can only be testament to a fine cast and director.

Wednesday, September 14: condo meeting

Wednesday, September 14, I made a quick dinner out of the Baked Sweet Omelet from How to Cook Everything before heading to the condo meeting, which took a longer than necessary.

recap of the week: catching up

Monday I made Seafood Pomodoro with Linguine from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals.

So while Mark Bittman is being unrealistic when he says a meal will take 45 minutes, and while Rachael Ray is being delusional when she says a meal will take 30 minutes, Robin Miller says her meals take 20 minutes, with predictable results.  Try more like an hour (even with leftover chopped onion from the freezer).

Once again, I'm used to cooking out of The Food Matters Cookbook, so it didn't occur to me until too late that it would have been really nice to have some vegetables.  I need to get in the habit of serving salad whenever I serve pasta.  I met Morgan at Panera's where he had spent the day doing math, so I did pick up a French baguette to go with the meal (because, surely, what it needed was more carbs).

Tuesday we had our concert, after which we went to Chazz for a celebratory dinner, after having read about it in the Baltimore Sun.  It was a very pretty restaurant: next time, we should sit at the pizza bar.  That is, if there is a next time.  The food was only ok, but pretty pricey.  I can get a much better margherita pizza at Pub Dog for less.  (Since when does a margherita pizza have tomato sauce on it, anyway?)  Should have checked Yelp first.

Wednesday I made Lemony Zucchini Risotto with Fried Eggs, from The Food Matters Cookbook.

Maybe risotto, like pie, is something I should only order at restaurants.  It was nice, but was it really worth the effort?

Last night we had dinner at the happy hour at the Rusty Scupper, which is always nice.

Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese

Last night I made Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese from The Food Matters Cookbook.

I thought it would be bluer, and figgier.  As it was, the Brussels sprouts were the overwhelming flavor (which is fine with me.)

I paired it with Brooklyn Brewery's Oktoberfest, as per the recommendation of the employees at Urban Cellars.  It did work to clear the palate, and maybe if the pasta had been bluer (as I thought it would be), it would have been a better pairing, but as it was, it was nice, but nothing special.

Gingered Tomato Salad with Shrimp

Wednesday night I made Gingered Tomato Salad with Shrimp, from The Food Matters Cookbook.

I used a bag of pre-hurricane romaine hearts, so they were getting a little long in the tooth.  Also, tomato season appears to already be over here in Maryland (at least according to the one produce stand at the Thursdsay farmers market), so these are supermarket tomatoes.  With ripe tomatoes and fresh greens, the salad probably would have been a lot better.

I paired it with Woodhall's Angler White, which my mom had picked out when we visited the winery last October.  (I'd been saving it for when she came back to visit me, but she hasn't yet, so we went ahead and drank it.  I can pick up another bottle when you do come, Mom, and it will be fresher.)  It was, well, semi-sweet.

weekend update: Irene

Hurricane preparations began on Wednesday, when Morgan went to Walmart and secured canned food, power bars, pop tarts, and seven gallons of water:

(The seventh is chilling in the fridge.)

Friday night I returned home to find that someone had taken our recycling bin, which was too bad, because we had been counting on using it as a bucket to catch drips if we had to.  Not sure whether our neighbors were doing us a kind turn by taking it in off the street (so that it wouldn't blow away) and intend to put it back out next Friday, or whether they were also eyeing it as a way to catch their own drips.

We went out to Thai Yum because we figured we would be spending the rest of the weekend locked in the house.  There were a good number of people there, which I was glad to see.  Not sure whether there's always that many people out on Friday nights, or whether everyone else had the same idea we did.

Friday night we went up to the unit above us.  About a week ago I had met our new neighbor, and I thought he said that was the unit he had moved into.  We brought him a gallon of water as a housewarming present.  We knocked, but no one answered.  We left the water there with a note explaining that his balcony has a tendency to overflow and leak into his living room, if no one else had warned him about that yet.

