ok, ok, ok....This blog is going to be long on practical and short on whimsical. I recognize, as I get older and older (don't like the sounds of that!) that most people fall into four categories when it comes to food.
1) Can "cook" and "cook" well without recipes
2) Can bake and bake well with recipes
3) Can bake and cook if following recipes
4) Can't cook or bake to save their lives
Me, I generally fall into category #1. I can cook fairly well and generally never use a recipe. I cook by taste and smell and texture and imagination. Being that I use my imagination when I am cooking I almost automatically exclude myself from the #2 Category. I am a lousy Baker. Recipes are not my friends and when it says 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda and I throw in a pinch and bit, it just doesn't seem to work.
Having said this, I have a couple of my own recipes that I have made up over the years that are now staples in our eating adventures. I have done my very best to actually put together some directions to make both "lazy day dressing" and "Mexican Beach Cheat"
Lazy Day Dressing
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 large clove garlic (pressed)
3 tablespoons (approx) of plain yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 teaspoons (approx) sugar
Mix all of the above ingredients together (add more sugar or yogurt if necessary) and toss with mixed greens, toasted slivered almonds, halved baby tomotos, slivers of Red Anjou pear and shaved parmesan cheese.
*Any left-over dressing can be stored in a jar (with lid) in the fridge.
Mexican Beach Cheat
8-10 eggs
2 tins of refried beans (with or without chilles depending on your taste for spice)
wine chorizo sausage, sliced and slightly browned in a pan (remove from pan when browned and place on paper towel to drain any extra oil)
1 jar of Chuncky salsa
about 2 cups (total) of cheddar and monteray jack cheese (grated)
In a rectangular baking dish put down a good layer of refried beans. On top of the beans put a layer of chorizo sausage slices. Cover the chorizo with a layer of chunky salsa and then crack the 8 - 10 eggs on top of the salsa (move them around, gently, so that the yolks are evenly dispersed). Once you have the layer of eggs you sprinkle on the grated cheese. Put the whole dish (covered with foil) into the oven set to 350 degrees. Cook for about an hour or until the dish looks bubbly and hot all the way through. Before serving, turn the oven onto broil, remove the foil and broil the dish so that the cheese is slightly golden and the eggs are cooked through (you can push the cheese aside in one area and make sure the eggs are done). Serve the dish hot with warmed, soft tortillas, side dishes of sour cream and salsa and slices of cantalope with lime wedges. I have just made myself very, very hungry.
*This dish can be made the night before and placed in fridge.
Bon Appetit!