Saturday morning I tracked down whether officers training was still happening, and was somewhat surprised to learn that it still was.  I mean, New York was a lot further from the storm than we were, but public transit was going to shut down at noon there.  The organizers explained that since the storm wasn't supposed to get there until 11pm, training would go on.  I drove up to Homewood, picked up Jitka, and drove back to training without incident.  Valerie and Amanda were also there.  To my amazement, training started on time, and the officers training portion ended on time.  They were going to go on with judges training, but we left at 2.  I drove Jitka back, once again without incident, but by then it had started to rain.

I picked up Morgan, and we moved the car to a nearby garage.  (Our condo is up on a hill, but the parking lot is a local minimum, so we thought it best to move the car.)  The rain was pretty steady as we walked back, but the wind hadn't reached us yet.  While I was out, Morgan had filled the bathtub with water.

When we got back, Tony still hadn't taken in the water, so either he was out for the weekend or I was wrong about the unit.  Either way, we were a little nervous about not being able to get into the unit in the event the drain on the balcony clogged, the balcony filled, and the water leaked over into the living room and then down through our ceiling (again).  To assuage our fears, we went up to the roof and looked down on the balcony: fortunately, it wasn't clogged at that time, so we hoped that it wouldn't become clogged during the storm.

We still had power Saturday evening, so I went ahead and made Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts, from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

In hindsight, I should have had a vegetable with it, too.  (Cooking out of The Food Matters Cookbook has made me accustomed to having the vegetables taken care of in the entree.)  Not a keeper.  We paired it with Spier Discover Pinotage / Shiraz 2009 (South Africa), which had been on the staff recommendations shelf at Corridor Fine Wine.  Light and smoky: I liked it.

Through the night Saturday night you could hear sort of a low-level buzzing and the occasional howl of the wind, but the hurricane passed by without much incident.

By Sunday morning, the rain had stopped, and we never lost power, and the balcony didn't even leak.  We went out for a (possibly ill-advised) walk: it was still pretty windy.  There were a few downed branches and one downed streetlight in our neighborhood, but everyone else seemed to have their power, too.  We stopped at Whole Foods for coffee and then at Lenny's for lunch.  We moved the car back without incident.

Sunday afternoon I went to the grocery store (it was slightly less crowded than usual for a Sunday, because I guess everyone had gone Friday), and made Provençal Vegetables and Chicken in Packages from The Food Matters Cookbook for supper.

A good general technique (my dad used to make potato and corn packages with butter), but this particular mix of flavors was nothing special.  (It once again confirmed my conclusion that the only way to cook eggplant is with lots and lots of oil: the parts of the eggplant that had oil drizzled on them were delicious and tasted like eggplant, but the parts that were just steamed were a bit stiff and flavorless.)


In conclusion, my first hurricane was a bit anticlimactic, not unlike my first earthquake.  (Really, that was it?)

Braised Cabbage and Sauerkraut with Sausages

Last night I made Braised Cabbage and Sauerkraut with Sausages, from The Food Matters Cookbook.  I used up the rest of the sauerkraut that we got for the Fourth of July, as well as some vegetable stock I had leftover in the fridge.  I served it with baked potatoes, as per the serving suggestion.

Morgan really liked it.

We paired it with Heavy Seas's Davy Jones' Lager.  It was indeed creamy, but not really special.

weekend update

Saturday we drove down to Annapolis to visit the much-ballyhooed Caffe Pronto.  Morgan got the flat white (which I had not heard of previously, and if you had told me it was a latte, I would have believed you), and I got the Panama Mama Cata.  It really did taste like blueberry jam.  We also picked up 12 oz of the Giddy-Up Cowboy, which is pretty good, but I don't really taste the chocolate.  Best beans we've had so far probably are still the Peet's that Morgan picked up in San Diego.

It was a lovely day (finally a break both from the torrential downpours of the previous week and from the record-breaking heat of all summer), so we took some time to walk around historic downtown Annapolis.  A new spice and tea shop had opened up since the last time we were there.  We had lunch at the Market House: I got the chicken, goat cheese, apple, and honey sandwich; Morgan got what purported to be the Best Crabcake in Maryland.

I made Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals, for dinner, and went to the grocery store Saturday night.  Pros of going Saturday night: there's nobody there (unlike Sunday afternoon), and the shelves are well-stocked (unlike Monday night).  Cons: there's nobody working, either, so I inexpertly packed my groceries in my reusable bags at the self-checkout.  Nothing broke, but I felt a little bad for the people behind me.  (Shoppers seems to assume that you have a bagger with you who can bag at the end of the conveyor belt while you continue to scan your purchases, as opposed to Whole Foods, whose set-up is more amenable to letting you put your groceries in the bag at the site of scanning.)

Saturday night I started making Yeasted Coffee Cake from How to Cook Everything.  I let it rise overnight in the fridge, and finished making it Sunday morning.

I had been worried that the yeast, whose expiration date was this past March, had died, but as you can see, my anxieties were misplaced.

Sunday afternoon I went in to lab briefly.  When it finally stopped raining, we took a walk, and visited Roy's for their Aloha Hour (we had never been there before).  I got The Original Hawaiian Martini, which looked like a martini but tasted like a piña colada, Morgan got the Roy's Island Mai Tai, and we shared the Tempura Crusted Spicy Ahi Roll and the Wagyu Beef Sliders.  I especially liked the sliders: each was a perfect little hamburger on its own little pretzel roll.  It was very swank, and we'll have to go back sometime.

Sunday night I made Seared Cod with Grapefruit Slaw, from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

I think I'm going to just quit trying to work with citrus.  It can be one of those items I get only at restaurants, like butter pie crusts.

I didn't dry the cod quite enough, so it was more steamed than seared.  But Morgan really liked it.

Pasta alla gricia with Seared Red Cabbage Wedges

Last Monday I used the frozen pork jowl that I got at the farmers market to make Pasta alla gricia from How to Cook Everything.  I had made it once before, using some guanciale I got from the Milwaukee indoor farmers market, and thought it was the best thing ever, and have been on the watch for pork jowl ever since.  Usually the farmers market doesn't have any.  (But the last time I was at the grocery store, I found some.  Go figure.)

I still had about three-quarters of the five-pound head of red cabbage left leftover from the Tangy Red Cabbage and Beets with Beef, so I served it with a side of Seared Red Cabbage Wedges, from Recipes for Health.  I really liked the seared part, but the wedges were just a bit too thick, so the insides of the wedges were steamed, not fried.  (So I'll cut them thinner next time.)

Steamed Lima Beans with White Fish

After we got back from SlutWalk last Saturday, I made Steamed Lima Beans with White Fish, from The Food Matters Cookbook.  (I had made it before and really liked it.)  The catfish was nearly a week old at this point, but it wasn't bad, just a little fishy.  (This is the problem when there are no grocery stores in walking distance: I end up going to the grocery store only about once every ten days (since it's a fifteen-minute drive there and back), so the food sometimes goes bad before I have a chance to cook it.  I hope that they'll actually get around to putting a grocery store in the Mechanic Theater development project, but it won't be anytime soon.)

Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

Sunday night I made Beans 'n Greens Burritos.

Monday night I made Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans, from The Food Matters Cookbook.  Morgan liked it, but I thought the balance of flavors was off.  Next time I'll try the Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Apricots and Pistachios variation.

zucchini carbonara

Last night I made zucchini carbonara for dinner, based on this recipe (from the erstwhile Bitten), but using the last of my leftover tarragon instead of mint and mezze penne instead of spaghetti.

Zucchini Carbonara

• Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 or 4 small zucchini, about a pound, washed, trimmed and cut into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 pound spaghetti, linguine or other long pasta [or any other pasta]
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped mint, parsley or basil [tarragon in this case]

• 1. Salt a large pot of water, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Put the olive oil into a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. A minute later, add the zucchini, and cook, stirring only occasionally, until very tender and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with a little salt and a lot of pepper.
• 2. Beat the eggs and 1/2 cup of the cheese together. Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook until it is tender but firm. When it is done, drain it, and combine it immediately with the egg-and-cheese mixture, tossing until the egg is cooked. Add the zucchini, and toss again. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
• 3. Toss in the herb, and serve immediately, passing the remaining cheese at the table.

weekend update

Saturday we visited Afters (which is yet another one of those businesses that have a facebook page, but no web site.  I find this bizarre, which is probably just a sign that I'm getting old) and the new Fresh & Green's (which is quite similar to the old Superfresh, except they don't take the loyalty card).  I went to lab while Morgan went to the Magic tournament with Tom, and then we had a late supper at 30 East at the Stalking Horse (where I got to use my Living Social coupon.  (Now, a Groupon is just a Groupon, not a Groupon coupon, so is a Living Social just a Living Social?))

Sunday I woke up early, so I went to the farmers market and got jam, sugar plums, apricots, raspberries, blueberries, nectarines (white and yellow), corn on the cob, watermelon, green beans, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes (red and yellow), and pork jowl.  (I made three trips between the car and the market.)

Parking had become free since the last time I went, and it was noticeable.  I got there before eight, but the parking lot was pretty full.  (The market itself was no more full than usual at that time of morning.)  I left before nine, and the parking lot was insane.  It used to be that if I couldn't get to the market before nine, I didn't bother going, but now I'm going to have to revise that to even earlier (since, as you see above, it's going to be pretty tough if I can't get parking near the market).

I made Seared Bean Sprouts with Beef and Sesame Orange Sauce from The Food Matters Cookbook and served it over quinoa for lunch.

In the afternoon we took a walk around the harbor and finally partook of the dragon paddleboats.  Having a boating license, I got to steer.  The boats are not terribly hydrodynamic and a little difficult to maneuver, but we managed not to hit anything or anyone.  Morgan was a little surprised how much work it was to paddle (we'll have to have paddle boot camp up north), but we had fun.

Sunday evening I went back to lab, and, since I had the car, I also stopped at Whole Foods on the way home and picked up cherries, quinoa, sesame seeds, and almond milk.  At home, I finally made some progress on Atlas Shrugged.  (Trying real hard to withhold judgment until I've finished it, but it's tough.)

I've been mostly living off my farmers market produce since then.  I love summer.  (And who needs protein anyway?)

Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup with Parmesan

Tuesday night, after dinner, I made "Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup with Parmesan" from The Food Matters Cookbook, and we reheated it for dinner yesterday.

We had Dogfish Head's Theobroma with it (a bottle we picked up during our February trip to Rehoboth).  It wasn't bad, but, like their Midas Touch, it was disappointing.  Our favorite so far has been Chateau Jiahu, which had a floral and complex flavor.

Teriyaki Noodles with Asparagus and Lima Beans

I made this for dinner on Monday, from The Food Matters Cookbook.

Teriyaki Noodles with Asparagus and Edamame

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb asparagus, [thick woody stems broken off], cut into 2-inch lengths
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
8 oz any rice, buckwheat (soba) or wheat noodles, preferably whole grain [I used whole wheat spaghetti]
2 cups shelled edamame, fresh or frozen (thaw them while you assemble the dish) [I used frozen baby lima beans, because I couldn't find any edamame at the grocery]
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin, or 2 Tbsp honey mixed with 2 Tbsp water [I chose the latter]

Cook the noodles, reserving some of the cooking water.
While the water's coming to a boil, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.  When hot, add the asparagus and the scallions.  Cook, stirring, for a minute, then stir in the ginger and garlic.  Cook until the asparagus is dry, hot, and beginning to brown and get tender, 5 to 10 minutes; if the noodles aren't done by now, remove pan from heat.

When the noodles are done, and when the asparagus is ready, turn the heat under the asparagus to medium.  Add the noodles, beans, soy sauce, mirin, and ~1/2 cup of the reserved water.  Cook, stirring, until heated through, about five minutes.  Serve hot.

Wheat Berries with Berries

Monday night I made Wheat Berries with Berries, from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook.  (Morgan's not home, so this is my opportunity to eat nothing but breakfast foods.)

It took a lot longer than I thought it would.  Contributing factors may include the fact that I was distracted and allowed the wheat berries to get a little dry (which may have slowed their cooking), and also the fact that, because I'd never had wheat berries before, I was not entirely sure what cooked wheat berries are supposed to be like.  They still seemed crunchy even after three hours of cooking (but, after resting overnight in the fridge, the leftovers were much softer).

So if I were to make this recipe again, I would probably soak the wheat berries in the almond milk overnight (in the fridge, to keep the milk from spoiling) before cooking, in the hopes that would make it go faster.  Another modification I would make would be to add the sweetener at the very end, because 1/4 cup of honey turned out to be way, way too sweet for me (and it's hard to taste with uncooked wheat berries).

But, even though it was a little frustrating, I'm still glad I tried it.  It's also given me the idea of using almond milk to cook other grains, like quinoa, oats, or even rice.  (And I do have a lot of almond milk left that I need to use.)


Wheat Berries with Berries

3/4 cup wheat berries
2 cups almond or oat milk
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey, or to taste
4 cups berries [I used frozen]
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1.  In a large pot [actually, a medium pot would probably do just fine], combine the wheat berries with the milk and honey.  Add water if necessary to cover the wheat berries by at least one inch.  Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently.

2.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wheat berries are tender, which may take anywhere from 35 minutes to over 2 hours [like, way, way over 2 hours].  Add boiling water as necessary to keep the wheat berries covered and to keep them from drying out as they swell and become tender.  Wheat berries are done when they're tender with a slight bite to them; the mixture will still be a little soupy.

3.  Add the berries to the wheat berry mixture and stir until they soften a bit.  Serve warm, garnished with the almonds.

A week ago I made Old-Fashioned Baked Custard, an "essential recipe" from How to Cook Everything.  (Being the same day that I made the Curried Tomato Soup with Hard-Boiled Eggs, and the same day that Morgan made scrambled eggs for breakfast, that made it a day where we went through more than a dozen eggs.  Good thing we're young.)

Old-Fashioned Baked Custard

2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs plus 2 yolks
1/2 cup sugar

1.  Put the milk and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until it just begins to steam.
2.  Beat the eggs and yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and fairly thick.  Heat the oven to 300F and put a kettle of water on to boil.
3.  Gradually add the milk to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.  Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish.  Put the dish in a baking pan and pour hot water into the pan to within about 1 inch of the top of the dish.  Bake until the mixture is not quite set - it should wobble a little in the middle - about 45 minutes.  [It took longer than that.]  Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold, within a day.

Last Monday I made Chicken Jook with Lots of Vegetables from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook.  It was the first recipe from this book that was incredibly disappointing: "Boiled Water"-style disappointing.

I made it because Mark Bittman says that it "cooks perfectly in a slow cooker", so maybe that was the problem.  Or maybe the problem was the substitutions I made.  But there was an off-flavor somewhere in it that made it really difficult to eat.  I suspect the can of stir-fry vegetables.

Chicken Jook with Lots of Vegetables

3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 bone-in chicken thighs
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 fresh chile, minced (I used a quarter-teaspoon of crushed red pepper)
 1/2 cup chopped scallions [I used some leftover: maybe that was the problem: too old]
1 cup short-grain brown rice
2 cups cabbage sliced into very thin ribbons [I used some leftover Napa cabbage]
1 cup snow peas [I couldn't find any fresh or frozen, so I used frozen sugar snap peas]
1 cup bean sprouts [I couldn't find any of these, either, so I used a can of stir-fry vegetables, which included bean sprouts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, and red bell peppers: I suspect this was the culprit, because the off-flavor was not unlike cooked green peppers]
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

Combine all ingredients plus 6 cups water in slow cooker.  Cook on low all day.


And for those of you who are curious, here's the infamous "Boiled Water" recipe, from How to Cook Everything.  He says it's an essential recipe; I say it's no better than it sounds (garlic-flavored water).

"Boiled Water"

 6 to 10 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

1.  Combine 4 cups water with the garlic, bay leaf, and some salt and pepper in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover partially, and turn the heat to very low.  Let the liquid bubble gently for 15 minutes.
2.  Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When hot, brown the slices of bread in the oil, turning once, for a total of about 5 minutes.
3.  Put the bread in bowls and top with the grated cheese.  Strain the soup into the bowls, garnish parsley, and serve.

Wednesday night I made Beans 'n Greens Burritos, along with the recommended side of Pico de Gallo, from Mark Bittman's (The Minimalist RIP) The Food Matters Cookbook.

So because it is obviously not tomato season, and because we did have oranges, I decided to go the orange route with the pico de gallo (other options, according to Bittman, include tangerines, grapefruit, avocados, or grated raw butternut squash.  Really.  Or drained canned tomatoes, if you want to be boring.)

I'm unlikely to make the pico de gallo again, because (in a shock to no one) I don't really like raw garlic, and I really dislike raw onion.  (Also, chopping the oranges was really frustrating, so I'm definitely skipping any orange salads in the future.)  But other salsa options, like the Peach Salsa and Green Apple-Cucumber Salsa, don't require garlic, so I'd like to try those in the future.  (Besides, chopping peaches, apples, and cucumbers all sound preferable to chopping oranges.)

Contrariwise, the burritos were a hit.  Not too difficult, pretty healthy, and very tasty.  Morgan declared them to be an instant classic, to go into the repertoire along with Rachael Ray's You-Won't-Be-Single-For-Long vodka sauce and aglio e oglio.


Pico de Gallo

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped [as I said above, other fruits are acceptable: I ended up using four oranges, not because they seemed like they produced the same amount as two chopped tomatoes, but because by that point I was not about to chop any more oranges]
1/2 large white or red onion or 2 medium scallions, chopped [I used a shallot, because that's what I had; plus, I didn't want too much raw onion flavor]
1 tsp minced garlic, or to taste
1 fresh hot chile, seeded and minced, or to taste [as I've said before, I have a strict no-chile policy (until I invest in some nitrile gloves for the kitchen), so I used ~1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper]
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro [I didn't have any, and both Morgan and I have that cilantro polymorphism, anyway]
2 tbsp lime juice [I squeezed two very sad and desiccated limes and produced maybe half a tablespoon of juice (maybe you're starting to get the idea why this recipe wasn't a hit): on the other hand, the oranges were very juicy]

1.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, taste, and adjust the seasoning.
2.  Let the mixture rest for 15 to 30 minutes if possible to allow the flavors to meld.


Beans 'n Greens Burritos

Tortillas [he says four but I made six: maybe he likes his burritos fuller than I do]
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chili powder
1 bunch kale (about 1 lb), roughly chopped
2 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained (I used one can)
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, optional [Morgan very bravely used some Salvadoran cheese we had picked up a very, very long time ago; I used sour cream]
Pico de gallo

1.  Heat the oven to 300F.  Stack the tortillas and roll them up in a sheet of foil.  Put them in the oven to warm while you cook the filling.  [I found that the bottom tortilla got very crisp, and considering how hot the filling is, I am not convinced this step is necessary and will probably skip it next time.]
2.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add onion and garlic, and cook until soft and beginning to color.  Sprinkle with the chili powder.  Add the kale and cook until it cooks and releases its liquid (and turns bright green: very fast).  Stir in the black beans and mash them up a bit.
3.  To roll each burrito, lay a tortilla on a flat surface and scoop some filling on the third closest to you.  Scoop on the sour cream.  Fold the tortilla over from the bottom to cover the beans and greens, then fold in the two sides to fully enclose them; finish rolling and put the burrito seam side down on a plate.  Serve with pico de gallo on the side.